PHL

The Most Interesting Import on Every PHL Team

Every year there are fresh faces in the PHL. Sometimes import signings are big-name players with NHL or KHL experience, while others are from lower North American or European minor leagues looking to take the next step in their careers. Some become team staples, while others are gone in less than a month. I always enjoy checking out every import signing in the PHL. Today I wanted to look at each team’s most interesting new foreign player—keyword interesting, not the most impactful or best signing. 

Cracovia Krakow – Ben Blood

Ben Blood is an American defenseman with an impressive resume. In 2007, he was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the NHL entry draft. He would then spend four years at the University of North Dakota. Following his college career, he would bounce around the North American minor league system, playing 80 AHL games and 50 ECHL games. He would primarily play in Liiga starting in 2015 and, in total, appeared in 300 Liiga games. The 6’4 defensemen spent last year in Austria in the ICEHL. The physical defenseman will surely be a force in the PHL this season. 

GKS Katowice – Shigeki Hitosato

Hitosato is only the third Japanese player to appear in Poland, and he was very impressive at the World Championships that Poland hosted earlier this year. Over the past three seasons, the 5’6 forward has been one of the top producers for the Tohoku Free Blades in the Asia League and Japan Cup. The Tomakomai native was the captain of the Japan U20 squad and has since transitioned into one of the top scorers for the Japanese senior team. He already scored his first PHL goal two games into the year. 

GKS Tychy – Alexander Younan

Finding good defensemen is more challenging than finding skilled forwards. Younan already has 228 games in the Hockey Allsvenskan and spent one season in the SHL. That kind of resume is not something you commonly find in the PHL. He is only the ninth defenseman to play in the PHL after playing at Sweden’s top level. Last year was his first year outside of Sweden, and he spent it in the ICEHL. 

JKH GKS Jastrzebie – Bence Bálizs

With Patrik Nechvátal retiring, there was a need for a new number one in Jastrzebie. The new netminder came from an unlikely source in one of Poland’s biggest rivals in Hungarian Bence Bálizs. The Hungary national team goalie has spent his entire career in his home country, playing in the national league and for Hungarian teams competing in the ICEHL and Tipos Extraliga. You don’t see many players take their first trip abroad during their age 32 seasons. The five-time Hungarian league Champion is only the fifth Hungary-born player to play in the PHL. 

KH Torun – Ervīns Muštukovs

Ervīns Muštukovs is the definition of a journeyman goalie. The 38-year-old has played in 13 professional leagues for 20 teams. He has represented Latvia at the Elite Division of the World Championship and reached the KHL with Latvia’s Dinamo Riga. Not only is he the clubs’ goalie, but he will also serve as goaltending coach for Torun’s MHL team. He is adding another two things to one of the longest resumes I have ever seen in hockey. 

Podhale Nowy Targ – Lukáš Hvila

Lukáš Hvila is a legend in Slovakia’s top league. He has the fifth most games played in league history, with 969 games over 19 seasons. The 40-year-old hasn’t just played in his home country either. He made stops in Czechia, France, Kazakhstan, and Slovenia. That longevity as a player is extremely impressive. A couple of months into this year, he will turn 41 and play his first season in Poland. It also is his 24th season of playing professional hockey.  

STS Sanok – Vladislav Lysenko

Vladislav Lysenko has a unique history in international hockey. The defenseman was born in Ukraine but developed in the Russian junior system. His time in Russia led to him eventually representing the Russia U18 team at the IIHF U18s and Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament. He has played in his birth country for the past two seasons and has not represented Russia since 2013. It’s an interesting background, given Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine. This invasion led to Russians being pretty much blocklisted from the PHL. The 27-year-old defenseman has spent most of his career in Russia’s second league, the VHL, but has appeared in five KHL games. 

Unia Oswiecim – Pavel Padakin

Ukrainian hockey had fallen a bit in a similar way to Polish hockey. Not many high-end players, but Pavel Padakin broke through the ceiling most Ukrainians faced. The Kyiv native worked his way up in Ukraine and earned a chance in the USA’s NAHL. He got noticed in the NAHL and would be drafted in the CHL import draft by the Calgary Hitmen. Following his junior career, he would attract the attention of the Philadelphia Flyers and sign with their American Hockey League club. After one year in the AHL, he would head to Russia and sign to the KHL. He would play in the KHL from 2016 to 2021, recording 76 points in 206 games, and earning all-star game honors in 2018. 

Zaglebie Sosnowiec – Nikita Butsenko

Our last team didn’t bring in a lot of imports and is among the leaders in Polish players in the PHL. A lot of their imports are also familiar faces to PHL fans. One of those is Nikita Butsenko, who returns to Poland for the third time. The 32-year-old center has split his career between Ukraine and Poland, along with one season in Romania. He has recorded 77 points in 110 PHL games with Polonia Bytom and Sosnowiec. Butsenko is a leader of the Ukrainian national team and has always received interest from Polish teams every offseason.

