The first month of THL action is in the books! The THL is never a boring league, whether that is drama on or off the ice. The offseason made it feel like the divide between the top teams and the rest of the league was only going to grow wider. This first month left plenty of surprises, with both teams from last year’s finals not cracking the top three. Will this parity last for the entire 2026 season?

THL Standings

THL Power Rankings

1. Unia Oswiecim (Preseason rank-4): While Kalaber is out as the leader of Team Poland, his time with Oswiecim couldn’t get off to a better start. Five straight wins to start the year and only a single overtime loss. Easy pick for the top spot.
2. Zaglebie Sosnowiec (Preseason rank-3): The goal was to aim for medals this year, and the club made a strong statement with a 6-2 win over the defending champions GKS Tychy. Some slight inconsistency to start the year never hurt the club, as their only loss was their season opener against Oswiecim.
3. JKH GKS Jastrzebie (Preseason rank-5): Jastrzebie is playing in Czechia as their home rink is rebuilt, but that hasn’t effected the team on the ice. Every game was close, with five of their six games being decided by a single goal. Jastrzebie also won five one goal games. That likely won’t last, but this team has a lot of fight.
4. GKS Katowice (Preseason rank- 2): It has been a disappointing start for Katowice. They’re high in the standings thanks to no regulation losses, but every team has kept it close with them. All of their games have been decided by a single goal. An upset lost to Cracovia drives home their early season finishing problems.
5. GKS Tychy (Preseason rank-2): The defending champions are in the middle of an early season slump. Coming off some tough opponents in the Champions Hockey League, Tychy beat Katowice in a 2025 finals rematch to start their THL season. In six games, they allowed four goals or more in all but one match. A 6-2 loss to Sosnowiec feels like it should be a major wakeup call to the team.
6. KH Torun (Preseason rank-6): No team has had a more rollercoaster of the season than Torun, and it’s only the first month. Leif Strömberg left the club after just five games, accusing team leadership of making false promises and failing to pay staff and players. On the ice, the team was able to pick up wins against Jastrzebie, Sanok, and Cracovia while keeping it close with contenders.
7. Polonia Bytom (Preseason rank-8): Andrei Buyalsky and Christian Mroczkowski have been an amazing duo, while Bogdan Dyachenko has been great in net. Everything has been kept close or been a big win for Bytom. It’s been a pretty good return to the THL.
8. Cracovia Krakow (Preseason rank-7): The offense is struggling to start the year. Cracovia is going to need more from its young depth players. The club got a big win over Katowice to end the month, which hopefully could be a spark for more.
9. STS Sanok (Preseason rank-9): It is going to be another rough year in Sanok, but Slovak goalie Juraj Ovecka looked good.

THL Players of the Month

MVP – Nikolai Syty (KH Torun). In a rough time for the Torun club, Syty continues to be committed and shine. As the club played with a shorthanded roster against Jastrzebie, he recorded four points to help them to a 5-3 win. In total, he has 11 points (3G-8A-11PTS) in seven games to start the season.

Forward – Alexander Peresunko (Unia Oswiecim). The skilled Ukrainian winger has come up huge for Oswiecim to start the year. He has recorded a point in each of Oswiecim’s six games. Already at double digit points, Peresunko has five goals and five assists.

Defenseman – Emil Bagin (JKH GKS Jastrzebie). Bagin stuck with Jastrezbie as the team faces less than ideal training circumstances. He has now been a huge part of the early season success. He finished the month with five points (2G-3A-5PTS), including a big thee point game versus Tychy.

Goalie – Bogdan Dyachenko (Polonia Bytom). The Ukraine national team star has faced the most shots in the THL this season and has the best save percentage among THL goalies. Easy choice for goalie of the month.

U23 Player – Adrian Gromadzki (Zaglebie Sosnowiec). Gromadzki returned to Poland this year after playing junior hockey in Germany and Czechia. A huge part of the future of Sosnowiec, he led all U23 skaters for September with four points (1G-3A-4PTS).

September’s Top Stories

Sept 11. STS Sanok was officially granted entry into the THL on a conditional license just days before the season began. If they don’t meet certain criteria, the team will face sanctions. It ended an offseason of constant speculation that the team would not compete in 2026. While Sanok is active in the league, financial issues remain for the club. They’re not the only club facing these issues, but their issues may be the most drastic.

Sept 11. Wiktor Cajsel resigned as president of KH Torun after 13 months. He will remain on the board of the club. Marcin Jurzysta became the new club leader. Jurzysta has been pivotal in the marketing success of the THL’s most northern team.

Sept 17. THL great and three time champion Mike Cichy announced his retirement. He was a 7th round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2009. He signed in Poland out of college and recorded 572 pts(240G-332A) in 488 THL games. He was a two time THL points leader and set the THL single-season scoring record (113 points in 55GP) in 2016. He would acquire Polish citizenship and represent the country at the 2017 Olympic Qualifiers

Sept 24. Leif Strömberg departed from KH Torun. The Swedish head coach announced his departure in a Facebook post. He noted the club was experiencing various issues, including no WIFI or mattress provided in his apartment, missed payments to players, and broken promises from management.

The club has denied the claims made by their former head coach stating that he made an emotional decision following a string of defeats. The team played their most recent match without key players in Aleksander Shkrabov, Anton Svensson, Daniil Kulintsev, Denis Fjodorovs, Michał Kalinowski, and Mikkel Jensen. Whether those absences are related to the club situation or not is currently unknown.

KH Torun announced that longtime Liiga coach and former Podhale Nowy head coach Sami Hirvonen would be joining the coaching staff.

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