The holiday season has come and gone. It’s a new year and a fresh start for everyone. National team and holiday breaks resulted in a short month of games, with only four or five per club. But the league is inches away from the conclusion of the regular season and the transfer deadline. Early-season parity has disappeared, but there are still not many easy games. That was proven in the Polish Cup, where JKH GKS Jastrzebie went from tournament underdog to champion.

THL Standings

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	PTS
1	GKS Katowice	27	16	3	2	6	58
2	Zaglebie Sosnowiec	27	17	6	3	1	58
3	Unia Oswiecim	28	17	7	1	3	56
4	GKS Tychy	27	14	9	3	1	49
5	JKH GKS Jastrzebie	27	12	8	4	3	47
6	KH Torun	28	12	11	1	4	42
7	Polonia Bytom	28	10	15	2	1	35
8	Cracovia Krakow	26	5	16	4	1	24
9	STS Sanok	28	0	28	0	0	0

THL Power Rankings

1. Zaglebie Sosnowiec (Nov. Rank-1): A solid 5-1 month keeps Sosnowiec at the top of the rankings. That one loss came at the hands of GKS Katowice, which helped them make up significant ground in a tight standings race. Sosnowiec would get its revenge, eliminating Katowice in the Polish Cup semi-finals. With their first chance at hardware, Sosnowiec suffered an upset loss to Jastrzebie in the finals.
2. GKS Katowice (Nov. Rank-2): Katowice’s December was perfect in the THL as they picked up five wins in five games. The big one being a 3-1 over table leader Sosnowiec. They find themselves tied at the top of the standings to start 2026. At the Polish Cup, they were eliminated in the semi-finals at the hands of Sosnowiec.
3. Unia Oswiecim (Nov. rank-5): It was a good month for the blue and white. The club picked up wins over Cracovia, Torun, Polonia, and Sanok. They also took Sosnowiec to overtime. An upset semi-final loss in the Polish Cup is disappointing, but without Lundin, it was understandable.
4. GKS Tychy (Nov. Rank-3): Tychy seemed back with a vengeance last month, but cooled off as the winter hit. Losses to Katowice and Sosnowiec keep them from joining the top three. The club made a couple of transfers in December, but will that result in Tychy climbing to the top?
5. JKH GKS Jastrzebie (Nov. Rank-6): Jastrzebie didn’t have a great month of regular-season action. But they proved they’re still dangerous as the club won the Polish Cup with wins over Oswiecim and Sosnowiec. Leszek Laszkiewicz and Rafal Bernacki would be my pick for general manager and coach of the year.
6. KH Torun (Nov. Rank-4): The once most feared offense in Poland was quiet in December. The club lost four straight before beating Sanok to finish the month. I still wouldn’t want to get Torun in the playoffs, but holes are starting to show more and more.
7. Polonia Bytom (Nov. Rank-7): A rough schedule saw Polonia have to face all of the top four teams in the THL in a row. Only one game was more than a two-goal loss. They started with an 8-1 win over Sanok, but that was the lone bright spot.
8. Cracovia Krakow (Nov. Rank-8): Cracovia has continued to improve during the season. The team secured an overtime win over Katowice and victories over Sanok and Torun. If they keep up their current pace, they may catch Polonia for seventh place.
9. STS Sanok (Nov. rank-9): Sanok came so close to points as they only lost by a single goal to Jastrzebie…

THL Players of the Month

MVP – Fredrik Forsberg (JKH GKS Jastrzebie). Forsberg only logged a single regular-season THL game in December. He returned to the lineup for the Polish Cup and transformed the Jastrzebie offense with four points (2G-2A) in the tournament.

Forward – Erik Ahopelto (Unia Oswiecim). The veteran import continues to lead in Oswiecim. December was a massive month as Ahopelto posted 10 points (5G-5A) in five games. Three games of three points or more is dominance in December.

Defenseman – Aku Alho (JKH GKS Jastrzebie). Alho’s return to the THL has been great for Jastrezbie. December might have been his best month yet. The Finnish defender scored twice in Jastrebie’s 3-1 win over Polonia. He also scored against Torun to open the month, bringing his total to three goals in five games.

Goalie – Niilo Halonen (Zaglebie Sosnowiec). Halonen came up huge in four games this month. The Finnish netminder only allowed six goals on 135 shots against four of the league’s best offenses.

U23 Player – Blazej Chodor (GKS Katowice). Chodor scored against Tychy and picked up an assist against Sanok, helping Katowice to a perfect month.

December’s Top Stories

December 5th. Swedish defenseman Victor Björkung has been signed by Zaglebie Sosnowiec. The 32-year-old defenseman has a strong resume, having played in the NCAA, HockeyAllsvenskan, Metal Ligaen, the Tipsport Liga, and Norway’s Eliteserien. A two-way defenseman with strong puck-moving ability, Björkung spent last season in France, recording 37 points (7G-30A) in 48 games with Marseille.

December 10th. Torun has picked up Finnish defenseman Jesper-Juhani Ilvessuo. The 28-year-old has spent the majority of career in the second level of Finland, but also had stints in the Erste Liga. He served in a captain and assistant captain role with KOOVEE.

December 14th. A former Olympian is heading to Sosnowiec. Jonas Enlund, who represented Finland at the 2018 games, has joined the standings leader. The Atlanta Thrashers drafted the Finnish forward in the 6th round of the 2006 NHL draft. He has spent most of his career in the KHL and Liiga, but also appeared in the DEL. He has 546 KHL games and 347 Liiga games to his name. The former Liiga goal leader spent last season with the league’s Pelicans.

December 18th. Another American joined the THL as Chase Phelps signed with KH Torun. The former Boston College forward was most recently playing in the second division of Italy. Phelps spent the previous 5 seasons in the HockeyEttan. The 28-year-old represented the USA at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial.

December 20th. It seems things may be falling apart in Sanok again. Before their match against KH Torun, Sanok players refused to take the ice in a protest that lasted just over 10 minutes. Players eventually returned to the ice for puck drop and were assessed a delay-of-game penalty by the officials. The protest is rumored to be due to missed payments to players.

December 28th & 30th. Tychy is loading up ahead of the playoffs! First, they signed Latvian national team goalie Ēriks Vītols. He started this year in Slovakia, but struggled and played only 6 games. Vītols previously played in the KHL, Liiga, and Mestis. They also picked up longtime HC Vítkovice member and once Czech international Lukáš Kovář. The 6’7 defenseman had split this season between the top two levels of Czechia. The 33-year-old has 536 Tipsport Extraliga games on his resume.

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