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PHL

2022-23 PHL Standing Predictions

The hockey season is officially in full swing. The season finally starts after a crazy offseason involving wars complicating players and teams, teams backing out and then backing in, and everything else in Polish hockey. This year, in my opinion, should continue to show the strength of the PHL and how it has improved. That should already be seen across Europe with last year’s champions, GKS Katowice, beating the runner-ups of Switzerland, ZSC Lions. Will they repeat as champions, or will a new team take the crown?

9. Podhale Nowy Targ

Podhale will most likely be repeating as the worst team in the PHL. But this time, it is not an easy guess. Podhale is much better this year, especially with the additions of Kevin Lindskoug and Martin Przygodzki. Last year, Podhale won only three games, so their one win in four games this year is a promising sign. New head coach Juraj Faith has a lot of challenges to face, but they have done a solid job of assembling a roster of PHL veterans, young talent, plus quite a few random imports. While I think they will finish last in the PHL, I don’t believe they’ll be as bad as the last-place teams of the past.

8. Zaglebie Sosnowiec

Zaglebie Sosnowiec had an up-and-down off-season, which is how this season will probably go. I see them finishing in eighth place, where they were last year. Much of that will come down to how Patrik Spesny and Sebastian Lipinski perform in net. Spesny had a rough year in Sanok last season, while Lipinski has never had extended PHL playing time. The offseason additions of Jakub Witecki and Nikita Butsenko will be relied on heavily for the offense. I like what they’re doing on defense with some young additions that will finally get big chances. I approve of where they are going, but it is just not a winning team right now.

7. STS Sanok

Sanok had the roughest offseason of any team. Not due to anything with roster building, but their main sponsor’s building burned down. They originally had to back out of the PHL due to funding but were saved just a minute before midnight. The team brought in a whole new batch of Finnish players who will once again be relied on as team leaders. Ville Heikkinen has the potential to be a really solid producer while getting Kalle Valtola from GKS Katowice should really help on the backend. Unfortunately, losing the PHL’s leading scorer Jakub Bukowski and Radoslaw Sawicki is something I don’t think they added enough to overcome. In the third straight repeat, I have Sanok finishing seventh.

6. KH Torun

I have KH Torun also repeating their place from last year. While not exciting, that is just the bottom of the PHL. Only three players from their top ten scorers are returning this year. The Kalinowski brothers will be relied on heavily to step up their production. While young, Mark Viitanen is a big-body forward and has a lot of potential to be an impactful winger. The strength of this team is on defense. The addition of Jakub Gimiński will be a major key to competing with top clubs, and I am really excited to see the sophomore year of Eryk Schafer. The true key will be how well veteran Latvian goalie Ervīns Muštukovs holds up in net. Depending on how young players produce or imports turn out, Torun could stun a few teams.

5. JKH GKS Jastrzebie

JKH GKS Jastrzebie is the top team to me that had the most disappointing offseason. In net, I am very wary of Bence Bálizs as the starting goalie taking over for Patrik Nechvátal. Vitālijs Pavlovs, who was a key player last year, was surprisingly dismissed this season after one game. The team brought the well-traveled Josef Mikyska to replace Pavlovs in that top center role. Mikyska should be close to a point-per-game player in the PHL. Losing Frenks Razgals, Martin Kasperlík, and Roman Rác hurts a lot, and the forwards they brought in the replace them doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. The big news was being able to retain star forward Dominik Pas. A strong Polish core should keep them towards the top, but I don’t know about contending.

4. Cracovia Krakow

Cracovia’s roster strength might change since I don’t doubt one or two players might be here just for the Champion Hockey League games. Still it was quite the offseason for Poland’s New York Yankees as they raided other PHL teams of top forwards like Martin Kasperlík, Mateusz Michalski, Patryk Wronka, Radoslaw Sawicki, Robert Arrak, and Roman Rác. Combine that with talented imports including Jack Walker, Marek Račuk, and Vojtěch Polák, and it is hard to see Cracovia not having a top offense. They retained their strong defensive core based around Ales Jezek, Jakub Saur, and Jiri Gula, and I’m really intrigued by the addition of American Ben Blood. In net Rok Stojanovič and David Zabolotny should be more than enough to lead this team to a potential title.

3. Unia Oswiecim

Oswiecim has a chance to lead the league in goals for. The additions of the acclaimed North American duo Alex Szczechura and Mike Cichy should guarantee them two top scorers. Pavel Padakin also has a chance to make a major impact in the PHL this year. These new imports add to already established top forwards Krystian Dziubiński and Teddy Da Costa who should lead the charge. Defense is not the strongest point of the team, but I really like the offensive potential of Pylyp Pangelov-Yuldashev from the back end, while veteran Latvian Aleksandrs Jerofejevs should provide stability. Linus Lundin is taking the starting role in goal, and while he boasts a .905 sv% in 106 HockeyAllsvenskan games, he has struggled with consistency in his career. The offensive firepower should be enough to carry this team to the top, with title dreams if they hold up defensively.

