I took a week off while traveling, and of course, it was a hectic week for Polish hockey. We are back today to recap the last two weeks of THL free agency. Today is also the start of NHL free agency! Over the past two weeks, many national team talents have found new homes in Poland and abroad.

Beginning of the Offseason (Week 1)	Week of May 6th (Week 4)	Week of May 27th (Week 7)
Week of April 22nd (Week 2)	Week of May 13th (Week 5)	Week of June 3rd (Week 8)
Week of April 29th (Week 3)	Week of May 20th (Week 6)	Week of June 10th (Week 9)

Cracovia Krakow

• Cracovia has continued to pursue Polish talent aggressively. The club added national team defender Maciej Kruczek. Kruczek played for the red and white for six seasons from 2015 to 2020 and served as captain during that time. The veteran defender has been with GKS Katowice since 2020. The 36-year-old is a four-time THL champion and played in seven games for Poland at the 2024 World Championship. 
• Young forward Jakub Slusarek has earned a three-year with the club as well. The 18-year-old prospect had 14 points (5G-9A-14PTS) in 30 games in the MHL last year.

GKS Katowice

• A member of all three GKS Katowice finals squads stays put with Mateusz Bepierszcz signing a new one-year deal. The Warsaw native is a three-time THL champion, two with Katowice, and posted 17 points (7G-10A-17PTS) in 50 games last year. The forward represented Poland internationally from 2014 to 2019. A journeyman THL career, this will be his 14th THL season. 
• Goalie Michał Kieler is also staying with Katowice. The 28-year-old appeared in 10 games this past year, recording a .924SV%. 2025 will be his 12th THL season, and he has mainly served as a third or backup goalie in his career. Kieler has proved he deserves to play more, and with the Katowice goaltending situation uncertain, we will see if his opportunity grows in 2024-25. 
• Katowice also went outside Poland to grab Razmuz Waxin Engback. The Swedish forward played in the Norwegian second league last year, scoring an impressive 46 points (17G-28A-46PTS) in 34 games. He has mainly played in the fourth tier of US senior hockey or the third level of Sweden. Seeing how he is used and will produce in the THL will be interesting. His sister, Mina Waxin, represents Sweden internationally.

GKS Tychy

• After a few quiet weeks, GKS Tychy unloaded everything with some huge forward signings. It started with keeping the Polish star Alan Łyszczarczyk. For most of last season Łyszczarczyk was racing Patryk Wronka for the THL scoring title. The Podhale native finished with 11 goals and 41 assists for 52 points in 42 games. He is one of the best playmakers in Poland and has previously played in Czechia, the ECHL, and the OHL. Łyszczarczyk recorded a goal and two assists for Poland at the 2024 World Championship, his three points tied for the lead on the team.
• They kept the momentum going with one of the brightest young stars of the national team, Dominik Paś. Paś had spent almost all of his professional career with JKH GKS Jastrzebie. A great two-way forward, he was looking to go abroad after a strong year in Poland and for the national team. He scored one goal for Poland at the World Championship but produced well in the THL with 37 points (17G-20A-37PTS). With no offers from a foreign league coming, he signed a two-year pact with Tychy. 
• The club was not finished with forward additions as they picked up a player they project to lead their offense in Rasmus Heljanko. The Finnish forward is only 24 and brings a great resume with five seasons in the Liiga. He has also spent parts of a few seasons in the Mestis, where he had 31 goals in 49 games. Heljanko most recently played in the second level of Germany with Selber Wölfe, scoring 12 goals and assisting on 14 in 30 games.

JKH GKS Jastrzebie

• The other half of the Nalewajka twins has put pen to paper as Radosław Nalewajka is back for another season. 2025 will be his 15th season in the THL with JKH GKS Jastrzebie. The 30-year-old forward has played 468 THL games, scoring 74 goals and assisting on 86 while winning a THL championship in 2021.

