Earlier this June, I posted a graphic showing off the projected 2026 Tauron Hokej Liga (THL) goaltending tandems. I got a message from a former foreign Sanok player jokingly asking where the club was. He also joked that, who knows, maybe a rich foreign investor is coming to save the club; it works in soccer. Little did we both know that, days later, the exact same situation would unfold in Sanok. 

Sanok is one of the best hockey cities in Poland. I have no issue stating that as a fact. The city itself is not large, with a reported population of only 36,703. Hockey games were always well attended, with just over 1,580 fans typically packing the stands to cheer on their hometown club during the 2023 season.

That attendance reached its lowest in 2026, with only 845 fans per game reported. The decline in attendance directly correlates with a decline in club performance and a massive loss of trust in the organization. As a hockey club, Sanok has put its city, fans, and players through a lot. It would be a struggle to reduce that history to a short account that captures how drama-filled it has been. From players playing for free, to imports paying to play, 20+ fake emails about a coach being fired, to accusations that players are putting more focus on floor hockey than on ice hockey. It has never been fun to try to cover Sanok. Which is a shame, given how influential the team was to Polish hockey in the 2010s, and even played a major role in my introduction to it.

The Last Rebirth 

Just over a decade ago, in 2012, KH Sanok were crowned the champions of Poland. The club was loaded with legends of the national team; all with the team that year were Krystian Dziubiński, Krzysztof Zapała, Marcin Kolusz, Paweł Dronia, Tomasz Malasiński, and Przemysław Odrobny.

They failed to achieve their goal of repeating as champions. The 2013 team only lost 8 games in the regular season but fell to GKS Tychy in the bronze-medal matchup. 2014 looked like it was going to be even rougher. A group of foreign investors from Russia had purchased and revived KTH Krynica. With their new money, Krynica signed most of those national team greats away from the 2012 Sanok Championship team. 

The Krynica club quickly collapsed financially, but Sanok rebuilt with star imports such as John Murray, Petr Sinagl, and Samson Mahbod. They would also return many of the Polish stars who had left after Krynica failed to pay up on their contracts. The foreign-led Krynica squad died after one season, and Sanok were once again champions in 2014. 

The effort to go back-to-back once again came up short in 2015, with a bronze-medal loss. 2016 would be another year of medals, as the team lost to Podhale Nowy Targ again in the bronze-medal game. Despite a disappointing bronze finish, Sanok remained one of the top teams in Poland.

That bronze battle would be their final game for a while. On July 6, 2016, the club announced it would not participate in the 2017 THL season due to organizational issues. 

The Return and Fade

After not playing hockey in 2017, the club returned in 2018 in an unexpected form as Ciarko KH 58 Sanok. They applied for and were granted a place in the third level of Slovakia. They would spend 2 years in Slovakia before returning to Polish hockey. Their return to Poland came in the second level under the name UKS Niedźwiadki MOSiR Sanok. That year, the club would play in both Poland and Slovakia.

Finally, in July 2020, STS Sanok was established as a new company and received a license to play in the 2021 THL season. Ciarko took over as the title sponsor, and the team played as Ciarko STS Sanok. While the first two seasons in the league were not perfect by any means, they showed the sport’s potential in the city. They made the playoffs in each of those years and posted 15 and 16 wins. 

On June 9th, 2022, a massive fire broke out at the Ciarko manufacturing plant in Sanok. The damage to the factory caused the company to withdraw its title sponsorship from the hometown hockey club. Initial efforts to secure a sponsor were unsuccessful, and the team announced on July 15th that they would play only at the second level for the 2023 season. But just five days later, they would gain the sponsorship guarantees needed to play in the THL after all. The team entered 2023 as Marma Ciarko STS Sanok. It was the club’s best season since their return to the THL, as their 17 wins saw them finish in sixth place. 

Things started to fall apart in 2024. This season was the beginning of the end, as the club faced a reduced budget and tried its best to fight back and survive. After 19 games, captain Sami Tamminen departed the club mid-way through his third season. For the first time since their return, they missed the playoffs after winning only 4 games

Going into the 2025 season, Sportowy Sanok Spółka Akcyjna was established to manage the team. Marta Przybysz was then named as president, Texom was the title sponsor, and Elmo Aittola returned as head coach. The club faced an even further reduced budget.

