Poland played Ukraine in back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday. They would split the series with each country winning one game 3-2 in overtime. After the Ukraine matches, Poland is officially halfway through its warm-up schedule. Only two games against Italy in Sosnowiec and one in Slovenia remain. While reinforcements are starting to arrive with the THL finals’ conclusion, the team has experienced some significant losses.

Poland will be without key forwards Bartosz Fraszko, Grzegorz Pasiut, and Patryk Wronka. It also looks like the team will be without star Kamil Wałęga. His Slovak club, Vlci Zilina, initially seemed optimistic about him returning during the playoffs. In the end, Wałęga would miss the entire playoff run and has yet to return to training. With 11 days left before day one of the Division 1 Group A World Championship, the return timeline is thin. Kacper Macias was also cut from camp and is reportedly dealing with an injury. With the defenseman Macias brother out, the white and red only have four of the ten defensemen from last year’s team in camp. Only 14 total players from last year’s squad are still in camp.

With the high stakes for Poland at this event, seeing such a massive roster turnover in a short period is a huge cause of nervousness. While the defensive turnover was expected, maybe not all at once, the offensive turnover has hit the lineup hard. If you go back to the 2023 D1A Worlds, of Poland’s top five scorers captain Krystian Dziubinski is the only player at national team camp. 

With the lineup pleading for a top scorer, Patryk Krężołek has stepped up. The former Zaglebie Sosnowiec forward has led the THL in goals for back-to-back years.  He also recently announced a move to the second level of Czechia with HC Banik Sokolov, citing a chance to continue to develop his game abroad. We also saw a more complete player offensively this year, as he set a career high in goals, assists, and points. While it may seem odd, that the player who is the top goal scorer in the THL already wouldn’t be counted on to lead Poland. His defensive game has earned criticism from head coach Robert Kalaber in the past. At last year’s Worlds, he was a healthy scratch three times. 

For 2025, it seemed like Krężołek would be fighting to earn a roster spot. In the first national team match of April, he was on the fourth line. He would also score that day. In game two against Lithuania, he moved up the lineup and would pick up an assist after causing a turnover. When Poland moved to Krynica for games against Ukraine, Krężołek continued to get on the scoresheet. Over the four games, he leads the team with 5 points (2G-3A-5PTS). With Poland lacking a lot of their past offensive leaders, Krężołek looks to be in a prime position to take on a larger role. 

Krężołek is not the only player who is looking strong early in camp. Damian Kapica has flashed his playmaking ability. It’s great to see him healthy, and returning to the World Championship squad may finally be in the cards for 2025. Krzysztof Macias looks like a much better player this year after spending another season in the Western Hockey League. New imports Kamil Sadlocha and Mikolaj Sytyi continue to perform well. Sadlocha had the game-winning goal on a penalty shot versus Ukraine in overtime. 

Another standout of the first four games was Maciej Miarka. He would start all four games, coming up with some big saves and only allowing six goals. Miarka finished with a .927 save percentage, stopping 76 shots. It will be hard for anyone to unseat John Murray or Tomas Fucik, but the 24-year-old goalie made a strong case for the third spot. With only three games left, those starts will likely be split between Fucik, Murray, and Zabolotny. This was as good of a showcase as Miarka could have had.

With only 14 games this year in the THL, its always impressive to me how Miarka is ready to step up for the national team. That lack of playing time can really effect a goalie, but in seven games this year for Poland, Miarka had a .936 SV%.

Poland will still have quite a few choices before their trip to Romania. A few trims to young goalies and injuries have the roster now at 31 players. The group currently has 4 goalies, 10 defenseman, and 17 forwards. There will be one goalie, at least two defensemen, and four forwards cut soon.

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