KH Torun

• Torun locked up 22-year-old Swedish defender Albin Thyni Johansson for a second season. Johansson had a solid first year in his own zone and offensively, with 17 points (3G-14A-17PTS) in 37 games. The 6’3 defender played in the SHL and HockeyEttan before coming to Poland.  
• Torun also retained two U23 standouts, Szymon Mackowski and Maksymilian Lisewski. In his second full-time THL season, Mackowski recorded three goals in 35 games. He represented the Polish U20 squad in 2022 and 2023. Lisewski didn’t appear with KH Torun but was the starting goalie for Sokoly Torun. The 20-year-old was among the second league’s best, with a .928 SV% in 20 games. Unfortunately, he missed the playoffs.

Podhale Nowy Targ

• The captain stays home as Bartłomiej Neupauer has re-signed with Podhale Nowy Targ for a 14th season. The 32-year-old forward remains a leader on and off the ice after a 36-point (19G-17A-36PTS) season. Neupauer has represented Poland at two World Championships and won a THL title with Podhale during the 2010 season.

STS Sanok

• Sanok has yet to make any moves this offseason, but there are rumors that a few high-profile junior players will join as the budgets are finalized.

Unia Oswiecim

• It will be season 22 for Sebastian Kowalówka! The soon-to-be 38-year-old forward will keep his career going with another year in Oswiecim. Kowalówka is a four-time THL champion who has played in 895 THL games and posted 572 points (224G-348A-572PTS). He has represented Poland at five World Championships during his long career. He is not looking to slow down, with 26 points (11G-15A-26PTS) this past year. 
• Adrian Prusak will be staying home with Oswiecim for a ninth season. The only 25-year-old forward has made appearances for the senior club since 2018. This past season, he had four assists in 38 games, helping the club to its first championship in over a decade. 
• The blue and white also locked up two of its younger players: 21-year-old goalie Filip Płonka and 19-year-old defenseman Kacper Łukawski. Plonka appeared in three games, recording an SV% of .879. Łukawski went pointless in 19 games after missing most of the season with an injury.

Zaglebie Sosnowiec

• Arkadiusz Karasiński is staying with Sosnowiec after one of the best U21 seasons production-wise. The young forward scored five goals and assisted on two. His seven points were third among U21 skaters. Karasinki came from the Lodz system and represented Poland at the 2023 U20 World Championship.

Polish Players Abroad

• The most significant move of the week was Aron Chmielewski leaving Czechia for the first time in a decade. The national team forward has signed in Slovakia with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas. The move to the top Slovak leagues come after a disappointing year with HC Olomouc, which was derailed by injuries. Across nine years with HC Oceláři Třinec, Chmielewski became a four-time Czech Extraliga Champion. Chmiewlewski was controversially left off the roster for Poland’s 2024 World Championship squad. The 33-year-old will now look to bounce back in Slovakia.
• Star of the women’s national team, Wiktoria Sikorska, will stay in Sweden but drop a level. Sikorska will go from the SDHL to Division One with Södertälje SK. Södertälje SK was close to earning a promotion last year but lost during promotion play. Sikorska posted nine points (2G-7A-9PTS) in 35 SDHL games last year. She was much more productive on loan to Division One with SDE HF 2, where she had 17 points (12G-5A-17PTS) in only nine games.  Södertälje SK appears to be gearing up for another run at promotion as the club signed Hungary national team forward Imola Horváth, while retaining Slovenia national captain Pia Pren and British national team goalie Nicole Jackson. 
• Last recap, we reported that junior defenseman Tomasz Marzec would stay in Sweden with the Järna SK J20 team. He has made another move to a stronger club by joining Enköpings SK J20 in the J20 region. He previously developed in the Södertälje SK system but moved to Järna SK in 2022. Last year at the J20 Div.1 level, he had 27 points (3G-24G-27PTS) in 42 games. The 19-year-old played four senior games at the Division 4 level with Järna SK. 
• Polish defenseman Hubert Szarzynski is heading to the States to play for the Connecticut Jr. Rangers in the USPHL Premier. They were the top club in their league last year with a 41-3 record and won the championship. During his junior career, the U20 defender has played for various levels of Flemingsbergs IK and Nacka HK in Sweden.

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