Polish hockey is a roller coaster. While the dips get the most attention, there has always been a climb back to the top. Over the past 5 years, we have seen plenty of medals brought back to Poland by their squads. 

• The men’s senior squad has won gold and silver in Division 1 across groups A and B. 
• The women’s senior team has captured three silvers, with two at the Division 1 level and one at the Division 2 level.
• Men’s U18 has earned back-to-back gold medals and promotion all the way up to Division 1 Group A.
• The women’s junior team has four straight medals in D1B, with three silver and one bronze. 

Then there is Poland U20, which has not finished higher than fourth place since 2019, with only two 4th-place finishes. At the World Juniors, the white and red have only managed to stay in Division 1 thanks to a generous amount of luck, massive upsets, and the invasion of Ukraine. It has just felt like a continuous straight drop for Poland at this event, with the performances getting worse every year after a string of four straight silver medals. 

Last year’s team might have been the worse yet. Poland, the oldest team in the tournament, collapsed late versus, the youngest team, Estonia. They only stayed in the group thanks to a 2-1 win over South Korea on the final day.

This offseason came sweeping change. First was the end of the dual 1st league and U20 league. The Polska 1. Liga is now its own distinct league with six of the seven teams having an average age of 20.21 or over. At the same time, the Centralna Liga Juniorow is once again its own league with a full regular season and features eight teams. Playing competitive games with players of similar or better skill is essential for development, and Poland is finally back to that. 

The other major move for Poland was promoting its entire U18 staff to the U20 jobs. Andrei Gusov (Polonia Bytom Head Coach) and his assistants Łukasz Podsiadło (KH Torun Assistant), Łukasz Sokół, and Tomasz Kowalczyk were all moved up. Gusov is a longtime head coach who has worked at all three IIHF levels with Belarus. He has been working in Poland since 2018 and acquired Polish citizenship. The U18 staff had done a fantastic job of pulling off one of the hardest things in international hockey: earning back-to-back promotions. But can Gusov and his staff pull it off for a third straight season at a new level?

5 Players To Watch 

Mateusz Majkowski

This is a year where I would say the U20 team doesn’t have a huge star that could carry the team like years in the past (e.g., Alan Łyszczarczyk, Jakub Lewandowski). Majkowski would be the closest player to that on this year’s roster. The 18-year-old defenseman won back-to-back Best Defenseman honors at the D2A and D1B U18 World Championships. He plays at the top U20 level in Czechia, and already tripled his point total (1G-8A-9PTS) from last season. He made his first appearance for Poland U20 last year, and I’m excited to see what he can do in his second chance. 

Igor Tyczyński 

Tyczyński has long been considered the best goaltending prospect in Poland. 2025 will be his third time as the starting goalie for Poland U20. This year has been a breakout year on the professional side as he boasts a .934 SV% in 13 THL games with Unia Oswiecim. This season include games in which he stopped 35 of 36 shots against GKS Tychy and 42 of 44 versus GKS Katowice. His success in Poland’s top league should give white and red a lot of hope that Tyczyński can steal games during the tournament. Go back to last year, and in between some huge games, there were struggles for Tyczyński. That led to backup Jakub Wieczorek also getting starts and action. It begs the question of whether Tobiasz Jaworski will get a chance, especially given that he is Polonia Bytom’s backup and the star of Gusov’s U18 squad last year.

Adam Sawicki

Sawicki is one of the few returners on offense. He showed both promise and room for improvement last year. The young forward has been playing in the States these past two years in the third tier of US junior hockey. He’s had an impressive sophomore season with the Lewiston MAINEiacs, and is tied for second in goals on the team. Poland only returns four goals from last season. Sawicki had one of them. If Sawicki can step up and score multiple, it would be huge for the team. He scored in the pre-tournament exhibition vs. Lithuania. 

Rafał Drabik

Drabik has really impressed this year with GKS Tychy. He has five points (3G-2A-5PTS) in 18 games. He also had some good moments in the Champions Hockey League despite limited ice time. The 19-year-old was a surprise cut from the squad last year, and he deserved a spot in my opinion. This year I expect him to be a key forward and really help drive the offense. On Gusov’s first U18 squad in 2024, Drabik led the team in points with 9 (2G-7A-9PTS). 

Bartłomiej Stolarski 

Stolarski has felt like one of the most complete prospects in Poland for a while. This year, he has really stepped up and leads all U20 players in THL scoring with 8 points (4G-4A-8PTS). Stolarski is another one of the few returning offensive players. He showed flashes, but ultimately his line struggled to finish last year. Stolarski will be an X-factor player for the Polish offense. If he is playing well and producing, Poland is doing pretty well. If he is struggling, I’m not sure if Poland will compete for a medal. 

