In my decade-plus covering the Tauron Hokej Liga (THL), I have seen plenty of shifts. One of the most obvious shifts is among players from outside Poland who enter the league. During the 2010s, the league saw tons of players from Czechia and Russia. Now, in the 2020s, it’s become almost all Finnish imports. 

In the 2026 season, 103 imports from 12 different countries played at least 5 games in the THL. Finnish players make up just under 40% (41) of those imports. Only Canada (13) and Sweden (10) also had double-digit players. 

At this point its never a surprise to see a new Fin in the league. The number of Finnish staff in the league, as well as the lower cost of living, make Poland very attractive. We dove deeper into the Finnish connections in 2025. Still, we might have seen the peak in 2026. 41 players is the highest number of imports from any country since 2016, and its a 11 player increase over last season. The only other notable country to rise was Canada, which saw three more players arrive. A lot of these numbers are likely to take a small hit as the 10 Pole minimum comes into play for the 2027 season. 

Leading the way on the decline was Sweden. After 23 players in 2025, there were only 10 this past year. This was also the second season since we started tracking in 2015, in which Czech imports were in the single digits, with Czechia dropping to 7. 

The massive rise of Fins did kinda make the league feel empty in terms of different players. After 17 different countries had a THL player in 2024, that number was down to just 12 this past season. The league was set to have its first Norwegian players this year, but Jørgen Hanneborg and Cracovia parted ways just before the season began. Alan Lizatovic was the first Croatian player to appear in the THL since 2016. 

Imports make up a big part of the league, but what about the Poles? There has been a lot of concern about the decline in Polish players this decade. Obviously, limited and no import rules have had an impact on that. But last year saw the first rise in Polish players since 2016. Did that trend continue? 

Polish players once again rose in the league, hitting their highest number since 2021. I also believe it’s a much healthier form of growth. Last year, the total was slightly boosted by Podhale and Sanok trying out so many young players. This year saw a lot more consistent Polonia Bytom take the place of Podhale, while Sanok used nine fewer players from the previous season. Cracovia definitely relied more on younger Polish players this year, which also contributed to the increase. 

This growth in Polish players feels a lot more authentic. Even as the league remained at 9 teams, the average was 17 Poles played at least five games per club. But overall, not much changed, as the share of imports fell from 42.06% to 39.9%. There were 11 more Poles and three fewer imports. 

Among European countries, Poland still has the fourth-highest percentage for top leagues. They are far from the top three and closer to average, even if on the high end. Overall, I don’t see the THL ten-player limit for next year really affecting these numbers much.

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