2. GKS Tychy

It feels like a season of transition for the former back-to-back champs. Last year, they finished fifth in the PHL and would lose in the bronze medal series. The team said goodbye to a lot of major imports and team leaders. Tyhcy brought in more than enough major replacements. National team members Bartosz Ciura, Filip Komorski, last year’s regular season goals leader Jakub Bukowski, and Oskar Jaśkiewicz all joined the team this offseason. Ondrej Sedivy and Roman Szturc should be solid imports addition to help the forward core. On the back end, getting Ciura back along with import Alexander Younan and Jaśkiewicz should be able to replace the losses there. Tomas Fucik has long been one of the best PHL goaltenders and I don’t see that changing. GKS Tychy is an easy pick to finish in the top two.

1. GKS Katowice

The reigning PHL champions did have a lot of talent stolen in the offseason, but I don’t see that preventing them from re-claiming their title. First, it starts in net, John Murray is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. They retained their national team core, which included Marcin Kolusz not returning to Podhale Nowy Targ after his loan last season. Niko Mikkola should also be an interesting addition to the team and give them an another offensive defensemen to pair on the power play with Kolusz.

Grzegorz Pasiut should continue to lead the team on the forward end, while Bartosz Fraszko and Patryk Krezolek are among the best young Polish forwards. Christian Blomqvist and Teemu Pulkkinen should be relied on heavily to produce. While Brandon Magee brings a lot of energy and should help drive play. Japanese forward Shigeki Hitosato was impressive at the Division 1 Group B World Championships, so I am excited to see what he is going to be in Poland. The team has to hope Igor Smal and Jakub Porkurat will take another step forward and contribute more offensively. It is hard to see the Champs not being the major favorite to repeat.

If you want to keep up with all the Polish hockey action, make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey, like our Facebook page, and add us on Instagram @PolishPuck_. Also, support us on Patreon to help keep the content flowing!

Womens Hockey

5 Thoughts: 2022 Women’s Division 1 Group B U18s. The Offense Fails to Finish

For the first time since 2020, we were going to see the Women’s U18 squad in IIHF action. From cancellations to movements, it was finally time to see what the future of women’s hockey looks like for Poland. Poland has been in the division 1 group B since 2017, when they took bronze in their first shot. Since that debut, they took bronze one more time but have finished fourth and fifth in the most recent tournaments. The women’s team has grown rapidly, and it was time to see if the U18 squad would continue that success.

Poland would face their toughest challenge right off the bat with Austria. In game one, they would get shut out and create a major hill to overcome. Poland would bounce back with a 2-1 win over Denmark. It would all come crashing down when the U18 squad was upset by Chinese Taipei in a game where they overshot their out by over 50. They would end the tournament on a high note securing second place with a 2-1 win over South Korea.

Failure to Finish

The biggest story of the tournament for Poland was the lack of scoring. The red and white would only score five goals in four games. This gave them, on 152 shots, a shooting percentage of 3.29%, half of the next team. Over 100 of those shots came from just five players, who also produced all five goals. Poland just couldn’t finish high danger chances. It is definitely a bit of just bad luck. But also disappointing given the forward talent in the lineup for Poland. Going 1 for 13 on the powerplay has to be addressed as well.

68 Shots!!!

The biggest failure to finish came in the game against Chinese Taipei. Poland fired 68 shots on goal and only scored a single goal in a game that went into overtime. First, hats off to Ai Chung, who was sensational and stopped 67 shots. That is an amazing performance and deserves a lot of praise. For Poland, how could you not score? This game officially ended Poland’s small chance for a gold medal in what should have been an almost guaranteed win. It wouldn’t be Polish hockey without an extremely frustrating game…

Ratajczyk Review

I was really interested in who would be Poland’s starting goalie in this tournament. Julia Bujak and Nadia Ratajczyk had played sparingly in the PLHK on powerhouse teams. Ratajczyk got the starting role and ran with it. She only allowed 8 goals all tournament, including a great game against Denmark, where Ratajczyk made 19 saves and earned player of the game honors. If you take out the one weird game against Chinese Taipai where she only faced seven shots, she finished with a .914 save percentage.

Sweet Silver

While the goal of a tournament is always to take home gold. This is the best finish in history for Poland’s U18 squad. The highest before this tournament was taking bronze, so silver feels sweet. It is crazy to see a team have a negative goal differential finish second in a tournament. While the offense did not produce, the team as a whole controlled the games they were in for the most part. It was another sign of progress for Polish hockey.

Is the Future As Bright?

Whenever progress happens, it is always interesting to see if that progress will continue. This team will compete again in December or January if the 2023 tournament stays in its usual spot. They will be without quite a few key players in that tournament, including Alicja Kobus, Alicja Mota, Anna Kot, Amelia Bula, and Julia Zielinska. There was still eligible talent that proved themselves in this tournament, including starting goalie Nadia Ratajczyk and leading scorer Maja Brzezinska.

Quick Thoughts

  • Anna Kot and Natalia Nosal really were great on the backend in this tournament.
  • It was another tournament with a lot of evidence that the top of Poland is a lot better than the depth with a wide gap.
  • Magdalena Łąpieś had a bit disappointing tournament production-wise and took 6 minor penalties.
  • Congrats to Magdalena Czaplik and Dominik Kraus on making their IIHF coaching debuts.
  • Former Unia Oswiecim player Monika Szpyt-Jucha, also made her IIHF staff debut as team manager.