Despite the off-ice issues, they at least had company in a similarly struggling Podhale Nowy Targ. Being allowed to beat up on Podhale (who finished 1-38-0-1) a couple of times allowed Sanok to return to the playoffs with only six wins. In the postseason, they were swept by GKS Tychy. The team may have reached a new low when they launched a fan-funded fundraiser to help pay off their debt. They raised less than 20,000 zloty of their one-million zloty goal. 

The Disaster 2026 

If Sanok would even play in the league in 2026 came down to the final days before licensing was due. Enormous pressure was placed on multiple coaches and players to alter their owed payments from the club, including outreach from the PZHL. A few held their ground, and Sanok managed to find the money to settle those debts at the eleventh hour.

From the first puck drop, the 2026 playoffs were a pipedream. Any wins would be few and far between. But maybe the season wouldn’t be all bad. In their first match-up, they led JKH GKS Jastrzębie for 44 minutes. With 16 minutes to go, Sanok would surrender two third-period goals to Daniels Berzins and lose 2-1. While it was a rough loss to start the season, it gave some hope that this team could keep pace with the middle of the table.

That first game would be the closest of their entire 2026 season. They would only suffer one additional defeat by a single goal, while the rest were by two goals or more. Fast-forward to January 23rd, and a club that was the champion of Poland just a decade ago was on a 32-game losing streak. Despite the hopelessness, just over 750 Sanok fans filed into Arena Sanok to watch their beloved club lose 7-0 to Unia Oswiecim. It was their 33rd straight loss and would become the final home game of the year. On January 28th, 34 games into the THL season, Sanok finally admitted its defeat for 2026.

In the team’s final days, players and coaches allege they were owed payments dating back several months. This was a known issue: during the season, on December 28th, Sanok players refused to take the ice for almost a quarter of an hour in protest over missed payments. The players had had enough on January 27th, when the entire team reportedly walked out over payments that were two weeks late. 

In the club’s announcement about withdrawing from the THL season, they said discussions were ongoing about December’s payment to players, but they did not owe anything for the prior months. They also stated that the club’s decision to forfeit the rest of the season was ultimately due to a lack of players.

The New Investors 

When Sanok mayor Tomasz Matuszewski called a press conference to announce a saved team and new investment, many were caught off guard. The whole thing was shrouded in secrecy. Plenty of the people that we talked to in the Polish hockey space had no idea who this magical savior of the team was. Maybe that was the initial goal, given how the reaction followed. 

On June 11th, Sanok announced that the legendary Ukrainian team Sokil Kyiv and its strategic partner would invest in the club. They would provide the club with an operating budget of one million Euros and pay off the club’s outstanding debts. Sanok Mayor Tomasz Matuszewski said attempts to find a domestic partner were unsuccessful. Staff changes were also announced at the press conference.

New key leaders: 

• President – Marek Pieniążek (Poland)
• Sporting Director – Vyacheslav Letskan (Ukraine)
• Team Manager – Sergei Nosenko (Ukraine)
• Head coach – Oleg Shafarenko (Ukraine)

Marta Przybysz also resigned from her position, but it is not believed that she is exiting the club completely. Letskan, Nosenko, and Shafarenko all come over from the Sokil Kyiv organization. 

Talks with the Ukrainian club and partner reportedly took 20 days and were encouraged by PZHL’s president, Krzysztof Wozniak. The club’s debt was just over 800,000 złoty, though some sources put it closer to 1,000,000. The debt owed to players is around 100,000 złoty. The city of Sanok will retain 100% of the club shares, according to the new president.

Players from Sokil Kyiv will be playing in STS Sanok jerseys next year. Kyiv will be icing a team in the Ukrainian hockey league as well. According to sporting director Vyacheslav Letskan, the team will be renamed with a combination name, “Sanok-Sokil, Sokil-Sanok or something like that.” The team will be a mix of homegrown players from Sanok and the best from the Kyiv team. In addition, there is likely to be import support, with a rumored addition to the goaltending room soon.

