At the U20 World Championship, Poland U20 has been in Division 1 Group B since 2015. The white and red have been so close to reaching the next level so many times, but has not since 2013. One of Poland’s closest calls came in 2018 when the team won silver and missed out on promotion by one point. In Bled, Slovenia, the Polish junior squad picked up wins over Italy, Ukraine, Slovenia, and Lithuania. That Slovenia squad featured future Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick and KHL forward Jan Drozg.

The first four wins set up a match-up with Norway, where the winner would take gold and promotion. Norway U20 was playing at the Division 1 Group B level for the first time in their history. The country was a mainstay of Division 1 Group A with sporadic appearances at the World Juniors. In that final game, Norway would lead for the most of it after two early second-period goals. Poland got within one to close the second, but Norway was not letting much through. In the dying seconds of the third, Alan Łyszczarczyk scored to tie it. After a scoreless overtime, Norway finally finished the game with a 2-0 advantage in the shootout.

While Poland U20 didn’t take gold, they pushed a stronger nation to the limit. If Norway U20 hadn’t had a fluke relegation in 2017, I would bet anything Poland would have won with their roster. When you look at that team coached by Canadian David Leger, you see the core of the 2025 national team. 

Three of the four players tied at three points to lead Poland were on this U20 squad. Five team members from this year’s national team played on the 2018 U20 squad. The U20 squad was led by a top line of Alan Łyszczarczyk, Bartłomiej Jeziorski, and Dominik Paś, who all played significant roles for the white and red in 2025. Also on that team was Pawel Zygmunt, one of the few Polish players to play in a stronger foreign league. The fifth player is defenseman Olaf Bizacki, who made his World Championship debut for Poland and was part of the four-way points lead tie. 

This group shows the importance of stacking good junior team after team. From 2016 to 2018, Poland won four straight silver medals at the U20 level. You look at those teams and see plenty of national team talent. 

2016 (3): Bartlomiej Jeziorski, Mateusz Goscinski, & Oskar Jaskiewicz

2017 (8): Alan Lyszczarczyk, Bartlomiej Jeziorski,  Mateusz Goscinski, Patryk Krezolek, Dominik Pas, Mateusz Zielinski, Olaf Bizacki, & Pawel Zygmunt.

2018: (5): Alan Lyszczarczyk, Bartlomiej Jeziorski, Dominik Pas, Olaf Bizacki, & Pawel Zygmunt.

2019 (5): Dominik Pas, Kamil Walega, Olaf Bizacki,  Pawel Zygmunt, & Damian Tyczynski

The U20 team’s performance has dropped off since the streak of silvers. Their best finish was fourth in 2020 and 2023. They also finished last in 2022. While being on a U20 roster is no accurate measure of one’s national team future, only one non-import player on Poland in 2025, did not appear for the white and red at the U20 level. 

There might be something to hope for Poland as Andrei Gusuov’s U18 squad has won back-to-back gold medals and promotions. They have earned their way up to Division 1 Group A for the first time in team history. Poland may be on the cusp of finding their future core.

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Photo Thumbnail via IIHF.com