The 2026 1 Liga season has come to a close! It was a much different league for the second level of men’s hockey in Poland. The league, formerly more known as the Mlodziezowa Hokej Liga, underwent major changes. In past seasons, the 1 Liga acted as both a senior and junior hockey league. This combined league hindered the development of Polish players.

This dual-purpose league would break apart in 2026. Poland had a full season of under-20 hockey as the Centralna Liga Juniorów once again played an entire season with 8 teams. 

The 1 Liga became a league focused on senior hockey, albeit still mostly focused on younger players. The league featured seven teams, down from 15 teams during the previous season. The seven teams competed in a 24-game regular season, followed by playoffs, with one team, Opole United, ineligible for the postseason. The average age of five teams in the league was over 21. The only two teams with averages under 21 were Opole United (20.88) and SMS I Katowice (16.73). Both of those teams were slightly different from the rest of the league in their roster construction. 

Opole United was a team made up of North American players. The squad was mostly comprised of players competing at the third tier of the Canadian and US junior hockey systems. The players are students at the University of Opole and also compete in the European University Hockey League (EUHL).

SMS I Katowice is a program of some of the best U18 players in Poland. For American fans, think of it as similar to the US National Development team that competes in the United States Hockey League. Of the 28 players on the entry list for this year’s Poland U18 squad, nine appeared with SMS I Katowice this season.

This year, 223 players suited up for a game in the league. Of those players, 149 (66.8%) were Polish. The most common imports were from the USA (23 players), Belarus (18), Ukraine (5), Canada (9), and Russia (3). 

Whether this new makeup will help Polish players in the long term remains to be seen, but it was still a great chance to look at some of the possible future stars of the white and red. It’s time to recap the 2026 season. 

1. MMKS Podhale Nowy Targ. Regular Season Record: 12-9-1-2. Playoffs: Champions

It has been a rough go for Nowy Targ hockey of late. Their club disappeared from the top level, and they were only a last-minute addition to the 1 Liga for 2026. This season was a needed one for their hockey community. The club was able to keep plenty of familiar faces from their 2025 Tauron Hokej Liga team, with players like Adrian Pawel Slowakiewicz, Jakub Worwa, Krzysztof Jarczyk, Lukasz Kaminski, Marcin Horzelski, and Wiktor Bochnak all staying in Nowy Targ. The team also had a pretty notable leader in Marek Ziętara, who had coached for over a decade in the THL and once led the national team.

The regular season was still mostly a bag of mixed results, but come playoff time, this group turned it on. A large part of that postseason turnaround was the play of starting goalie Kacper Zajac. In the first round, they had two tight one-goal wins against SMS I Katowice. Waiting for them in the second round was the regular season champs, UHT Sabers Oświęcim. This time in an underdog role, Podhale once again won two one-goal games to move on to the finals.

In the finals, they drew back-to-back champions Naprzód Janów Katowice. Podhale would get a big boost in defenseman Oskar Jaskiewicz. Jaskiewicz had spent the regular season with Cracovia Krakow in the THL. Game one would follow their playoff trend as Podhale won a back-and-forth game 4-3. Game two would go to Janów with a score of 2-0, Podhale’s first loss of the playoffs. Game three was as close as it could be, with neither regulation nor overtime being enough. The deciding game was settled in a shootout, with returning hero Oskar Jaskiewicz scoring the golden goal. I can’t mention the final without highlighting the stunning performance by starting goalie Kacper Zajac, who stopped 135 shots in the three-game series.

MVP: Lukasz Kaminski

2. Naprzód Janów Katowice. Regular Season Record: 12-8-3-1. Playoffs: Finals loss

Coming off back-to-back championships, Janów clearly wanted a three-peat but came up just short. With the league changing, this year’s championship might have been the hardest to win yet. Still, Grzegorz Klich’s squad was clearly up to the task as they built a lineup filled with experience from the MHL. This included THL veterans Patryk Kogut and Patrik Spěšný. But there were also a lot of great young players who maybe couldn’t find their footing at higher senior levels, but were too good for the old MHL. Aleks Menc (22yr) was dynamic offensively with 28 points (15G-13A) in just 21 games. Michał Nawrocki (22yr) was tied for the team lead in scoring with 31 points (15G-16A) after a journeyman junior career. Swedish defensemen, with Polish roots, Tymon Pyrih (20) was the breakout star and tied Nawrocki’s team point lead with 31 (5G-26A) of his own. 

In the postseason, they rolled past their first-round matchup against GKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk. They swept the first-round series with a 20-1 goal differential. They would also sweep their second-round opponent against the other squad in Gdańsk. Fudeko GAS Gdańsk put up a better fight, only losing by two in each game. The playoffs showed Janów was ready to three-peat. 

Unfortunately for Janów, they got goalied in the finals. They outshot Podhale by 17 shots in the first two games, and then by 11 in the series finale. Despite the puck control advantage, Janów would lose the series 2-1 after Podhale bookmarked the series with 4-3 wins. 

MVP: Alexis Svitac

3. UHT Sabers Oświęcim. Regular Season Record: 19-2-2-1. Playoffs: Bronze Series Win

The most experienced squad in the 1 Liga, Oświęcim dominated the regular season. In total, they have only lost three games all year. Former KHL, Belarus, and Poland national team head coach Andrei Sidorenko once again led them. The squad also addressed issues from the previous year with the EUHL, as they once again competed in both the 1 Liga and EUHL.