It’s currently unconfirmed whether the team will still need to meet the 10 Pole minimum for the 2026 season. In an interview with champion.com.ua, Vyacheslav Letskan stated, “There are no quotas. The composition of Sokol will not change in general. Our composition will not change.”

What is the Feeling?

The reaction of Sanok fans and players has been strong anger and betrayal. Many players we talked to, past and present, of Sanok called it a betrayal, a slap in the face, and misleading. Fans also seemed unhappy with the choice, but more understanding of why the action was taken.

There are a lot of emotions at play, and fears we have commonly heard:

• Rising tensions in the Polish-Ukrainian relationship would lead to no fan support.
• The club had already burned so many bridges with fans.
• A lack of young Polish talent playing in the top league will worsen due to the spots reserved for Ukrainian players.
• Players who took less or even played for nothing based on the promise that things would get better with them. Now they’ll be discarded.
• What is going to happen to youth hockey in the city?
• Will it even be Sanok?

Former Sanok Captain Jakub Bukowski took to Facebook, posting numerous comments about how the players and staff were betrayed by the executive staff. This includes alleging that they had still received no contact from the team regarding missed payments, and that head coach Boguslaw Rapala had not been paid since October. 

Poslat hockey analyst Grzegorz Michalewski also took to Facebook with a statement before the official press conference after the rumors of the Ukrainian investment first appeared on Hokej.net.

After reading an article on the hokej.net website, I hope these are just rumors and that STS Sanok will enter the new season as STS Sanok, a two-time Polish champion and two-time Polish Cup winner, a club with a tradition in this city dating back to 1958.

I have nothing against foreign clubs playing in the Polish Hockey League (whether from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, the United States, or Canada), but they shouldn’t be allowed to compete in the playoffs or the Polish Cup, because those are competitions for the Polish championship. And these aren’t international competitions—they’re for the POLISH CHAMPIONSHIP. All clubs playing in the PHL must give their consent to this, and every foreign club, upon receiving such consent, should purchase a separate license and be barred from playing in the Polish Cup and the playoffs.

I don’t want, for example, a club from Bytom to play under Sanok’s license, or a club from Bytom to play on Sanok’s license. I find it ridiculous to sign fictitious agreements with other clubs regarding youth teams. There should be severe financial penalties for this, because there still isn’t any real youth development taking place.

I’m curious to hear the STS Fan Club’s opinion on who they’ll be rooting for in the upcoming season and what scarves they’ll be wearing during games.

If it turns out on Thursday that STS Sanok will not compete in the Ekstraliga hockey league, then June 11, 2026, will mark the end of hockey in Sanok and the Sanok Hockey Republic—in which the Mayor of Sanok and the President of STS play a role— by allowing any foreign club to play in place of STS. I wonder which department failed to function in Sanok this time (sports, organizational, or perhaps some other one), but I’m sure, just like before, I won’t get an answer.

I’m still hoping these are just rumors, and I’d like to write that this isn’t true and that Sanok hockey won’t die…

After the press conference, he followed up with a short post, “On June 11, 2026, Sanok hockey died. It’s a shame”

We talked to Sanok goalie Filip Świderski on June 11th. The 25-year-old had played for STS Sanok since 2021, appearing in 68 Tauron Hokej Liga games. Świderski was born in Sanok and came up in the city’s youth development program. He did not shy away from his frustrations with the team announcement. 

“If I’d known two years ago that all the organizational and financial problems we endured and kept quiet about, just to keep this club alive and wait for better times, would lead to what’s happening today, I would have quit and gone to get a job back then.

Grzegorz Michalewski spoke quite accurately yesterday, and largely in line with my own views. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for teams from outside Poland to create teams and to play in our domestic league—that is nothing new in Europe. What I don’t understand, however, is how anyone can accept a solution in which a foreign team uses the license of a Polish club with which it is in no way identical, and never will be, because this probably shouldn’t go down in the history of Sanok hockey. No matter how much they try to sugarcoat it and present it in the media as the “Sanok STS team,” it simply won’t be one. To me, it’s just a scheme, a plot designed to pay off debts and allow people to say that “the Ekstraliga (Tauron Hokeh Liga) will include Sanok.”  