If you want to keep up with all the Polish hockey action, make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey, like our Facebook page, and add us on Instagram @PolishPuck_. Also, support us on Patreon to help keep the content flowing!

Mens Prospects

2022 Top 80 Men’s U23 Players. Stats and Notes

The Men’s top 80 list has officially concluded for the year. It is now time to look at just some random notes for the list, like which team had the most players or which player had the highest rise. This year’s goal was to give more credit to goaltenders again, but it is hard to rank them in Poland, given the sparse opportunities available for them. Still, they almost tied defensemen in representation on the list. The defensive group will likely be the next position group I evaluate and change how I rank.

All Articles

Players 80-51Players 30-21Players 10-8Player 3
Players 50-41Players 20-16Players 7-6Player 2
Players 40-31Players 15-11Players 5-4Player 1

Entire Top 80 Board

Biggest Risers

  1. Blazej Chodor +42
  2. Michał Kusak +39
  3. Krzyzstof Macias +33
  4. Jakub Ślusarczyk +29
  5. Oliwier Kasperek +28

Biggest Drops

  1. Jakub Blanik -22
  2. Kacper Gruzla -21
  3. Marcel Kotula & Michal Cychowski -19
  4. Bartosz Florczak -18
  5. Jakub Wenker -16

Highest List Debuts

  1. Eryk Schafer (23)
  2. Dominik Kolat (24)
  3. Krystian Lisowski (33)
  4. Kacper Macias (40)
  5. Filip Sienkiewicz (42)

Player I Wish I Ranked Higher

Michał Proczek – Really solid defenseman, and the more I reviewed film and statistics on players above him the more I thought I made a mistake in rating him so low.

Player I Wish Ranked Lower

Szymon Bieniek – The player I have the least amount of film on over the past three years. But he is one that coaches love and statistics favor. Those big stats often come at lower US junior levels. His offseason ending with him signing in Division 3 of Sweden is not really inspiring.

Filip Plonka – Still a lot to love in him as a goalie. Just other goalies had better years and better numbers. The limited amount of games is going to potentially really hurt long-term development.

Players By Team

Players By Position

County By Country

Notes

  • Every year the player ranked #2 has been different and featured 4 different players.
  • With only one player, this is the least amount of JKH GKS Jastrzebie players on the list.
  • The highest amount of players playing in Sweden to be ranked.
  • The lowest amount of players playing in Germany to be ranked.
  • The highest amount of goalies to be ranked.
  • The lowest amount of forwards to be ranked.
  • Defensemen are up 3 versus last year.

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Mens Prospects

2022 Top 80 Men’s U23 Players. #1

There have only been three players in my rankings to grace the number 1 spot. Wiktoria Sikorska has always held the women’s number 1 spot, while Alan Łyszczarczyk and Paweł Zygmunt finished first on the men’s side. This year that number will remain the same as Zygmunt has retained his top spot. 

Players had to be under the age of 23 and at least 16 years old on June 1st, 2022. We are only judging play that occurred before that date as well. Players are evaluated based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential. Skaters must have played at least five games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 169 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Eighty players received a ranking.

Players 80-51Players 30-21Players 10-8Player 3
Players 50-41Players 20-16Players 7-6Player 2
Players 40-31Players 15-11Players 5-4

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2021, change in rankings) 

1 – Paweł Zygmunt (F), 23, HC Litvínov, (1, 0) 

Paweł Zygmunt continues to slowly evolve his game and carve out a more permanent role in the HC Litvinov lineup. It seems he and the team are committed to his future in Czechia. Zygmunt has taken to the Extraliga much quicker than expected, and the results are strong. He has quickly found himself in a middle-six forward role contributing to the penalty kill. The offensive numbers are not jumping off the page yet, but he is driving a lot of chances. 

This year in 45 games, he posted seven goals and two assists. The seven goals are a new career high for him during the Tipsport Extraliga regular season. They were all scored at even strength putting him fifth on his team for even strength goals. It was also tied for twelfth in even-strength goals among U23 skaters. His nine points were 30th among the same age group.

Thanks to hokej.cz, we can take a closer look at this game and how he grades out as a player. Individually Zygmunt generated a lot of chances, and his 3.70 chances per 60 were fifth on HC Litvínov and 20th among U24 skaters. With only an average TOI of 11:31 per game and just over a minute and a half, that came on the penalty kill. Zygmunt found a way to maximize his offensive ability in limited minutes this season. With 98 shots attempts, he placed 23rd among U24 skaters. 

Zygmunt Goal vs. Estonia IIHF Senior D1B

He is finding his way defensively as well. Over the last two seasons, he played a crucial part in the team’s penalty kill, which is great to see him trusted with a role like that so quickly. He finished seventh among U24 skaters in Corsi For Percent with 53.5%. His shots against per 60 were also the fourth lowest on his team. By all accounts, Zygmunt is finding his way, and the team invested in his future, which paid off for them. 