Game by Game View 

Game 1. December 8th vs. Italy

Opponent to Watch: Jacopo De Luca (F)

Poland kicks off with a very familiar rival in Italy. In years past, Italy was really starting to produce a good number of junior skaters playing in strong leagues outside Italy. This year, it’s just four players with only two, Jacopo De Luca (QMJHL) and Rocco Meneghetti (U20 Nationell), playing in what I consider top junior leagues. Italy lost a World Juniors warm-up match to Japan 4-3, and the reports we got are not hopeful for promotion. Poland stunned Italy two years ago with a win on the final day. Italy got revenge last year, winning 7-4 despite being outshot 38-24. This is a very winnable game for Poland, and I will predict a win. 

Game 2. December 9th vs. Japan

Opponent to Watch: Hyuga Miura (F) 

Japan is always the ultimate wildcard team. Not a lot of information is readily available about their team.  (On the slight chance a team Japan fan or journalist is checking out our preview, feel free to connect!). On top of that, they’re one of the most unpredictable teams in terms of results since 2020, as they have played in D1A, D1B, and D2A with a different finish each year. They beat Italy in a pre-warmup match, 4-3. But the reports we have received have not been great. This will be all the players graduating from the U18 classes that suffered back-to-back relegations. An explosive offense from last year is returning a single point, Daigo Hotta, who had one assist. I see this as a Polish victory, but I never want to count out Japan. 

Game 3. December 11th vs. Hungary

Opponent to Watch: Domán Szongoth (F)

Hungary is coming in as the tournament favorite. They have a stacked roster led by 2026 NHL draft prospect Domán Szongoth. Polish fans might remember Domán Szongoth as the 16-year-old who played with Hungary during the 2024 Sosnowiec Cup. The 17-year-old has already played at the senior level with Hungary at the Olympic Qualifiers and World Championships. It’s a team loaded with talent, many of whom have experience in the Finnish junior system. Goaltending and being a young team are likely your weak points. That will likely not be enough to keep Hungary from gold. I see this as a Polish loss. 

Game 4. December 13th vs. Estonia

Opponent to Watch: Maksim Burkov (F)

While Hungary might have the top forward in the tournament, Estonia might have the next two. Maksim Burkov has already been playing in the Maxa Liga at 19 years old and has 10 points (5G-5A-10PTS) in 23 games. He is returning after having 6 points (3G-3A-6PTS) at last year’s event. David Timofejev matched his six points (4G-2A-6PTS) last year and is set to return as well. Timofejev is having a great year in Finland and is fourth in U20 SM-sarja scoring among players in their draft-eligible +2 season. There is a lot of interesting young talent, but not depth on this squad. Estonia will be the youngest team at the tournament and the only one with an average age under 18 (Pending Hungary final roster). Last year, Poland collapsed against Estonia. The white and red were up 2-1 with four minutes to go, and lost 3-2. It was a game that, to me, was entirely at the fault of the staff. With a better coach, I’d pick Poland to win this one. 

Game 5. December 14th vs. Lithuania 

Opponent to Watch: Simas Ignatavicius (F)

Poland ends their schedule with the quick rising Lithuania. Last season, they earned promotion to Division 2 Group A and gold. They have a roster that is highly diverse in talent, with players playing at the highest junior leagues in the world, while also having some of the players at the bottom of the division one talent pool. That top talent concerns me, and I see them having a chance to pull off back-to-back promotions. The weak spot will be in the net with no goalie having stand out potential. Poland played them in a pre-world juniors warm-up match that ended with a 3-2 shootout win for Lithuania. I don’t believe that game means Poland will automatically lose again. It was close and Poland played all three of their goalies in it, with each getting a period. Still in the rematch, I’m taking Lithuania as Poland will suffer their second loss. 

Final Thoughts

For Poland this U20 team is a step forward. Both because of a greater depth of talent and because some opponents are having down years. I see Poland finishing with three wins and two losses, comfortably staying in Division 1 Group B and having a chance at a bronze or silver medal. I see only one team in this event where Poland would require a major upset, and that is Hungary. Otherwise, there could be a wide range of results out of this tournament. Poland chose to go with Gusov after his success at the U18 level with this group of players. It’s going to be interesting to see if Gusov continues their development. Regardless of tournament results, Poland junior hockey is in a better place than it was last year.

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