There were two big forces that made them so unbeatable in the regular season. First was offensively explosive imports with Alexander Sadovsky, Mikhail Sokolov, Illia Baida, Ilya Dubsky, Ivan Gromyko, and Volodymyr Zakharevych all finishing well above a point per game. The other half was having a three-headed monster in net, with Anton Dyukov, Jan Kusak, and Igor Tyczyński delivering big games. 

They received a first-round bye for the playoffs, but ran into a hot Podhale Nowy Targ in the second round. In game one, they fell in overtime 5-4. But in the second game, their league-leading offense went quiet as they fell 2-1. In the bronze series, it seems some of the disappointment carried over as they lost game one, 4-1. But their strengths showed up in the remainder of the series, as they won 6-1 and 5-2 to capture bronze ove Gdańsk. 

MVP: Alexander Sadovsky

4. Fudeko GAS Gdańsk. Regular Season Record: 13-8-2-1. Playoffs: Bronze Series Loss

It was another challenging season for Fudeko GAS Gdańsk as they continued to be barred from their home rink, Hala Olivia, due to the political situation between them and GKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk. The club was forced to play and practice an hour away at Elbląg’s Lodowisko Helena.

Despite the challenges posed by the rink situation, Fudeko GAS Gdańsk built a solid team and succeeded on the ice, finishing second in the regular season. Leading the team again was former THL great Josef Vítek.  The club made headlines in the offseason by signing former Polish national team forwards Igor Smal and Szymon Marzec. With 698 games in the THL, Szymon Marzec was the most experienced player in the league by over 100 games. Along with a few key imports, they carried a team of inexperienced but developing homegrown Polish juniors. This group was strong defensively, allowing the fewest goals in the league. A big part of this was the goaltending duo of Andrew Rocha and Mikolaj Szczepkowski. On the other side, they lacked offensive firepower, with the third-fewest goals for in the league. Of the league’s top four teams, they were the only one that failed to break the 100-goal mark as they finished at 91. 

Their second-place regular-season finish earned them a bye to begin the postseason. In round two, they ran into a determined Naprzód Janów, who quickly won the best-of-three series. In the bronze medal series, Fudeko GAS Gdańsk got the start they needed with a 4-1 win, but dropped the final two games, finishing with an 11-3 goal differential. It was a solid season for Poland’s northernmost hockey team, and hopefully this program continues to grow. 

MVP: Szymon Marzec

On a side note, Canadian goalie Andrew Rocha has been vlogging his experience with the team. If you’re curious about what it’s like to play in the 1 Liga, his videos are a great in-depth look. 

5. Opole United. Record: 10-10-2-2. Playoffs: Not Eligible

Opole United was an interesting team. The team was composed entirely of North American players, primarily from the Eastern Hockey League and the North American 3 Hockey League. The team does have plans to incorporate Polish players in the future. Former MHL leading scorer Devin Panzeca served as the director of operations, while former Polish national team defenseman Bartlomiej Bychawski was in charge behind the bench. This is not the first time the league has seen one of these North American squads, as Opole HK competed in the league in a similar manner.

Thankfully, outside of some rink scheduling issues, this team was pretty drama-free off the ice compared to its predecessor. The talent range of the team was pretty mixed, leading to the .500 record. Alexis Toussaint led the league in regular-season scoring with 45 points (24G-21A) and was 19 points ahead of anyone else on his squad. This led to Toussaint being called up to finish the year with Cracovia in the THL. Defenseman and captain Gavin Black was also a highlight until a scary season-ending head injury in the tenth match. Opole was a solid addition to the league, and it also helps paint a clearer picture of where Polish junior hockey lies. 

MVP: Alexis Toussaint

6. SMS I Katowice. Record: 6-16-0-2. Playoffs: Qualification Loss 

Serving as a U18 squad of some of the best Poles, it’s understandable that Katowice finishes towards the bottom of the table. With an average age just over 4 years younger than any other team, it was good to see them compete. Leading the charge once again was Artur Slusarczyk, former head coach of the Polish national junior team. Some of the players who really stood out were Aleksander Wanat, Amadeusz Tynski, Antoni Galant, Borys Dawid, and Radoslaw Kot. Kacper Rydzon grabbed the starting role in goal and really delivered, especially in the playoffs.

In the qualification round, Katowice kept it really tight against the eventual champions. They lost game one 1-0, while game two went to a shootout, which Podhale won 6-5.  

MVP: Antoni Galant

7. GKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk. Record: 0-23-0-1. Playoffs: Qualification Loss. 

The black sheep of the league, Gdańsk, went winless during the season. Their lone point came in their second game of the season, a 4-3 overtime loss against rival Fudeko GAS Gdańsk. They struggled at both ends of the ice with the lowest amount of goals for (44) and goals against (165). Head coach Rafal Cychowski was pulling double duty with the 1 Liga team and Gdansk’s TLHK team until a late-season coaching change for the women’s team. An interesting addition was former Northern Michigan University forward Kory Kaunisto. The former NCAA Division One athlete had been playing in the 2. Liga for the past few years. In the qualification round, their season ended after losing in two games with a combined score of 20-1 versus Janów. 

MVP: Alexei Furman

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Thumbnail Photo via polskihokej.eu