Take his size and early success, and I have no doubt we will see him in the Extraliga for a long time to come. Looking at production matches for a player three seasons into a professional league can be a bit redundant, as we already see they have played almost enough games for a long career. That is exactly what his production matches show, with 93.9% playing in 200 Extraliga games. What I enjoy seeing, though, is if players can step up to a stronger league. We see 2% of his matches playing at least 50 NHL games and 12.2% playing 50 games in a top European league like the KHL or SHL. 

Zygmunt was a key contributor to the Polish national team. He represented the senior team at three events. He posted 7 points (4G-3A-7PTS) at the Baltic Challenge Cup and another 3 points (1G-2A-3PTS) at the senior World Championships. He also represented Poland in the final round of Olympic Qualification. 

Zygmunt has cemented himself as a good player outside of Poland in stronger leagues. He is already one of the leaders of the national team, all at just 22 years old. It is incredible how fast he blew up and the leaps he took professionally. Seeing how far he goes in the Extraliga and his peak will be exciting.

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Mens Prospects

2022 Top 80 Men’s U23 Players. #2

We are now at the second spot in our rankings. Splitting the players ranked 1 and 2 was challenging as both had successful seasons outside of Poland. While our number two player is not taking the top spot this season, I think it will be hard for him not to have it locked down next year. 

Players had to be under the age of 23 and at least 16 years old on June 1st, 2022. We are only judging play that occurred before that date as well. Players are evaluated based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential. Skaters must have played at least five games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 169 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Eighty players received a ranking.

Players 80-51Players 30-21Players 10-8Player 3
Players 50-41Players 20-16Players 7-6
Players 40-31Players 15-11Players 5-4

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2021, change in rankings) 

2 – Kamil Wałęga (F), 22, HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas, (5, +3) 

This offseason saw many Polish players take significant steps outside of Poland. Three players took a chance and trained together, working out for numerous teams in Czechia and Slovakia. Jan Soltys never made a club and returned to Poland. Dominik Pas made AZ Havířov in the Chance Liga but would return to Poland just before the end of the year. The third player was Kamil Wałęga who made HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas in the top level of Slovak hockey, the Tipos Extraliga. He made the team and never returned to Poland. We won’t likely see him in the PHL soon either, as after the season ended, he signed a two-year extension with the Slovak club. 

Wałęga was a player that I consistently had ranked decently high, but I did at times lose him in the shadow of some bigger JKH GKS Jastrzebie prospects like his two teammates he trained with during the offseason. In the end, Wałęga’s growth as a complete player has been undeniable, and he has proved to be a player that is going to be a critical member of teams outside of Poland. 

In his rookie year in the Tipos Extraliga, he posted 18 points (11G-7A-18PTS) in 44 games. This put him tenth in all scoring among U23 players. He also led all 21-year-old skaters in points. Twelve of his points came at even strength, while he contributed six on the powerplay. He also fired off 111 shots, the sixth-most by a U23 player. He even took home player of the month honors from his club in December. Overall, a very impressive season on the boxscore for a young player transitioning to Slovakia from the PHL. 

There were a few areas this season that I’m sure the club will hope to see some improvement from, but the club’s GM was always very complimentary of the young Pole, and they gave him a two-year extension. The first area is consistency. He started the year with just 6 points in 20 games, but after December hit, he would finish the regular season with 11 in 19 games. But he finished the year with just 1 goal in five games during relegation. The second part comes down to your school of thought on hockey and how much you value it, but Wałęga got a lot of reps at center and took over 300 faceoffs. His faceoff win percentage was a poor 41.1%. Only one player in the league that took at least 100 faceoffs had a worse win percentage. Both can be fixable and partly be blamed on that transition from PHL to Tipos Extraliga and an early minor injury. 

He was a highlight for the national team as part of Kalaber’s youth movement. While he only played one game in the Olympic qualifiers after suffering an injury. He was Poland’s best player at the Baltic Challenge Cup, where he recorded 9 points (2G-7A-9PTS) in 3 games. He topped off his national team season with two goals and an assist in four games at the World Championships. He is another young player who instantly cemented himself as one of the top national team forwards at just 21 years old. 

When we look at his production matches for his club season, 100% of his matches went on to play a couple of hundred games in the Tipos Extraliga or appear in a stronger league. It is not a one-hit-wonder b any means. 25% of his matches went on to play 50 games in a top European league like the KHL or a second-tier league like Czechia’s Tipsport Extraliga. Kamil Wałęga’s floor seems to be a middle-six forward in the Tipos Extraliga, which Poland needs. His ceiling could be similar to Aron Chmiewlski in Czechia. Either way, he is a lock to be an essential part of team Poland for a while.

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Mens Prospects

2022 Top 80 Men’s U23 Players. #3

We are now in the top 3. Our player at three shared a lot of similarities to the players ranked fifth and fourth. He was able to push past his setback for a better second half. He is also our highest-ranked player to play in Poland this year. 

Players had to be under the age of 23 and at least 16 years old on June 1st, 2022. We are only judging play that occurred before that date as well. Players are evaluated based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential. Skaters must have played at least five games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 169 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Eighty players received a ranking.

