After making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time, there was some hope Metropolia Silesia could make it three straight. Instead, 2026 may be the club’s worst performance in their short history. 

The team had some notable shake-ups that affected their performance. The biggest was the absence of star goaltender Martyna Sass. With Sass out for the season, the white and red lost a player who could steal any game. The squad may also have lost its chosen backup, as top prospect Justyna Koszyk moved to Canada to continue her junior career. The starting spot would go to Nadia Ratajczyk. The former NDHL goalie was also the starter at last year’s World Championship. She now had a chance to cement her spot as Poland’s number one goalie. 

The defense was relatively stable, with many key players appearing. The only major change was Wiktoria Gogoc’s absence from the team, while Natalia Wańczuk debuted in a large role. The only issue on defense was never having the team together, as out of the 22 games, only two defensemen played in more than 17 games (W. Kedra and N. Nosal at 22 GP). 

Offensively, Metropolia Silesia definitely missed out on hockey prodigy Malgorzata Zakrzewska after she made the move to Canada for her club season. But they mainly faced the issue of getting the full group together. Only six players managed to play in 17 or more games. The team was left pretty shorthanded in the offensive line up plenty of times.  

Final roster

In order of games played

Goalies: Nadia Ratajczyk (20 GP, .871SV%), Alicja Kobiela (4GP, .847SV%), Agata Kosinska (2GP, .844SV%), & Katarzyna Radomska (2GP, ,826SV%) 

Defensemen: Natalia Nosal (22GP, 7PTS), Wiktoria Kedra (22GP, 1PTS), Nikola Isztok (17GP, 2PTS), Patrycja Sfora (17GP, 4PTS), Natalia Wanczuk (14GP, 6PTS), Dominika Korkuz (12GP, 4PTS), Klaudia Chrapek (12GP, 2PTS), Anna Kot (7GP, 2PTS), Barbara Mitukiewicz (6GP, 1PTS), & Milena Piasecka (1GP, 0PTS)

Forwards: Ida Talanda (22GP, 7PTS), Karolina Pozniewska (22GP, 26PTS), Magdalena Lapies (19GP, 10PTS), Aleksandra Gorska (18GP, 6PTS), Alicja Mota (18GP, 0PTS), Ewelina Czarnecka (17GP, 7PTS), Emilia Stankiewicz (16GP, 6PTS), Weronika Huchel (16GP, 3PTS), Maja Brzezinska (13GP, 6PTS),  Julia Lapinska (10GP, 1PTS), Lena Zieba (10GP, 0PTS), Joanna Strzelecka (9GP, 2PTS), Agata Cybulska (8GP, 3PTS), Karolina Gawandtka (8GP, 1PTS), Olivia Tomczok (6GP, 1PTS), & Wiktoria Dziwok (6GP, 3PTS) 

Season 

The start of the year was always going to be rough as they opened with league heavyweight Aisulu Almaty. The Kazakhstan club was last year’s champions and finished second in the regular season for 2026. In game one of the two-game series, Metropolia Silesia kept pace but ultimately lost 6-4. The second game would be a more expected result as the Polish club fell 9-2. 

October and November were filled with solid results as Metropolia Silesia went 4-5-0-1. This included 29 goals in 10 games, giving the offense just under 3 a game. It looked like Metropolia Silesia would at least be able to stack some wins this year. This was especially true after they stayed competitive and split their series with Italy’s EV Bozen Eagles. There were warning signs. The wins mostly came against the fellow teams at the bottom of the league, with three of the wins being against Graz99ers Huskies (12th of 12 teams) and Lakers Kärnten (10th). The team also allowed 31 goals in those games, an average of just above three per game. 

The warning signs were right, as just one more point would come over the rest of the season. That point being an overtime loss to Budapest JA on February 15th. From December to the end of the season, the club went 0-9-0-1. They only scored 15 goals while giving up 53. The lack of depth really began to show, and a shorthanded Metropolia Silesia would miss the playoffs by 11 points. They finished in 11th place and would be 9 points back of tenth place.

Final Thoughts

The depth issues were the number-one problem for Metropolia Silesia this year. But still, two other issues can’t be ignored. Martyna Sass was a top goaltender who carried Poland to big wins. Without her, Poland just hasn’t had the same level in net or close to it. That is not to put down Nadia Ratajczyk, but it’s clear that Sass was the player who elevated Poland to another level. 

The other issue for Poland is that veterans have started to decline, while the overall depth of the program has not risen. Young players have started to appear, with 10 on the roster, but their impact has been pretty limited. Among U20 players, only a few have really started to contribute offensively. Magdalena Lapies has continued to lead the U20 scorers, posting a career-high 10 EWHL points. She was second on the team in points and one of two players to reach double-digit points. Newcomers Emilia Stankiewicz and Natalia Wańczuk also made contributions with six points each. The rest of the U20 class only had 8 points in 53 combined games. 

The squad has started to see a widening gap in skating and the defensive game. Metropolia Silesia’s 4.68 goals against is the highest number of goals the team has allowed, by over half a goal per game, in club history. The team only outshot their opponent in 7 of 22 games and were outshot by an average of 5 shots per game.  

If the five U18 debuts continue to grow, Metropolia Silesia could compete for a playoff spot next year. The biggest problem for the team has been select players moving to stronger leagues, while the overall depth of the women’s program has not risen as fast. 

It’s why the poor regular season doesn’t leave me concerned for the World Championship. At the event, Poland will likely be joined by players from foreign leagues, including Malgorzata Zakrzewska, Tetiana Onyshchenko, and Wiktoria Sikorska. The level will also be much lower. While I don’t want to disparage any opponent, this should be a one-game tournament for Poland. The only opponent close in talent is Slovenia.

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