The Riga Cup always marks the first time I look more seriously at U16 players for Poland. The U16 squad has seen a lot of success in this Latvian event, with back-to-back championships and three straight finals appearances. Those strong first impressions make it a great place to start. We have seen those championship teams work their way up as Poland U18 has won back-to-back gold and promotions with rosters featuring many U16 alumni. Over the three days, Poland U16 played in seven games versus teams from Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden. 

2025 Roster: 

Goalies: Maksymilian Fuchs, Mikołaj Juszczyk, Paweł Kołodziej, 

Defenseman: Kamil Bocheński, Karol Furman, Bartłomiej Gawrysiak, Aleksander Kwiatkowski, Igor Łukaszewski, Danill Malinkovin, Jakub Serwatko

Forwards: Piotr Bochyński, Antoni Galant, Igor Kantor, Michał Klich, Oliwier Kowalczyk, Piotr Kusak, Filip Łakwa, Stanisław Lewandowski, Jan Połącarz, Łukasz Sikora, Michał Szyszka, Amadeusz Tyński, Filip Tyrna, Mateusz Wałęga

Poland U18 will lose plenty of players from the 2025 squad and will only have three eligible to return. While 2008 players will make up most of the Division 1 Group A team, there is going to be some room for players from the ’09 and maybe ‘10 classes to join. Some key players I was really watching at this tournament were Antoni Galant, Oliwier Kowalczyk, Piotr Kusak, Danill Malinkovin, and Amadeusz Tyński. 

Bartłomiej Stępień was the new head coach of the group. The 33-year-old coach is a former player who had represented Poland U18 and U20 before playing nine THL seasons with Polonia Bytom. Tobiasz Bigos had run the team from 2020 to 2024, but was promoted to the senior national team.

There was also quite a lot of talent in the reserves, which was interesting. Not on the playing roster, but named to reserves were Antoni Chruslinski (HC Kometa Brno U17), Borys Dluzewski (Karhu-Kissat U16), Eryk Duda (Podhale Nowy Targ U18), Aleksander Hetzer (Kiekko Espoo U15), Stanisław Klingenstein (Mid Fairfield Rangers 14U AAA), Bartosz Sajnog (HC Vítkovice U15), and Gabriel Wsol (EHC Basel U17). 

Gameday 1 – April 25th 

Tornado (Latvia) vs. Poland U16 – 2-3

Goals: Amadeusz Tyński (8’), Piotr Bochyński (42’), & Stanisław Lewandowski (43’)

Goalie: Paweł Kołodziej 11/13 SVS

Poland U16 vs. NEXT Hockey (Latvia) – 7-1

Goals: Amadeusz Tyński (5’,20’, 44’), Piotr Kusak (7’), Danill Malinkovin (19’), Stanisław Lewandowski (25’), & Aleksander Kwiatkowski (36’)

Goalie: Mikołaj Juszczyk 3/3 SVS

Gameday 2 – April 26th

Poland U16 vs. Gelezinis Vilkas (Lithuania) – 3-0

Goals: Łukasz Sikora (16’), Igor Kantor (31’), & Aleksander Kwiatkowski (43’)

Goalie: Maksymilian Fuchs 5/5 SVS

DL Hockey (Sweden) vs. Poland U16 – 1-9

Goals: Amadeusz Tyński (0’, 41’), Antoni Galant (15’, 30’), Piotr Bochyński (19’), Stanisław Lewandowski (29’,44’), Filip Łakwa (32’), & Aleksander Kwiatkowski (40’). 

Goalie: Maksymilian Fuchs 13/14 SVS

Poland U16 vs. Prizma (Latvia) – 2-1(SO)

Goals: Amadeusz Tyński (0’)

Goalie: Paweł Kołodziej 13/14

Gameday 3 – April 27th (Playoffs) 

Semi Finals: Poland U16 vs. Riga HS 2009 (Latvia) – 1-4

Goals: Stanisław Lewandowski (17’)

Goalie: Mikołaj Juszczyk 17/21 SVS

Bronze Game: Poland U16 vs. Jelgavas LSS (Latvia) – 4-1

Goals: Bartłomiej Gawrysiak (7’), Mateusz Wałęga (15’), Stanisław Lewandowski (34’), & Antoni Galant (44’). 

Goalie: Paweł Kołodziej 9/10 SVS

Final Thoughts 

It was once again a good introduction for Poland’s ‘09 and ‘10 classes. The white and red players come into this tournament with a slight advantage, given that they’re picking from a whole country of U16 players versus a club team. However, Poland is also at a much lower level than their Latvian and Swedish opponents. While Poland didn’t take home a third straight championship, their lone loss came to the eventual champions, HS Riga, one of the top junior programs in Latvia. Over half of Latvia’s U18 squad this year played for HS Riga at one point. Overall, the U16 squad did a good job keeping control, maintaining possession, and not giving their opponents many chances. 

On individual players, Igor Łukaszewski was named the best defenseman in the entire tournament. The Janow junior player will compete for a spot on the Poland U18 team next year. Amadeusz Tyński led Poland in goals and points with seven goals and eleven points. His 11 points were tied for the seventh most in the tournament. Tynski had a short run this year with SMS Katowice, scoring two goals in three MHL games. He dominated at the U18 level. Another member of the ‘09 class that is likely to push for the U18 squad. Antoni Galant, Stanisław Lewandowski, and Mateusz Wałęga also had strong tournaments for Poland among forwards. Aleksander Kwiatkowski and Danill Malinkovin also had good moments on the defensive front. Goalies are harder to judge given how few shots they faced in some games. Paweł Kołodziej had the best tournament, but not by much over the other goalies. It was a good tournament that continues to point towards an upward trajectory of Polish junior hockey.

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Photo Thumbnail via Riga Hockey Cup