Players 80-51Players 30-21Players 10-8
Players 50-41Players 20-16Players 7-6
Players 40-31Players 15-11Players 5-4

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2021, change in rankings) 

3 – Dominik Paś (F), 23, JKH GKS Jastrzebie, (4, +1) 

Pas is one of the players I have consistently ranked high since I started covering Polish hockey. In his final ranking before aging off, he comes in at 3. Paś went abroad this season for the first time in his career, and it is something that I was hoping would happen for a while. He signed with AZ Havířov in the Chance Liga, the second level of Czech hockey. It was an excellent place for him to start, and I was excited to hopefully see a strong year garner interest from a team at the top level. 

That didn’t happen. Pas scored only two goals and assisted on four in 21 games. He fired 24 shots and was on the ice for an average of 13:48 a game. It was not a star-making performance, and he would return to Poland just before Christmas. Another one of the top five players that lost their spot after just half a season. At that point, when I did my mid-season look, I thought Pas was squarely number five with a strong chance that Bukowski or Macias could be ranked over him. His return to the PHL with JKH GKS Jastrzebie needed to be strong to keep his spot. 

It was not just a solid return to Poland but an electrifying one. The 5’10 forward put up 22 points (10G-12A-22PTS) in 29 games, with 15 of those points coming in 15 playoff games. Despite the late start, he finished fourth for scoring among all U23 skaters and second among Polish U23 skaters. He instantly returned to being one of Poland’s most explosive two-way forwards. While the PHL performance was outstanding, what set his second half over the edge was his play at the Division 1 Group B World Championships. 

This play right there. It shows why Pas is one of the most complete players in Poland. He finished with four points in four games, which included three goals. He was so amazing to watch in the tournament, and he sometimes felt like the best player on team Poland.

His performance was so strong that after the season, he attracted offers from not just all over Poland but even clubs abroad, wanting to see if he would take another chance at playing outside of his home country. Ultimately, he re-signed with JKH GKS Jastrzebie on a one-year agreement. I don’t know if Pas will ever be a great player outside of Poland, but I do know that he will be one of the highlights of the national team for years to come. He is the kind of player that can take the team to the next level regardless of where he plays in his club season.

If you want to keep up with all the Polish hockey action, make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey, like our Facebook page, and add us on Instagram @PolishPuck_. Also, support us on Patreon to help keep the content flowing!

Mens Prospects

2022 Top 80 Men’s U23 Players. #5-4

We are in the top five of the rankings. These five players all found themselves in the top five last year. Despite a solid push by the two players ranked seventh and sixth, I always knew these five would be at the top again. The only hard part was going to be figuring out where they ranked amongst themselves. By the end of the year, it became easy to separate the five, in my opinion.  

Players had to be under the age of 23 and at least 16 years old on June 1st, 2022. We are only judging play that occurred before that date as well. Players are evaluated based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential. Skaters must have played at least five games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 169 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Eighty players received a ranking.

Players 80-51Players 30-21Players 10-8
Players 50-41Players 20-16Players 7-6
Players 40-31Players 15-11

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2021, change in rankings) 

5 – Jakub Lewandowski (F), 21, Bemidji State University, (3, -2) 

Jakub Lewandowski made his NCAA debut this year for Bemidji State University. He is only the third Polish player to appear at the world’s top level of college hockey. That on its own is an impressive feat, it is another level you don’t expect to see any Polish players appear at. The NCAA also leads to fantastic opportunities for professional chances. Just this offseason, four of Lewandowski’s teammates made some big moves by signing deals in the AHL, ECHL, and Tipos Extraliga. 

For his rookie year, Lewandowski posted two goals and two assists in 19 games while also recording 17 shots and eight blocked shots. His .22 point per game average was 83rd among 20-year-old forwards, it is not uncommon for some pretty low point totals in freshman years. He also did have all four of his points in his first ten games before ending on a 9-game pointless streak. Many first-year students don’t see the ice at all, so I was happy to see him make an impact to begin the year, but he may have been phased out of the lineup after that pointless streak. 

Lewandowski Goal vs. Lake Superior State University NCAA

Of his production matches, 14.3% have gone on to play 50 NHL games, while the most common outcome was an ECHL career with 42.9% of matches. Lewandowski’s most significant asset for the next level is his size. His skating is only considered average by many scouts I have talked to, and that will be the key sticking point to how far he exceeds in North American hockey. Size and skating could take him far if he continues to improve his skating. We see that in his production matches, who don’t have eye-popping stats but still have strong North American careers. His work ethic and leadership abilities are other things you will see mentioned a lot by coaches and scouts. He made the CCHA All-Academic Team for 2022 as well. 

He only turns 21 next year and will be returning to Bemidji. With many big forwards leaving, including seven of the team’s top ten scorers, there should be plenty of opportunities. The big thing will be earning and succeeding in those new opportunities. Consistency issues have been brought up in his past two seasons in the US. I think Lewandowski is at least a guaranteed lock to be a top forward in Poland, which is a good floor. The ceiling will be easier to determine with how his sophomore year goes. 

