It is the final piece of our 2026 men’s U23 ranking. For our top two players, we head to Ostrava, Czechia.

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team, (Ranking in 2025, change in rankings). NR – Not Ranked in 2025 

2 – Mateusz Majkowski (D), 19, HC Vítkovice U20 (6, +4)

Majkowski is our top defenseman this year and one of the highest we have ranked in our 10 years of making the list. The 18-year-old got a larger role with Vitkovice and ran with it. He increased his point total by 19 while also becoming a permanent fixture in the lineup. His 22 points were second among all Vítkovice defensemen. The production matches look strong as well, with 42.11% of his matches resulting in a regular player in the Tipsport Extraliga, or another top European league.

While the production step forward is great, Majkowski really excels in his own zone. His ability to read plays improved this year. I still think his defensive game will translate better than his offensive game at the professional level. He has put on more size and has also participated in HC Vítkovice’s senior training camp this offseason. Majkowski projects as a solid defenseman who can play at a good level outside the THL. The national team will likely be relying on him to play major minutes in the future. 

Looking ahead to this year, Majkowski enters his final junior year. He’ll be tasked with major roles on both Vítkovice and the Poland U20 team. During his time with Poland U18, he helped the junior squad to back-to-back medals. 2027 will be his third appearance with the U20 squad, and hopefully the third time will be the charm for a medal. 

1 – Krzysztof Maciaś (F), 22, HC Vítkovice, (1, +0)

Maciaś retains the top spot for a third season in a row. In 2026, Maciaś returned to Europe to start his professional career in the Tipsort Extraliga with HC Vítkovice. It can be described as a getting-your-feet-wet rookie season. The young forward was mostly on the lower lines and averaged just 11 minutes and 5 seconds per night, which was 12th on the team for players with at least 15 games played. Though he rarely left the lineup, he finished with the seventh most games played. 

His struggle was definitely generating chances. With only 54 shots, he was barely averaging one per game. He also ranked among the bottom for both chances generated for and against when on the ice for Vítkovice. Part of this may be attributed to his deployment, as he ranked third-highest on the team, with 45.71% of his shifts starting in the defensive zone. He was also one of the team’s most used penalty killers, while one of the least used players on the power play. 

A lot of the story didn’t change regarding the national team. On the biggest stage for Poland, Macias only averaged 7:20 minutes of ice time. The fewest among all forwards on Poland. A lineup decision, I’m not sure I understand at all. 

While it was not a record-setting rookie year, it’s important to remember that Macias is only the 12th Polish skater ever to appear at Czechia’s top level. His 13 points (he had one goal in a call-up to Vikkoivce in 2023) are already tied for 4th-most among Polish players all time. Macias brings energy and has a high motor. He is still aggressive on the puck and more proactive than reactive. Macias remains Poland’s best young player and a lock for the top six in the future.

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Thumbnail Photo via polskihokej.eu