I ask myself what the hell is this supposed to do for our hometown of Sanok in terms of the future, youth development, building a healthy organization for years to come, and bringing stability. How is a healthy community supposed to develop around such a structure? So far, the last two years, the decisions made, and the way this organization has been run have effectively pitted the hockey communities in Sanok against one another and destroyed what was supposed to grow stronger and move forward year after year.

I believe that the worst thing that can happen to sports in any form is when politics gets involved in these matters and becomes the subject of promises, only to later turn into a pawn for two sides to throw at each other. At that point, it’s no longer about sports; it’s just about one side slinging mud at the other—and vice versa. Without a genuine love for hockey, this club has become nothing more than a pawn in the hands of many dishonest people. That’s how I’d sum up the last two years.

But still, I hope I’m wrong, and that someday something might sprout from this that heads in the right direction.

Untranslated Comments

What is Next?

The first training session of this combined team is set for mid-August. Updates have halted, and we really don’t know what the team will look like. Most Sanok players we have talked to have asked not to go on record, as they didn’t know what the team would look like or if they even had a chance. On the coaching side, it’s unclear whether a Polish coach will be on staff, and that decision will be left to Ukrainian head coach Oleg Shafarenko. 

On the Ukrainian side, they don’t see this as the end of their cooperation with Polish hockey. Vyacheslav Letskan, Vice President of Sokil Kyiv and now sporting director of Sanok, said in an interview with champion.com.ua,

“If, God willing, the war ends by the end of the year, then I don’t know what will happen to this season, but in general, the leadership of the Polish Hockey League is ready to unite with the Ukrainian one so that the championship becomes stronger.It’s no secret. And I believe that Ukrainian hockey, Ukrainian clubs, and players will benefit from this when they play in a competitive environment.” 

So What is This?

It feels like a cop-out answer to say, but I have no idea. From the outside, it seems like the only option that Sanok had after years of running a dysfunctional organization into the ground. With mounting debt and no major corporations able to assist, there were likely no other options. It was this investment, sink back down to lower levels, or die again. While that makes it seem like a no-brainer to some, I’m not so sure the fans and players would have preferred the club disappearing to the potential zombified version that will be running in its place. 

On the Ukrainian side, I have a few questions. Why does Sokil Kyiv have so much money to burn? And why is it important to play in the Tauron Hokej Liga? Currently, we haven’t received the full answers to these questions.

We do know that the club from Kyiv was strongly opposed to joining the Hungarian-Romanian Erste Liga. This is due to the perceived poor quality of the league among Ukrainian officials. In my opinion, that is true, but I would also argue that the Ukrainian league is much closer to the Erste Liga than to the Tauron Hokej Liga. I get that you want your players playing better hockey in better leagues, but Ukrainian players being forced to play around Europe instead of one poor domestic league is exactly why they have had such a recent massive jump in the IIHF. 

On the hockey side, with the team built this late in the season, I can’t imagine they’ll be a THL playoff team. That is especially if key Polish Sanok players choose not to play with the team, as is currently believed. Construction-wise, I look at the Kyiv Capitals, who spent the past season in the Baltic Hockey League. The Capitals were a Ukrainian team based in Latvia. On their 29-man roster, only 11 players were Ukrainian, with a majority being Latvian. 

Truthfully, most of the best Ukrainian talent is already signed elsewhere in better leagues or even on stronger THL teams. There is almost zero chance that Ukraine national team stars like Andrei Deniskin (Torun) or Bogdan Dyachenko (Polonia) will swap THL teams.  

While Letskan stated he believes there is more collaboration on the way. What if this is just a one-year deal? Sanok used Kyiv and its partner to pay off the debt and compete. Then just wish them good luck in their endeavors. That seems to be the silver lining possibility for those in Sanok. 

At the lower end of European hockey, this appeared to be the perfect marriage of two desperate teams. A Polish club that was in debt and in no condition to compete in 2026, and a once-giant of Eastern European hockey, who was reduced to playing in a poor five-team league. These two desperate situations found each other, and it’s anyone’s guess how long they’ll last.

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Thumbnail Photo via polskihokej.eu