4 – Damian Tyczyński (F), 22, HK Spisska Nova Ves, (2, -2)

What made the separation of the top five easier was something that Lewandowski and Tyczyński both suffered in losing their spot. Tyczyński had been a highlight of HK Spisska Nova Ves in the second Slovak league last year. When the team earned a promotion to the Tipos Extraliga, they brought their young Polish playmaker with them. Unfortunately, during the year, it seems that he and new head coach Miroslav Mosnár were not always on the same page. He left the team in late December after he continued to fall down the lineup, and it appeared to be a pretty unpopular decision among fans. 

Richard Rapac, the team general manager, released a statement following his release. 

“Unfortunately, Damian was falling out of the lineup in recent matches and there was not long-term satisfaction with his game. Nevertheless, he got the opportunity to fight for his position in the team from the coaching staff. He decided not to take this opportunity, which I personally feel very sorry about. We tried to send Damian to another extra league team, but no one was not interested in his services. In the end, we decided to release him to the first league Dubnica. I wish “Tyčko” only the best in his new place, especially a lot of health. On behalf of the entire club and fans, I thank him for his services and his large parge in the promotion to the Extraliga. The door is open in the future.“

From what I gather, the team was not satisfied with his slow adjustment to the top league in the defensive end. Offensively, while it was not his production in the second league, he was showing well. He posted 15 points (4G-11A-15PTS) in 25 games. That was still good for tenth in points among skaters on HK Spisska Nova Ves to end the year, despite Tyczyński playing 10 to 20 fewer regular-season games. Maybe the release was the wrong choice, as they also fell in the standings from fifth to seventh. 

Damian Tyczyński Shootout goal vs HK Nitra Tipos Extraliga

15 points in 25 games is good production for a forward in their 21-year-old season. His .60 points per game were seventh among all U23 players, while the 15 points were 10th among the same group. So it is no surprise that 100% of his matches have gone on to play 250 games or more in the Tipos Extraliga or a stronger league. 12.5 percent of his matches went on to play in a top European league like the KHL or SHL. At the same time, 38% went to play in a mid-euro level league or stronger. Of course, that defensive play will be the largest factor to him advancing, and it seems earlier in the year, no other Tipos Extraliga was interested in taking him on. 

I could end the report there, and his 25 games in the top of Slovakia would have been enough to warrant his spot at 4. He didn’t just end his year after being released. He represented Poland at the Baltic Challenge Cup, recording a goal and two assists in three games. He also went back to the second Slovak league with HK Spartak Dubnica. There he posted 28 points (6G-22A-28PTS) in 26 games. His 1.08 point per game average was 11th among all skaters in the league and was second among all U23 players. 71.4% of his production matches there, also have had Tipos Extraliga careers of at least 100 games. 

Undoubtedly, he will work his way back to the top league or in another top league around Europe. His drive and determination will continue to open doors for the talented playmaker. For 2023, he has signed a deal in the second level of Slovakia, with an option that automatically converts if the club gets promoted. He is another player where his floor is a PHL star.

If you want to keep up with all the Polish hockey action, make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey, like our Facebook page, and add us on Instagram @PolishPuck_. Also, support us on Patreon to help keep the content flowing!

Mens Prospects

2022 Top 80 Men’s U23 Players. #7-6

Now to the final two that just missed out on the top five. These two players had insane breakout seasons and are two of the biggest risers in my rankings. One took a second giant jump after being the biggest riser in 2021. The top five players were all established before this season, and I didn’t expect anyone to disrupt the top five. These two forwards came very close to making the top five with historical seasons. 

Players had to be under the age of 23 and at least 16-years-old on June 1st, 2022. We are only judging play that occurred before that date as well. Players are evaluated based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential. Skaters must have played at least five games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 169 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Eighty players received a ranking.

Players 80-51Players 30-21Players 10-8
Players 50-41Players 20-16
Players 40-31Players 15-11

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2021, change in rankings) 

7 – Jakub Bukowski (F), 22, STS Sanok (25, +18)

The elder Bukowski brother had an excellent PHL rookie year in 2021. He had 11 points in 36 games, which was considered a pleasant surprise. Jakub Bukowski had a weird junior career and mostly played in the second level of the Czechia junior system, then spent a year in the third level of Switzerland. That background is not one that usually suggests a solid professional career. So the rookie year was a good surprise and suggested he may be able to play a middle-six role in the PHL. 

Instead, Bukowski proved he might be one of the best goal scorers in the PHL. In 45 games this season, he scored 29 goals and assisted on 15. He led the regular season in goals with 27. Even in overall totals, he still finished third despite Sanok being eliminated in round one of the playoffs. His 27 goals are the most in the regular season since Krystian Dziubinski scored 28 in 2020, and it is tied for the 27th most goals in the regular season since 2010. 

This was a fantastic year for a PHL player, regardless of age. But remember, Bukowski was only 21 this season. He led all U23 skaters in goals by five and all Polish U23 skaters in goals by 19. His 44 points also led all U23 skaters. His 29 total goals are the most by a U23 player since Damian Kapica scored 31 as a 22-year-old in 2015. His goal total is also tied for the second-most by a 21-year-old, and his 44 points make it the sixth-best season ever in the PHL by a 21-year-old. 

Alright, that is enough posting numbers on how historical his season was. Bukowski was just unstoppable this year. I have no idea if it is sustainable, but he battled hard and earned every goal. Bukowski was rewarded with his first senior team appearances, representing Poland at the Baltic Challenge Cup, recording one goal and three assists in four games. He also made his IIHF debut playing for Poland at the Division 1 Group B World Championships. The dominant season resulted in him making the jump to GKS Tychy this offseason. He will have to reprove himself in a very loaded offense. 

6 – Krzysztof Macias (F), 18, HC Vitkovice U20, (39, +33) 

When Alan Lyszczarczyk finished atop the Cezch U18 league and became an NHL draft prospect after a strong rookie year in the OHL, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment for Polish hockey. Then only a few years later, Jakub Lewandowski dominated in Czechia, moved over to the USHL, and was ranked in the pre-season as a draft prospect. Again it felt like such a rare moment for Polish hockey. This year, Krzysztof Maciaś posted a strong year in the top Czech U20 league, and I believe he just missed out on that NHL draft prospect status. 

So why did Macias miss out? The 17-year-old forward had a great year at Czechia’s top level of junior hockey. He finished with 14 goals and 22 assists in 48 games. Among players in their draft-eligible season, his 36 points were tied for 17th in the league. His season was not always consistent though. 

Graph showing Macias points per date.

After a strong start, he had an awful December and January and a nine-game pointless streak during the months. If you take his poor stretch out from December 3rd to January 25th, he instead finishes with a .94 point per game average instead of a .75. That inconsistency at times and final number cost him. 

Macias also represented Poland at both the IIHF U18 and U20 World Championships. At the U20 World Championships, he was one of Poland’s best forwards at only 17. In five games, the left winger assisted on two goals. At the U18s, he was a different animal and put in what has to be one of Poland’s best performances in U18 history. He put the team on his back, forming an electric line with Kolat and Kusak. He scored two goals and assisted on five. The U18 captained was involved in seven goals on a team that scored only 11 the entire tournament. He was among the best forwards at the event regardless of country. 

Macias Goal vs. Italy IIHF D1B U18s
Macias Goal vs. Italy IIHF D1B U18s

That idea of Macias being an NHL prospect is a dream he is chasing and will sacrifice for. In an interview with hokej.cz, he talked about his idol Alan Lyszczarzyk. “He’s from my town. I followed him even when I was still in Poland. I went to his matches. He has an interesting career path and I think he will go far.” When asked about other professionals like Aron Chmiewlewski, he replied, “respect to him and others, because they are really excellent hockey players. But as I said, the greatest inspiration for me is Alan’s journey.” Łyszczarczyk went from Czechia to Canada’s top junior league and then a professional in the ECHL and Czechia.

I feel Macias has a solid chance to duplicate that journey and become a strong professional in leagues better than Poland. It feels almost wrong having Macias this low on the rankings, as he was easily the Polish junior player of the year, in my opinion. He is returning to the Czechia U20 league next year, but I hope to see him earn some chances at the pro level. If he improves on his Czechia U20 season and gets those small professional chances, I could see that NHL prospect door opening up. 

If you want to keep up with all the Polish hockey action, make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey, like our Facebook page, and add us on Instagram @PolishPuck_. Also, support us on Patreon to help keep the content flowing!

Polish Heritage In Hockey

Polish Roots: Adam Kiedewicz

In the 2022 draft, Polish hockey got a rare, but fleeting, spotlight when the Arizona Coyotes selected German defensemen Maksymilian Szuber. Szuber was born in Opole, Poland, but represents Germany on the international stage. Still, he was credited in most places as Polish due to his birthplace. The draft pick got many people talking about how Poland possibly lost a player to another country. That is why we wanted to start this series called Polish Roots, where we dive deep into the careers of players with Polish roots, and find out why they didn’t represent Poland. Today, we take a look at Adam Kiedewicz. 

Adam Kiediwicz was born on May 21st, 2000, in Toruń, Poland. His father, Sławomir Kiedewicz, was well known to Polish hockey fans. The elder Kiedewicz had played in Poland’s top level of hockey with TKH Toruń for 12 years. He also appeared outside Poland in Germany’s fourth division for seven years, mainly with EHC Troisdorf. Sławomir’s brother, Łukasz Kiedewicz, was also a long-time player for TKH Toruń, appearing for the club in eight seasons. Łukasz Kiedewicz has been a coach at the youth and senior levels for Toruń-based clubs since retiring. Both brothers represented Poland at the IIHF junior and senior-level non-IIHF events. 

The Kiedewicz family was well established in Toruń hockey, and it wasn’t considered a surprise when Sławomir’s son Adam took up the sport. Sławomir Kiedwicz played in Germany from 2007 until the 2012 season when he retired. But Adam Kiedwicz remained in Poland during that time. 

“So I grew up in Toruń, and I played there until 12, and then I moved to Germany.”

Adam Kiedewicz on where his hockey journey began.

Starting in 2013, Kiedewicz played in the German junior ranks after playing his youth hockey in Poland. He quickly moved up the age groups and eventually reached the top levels. In 2015, he appeared for Kölner EC U16 in Germany’s top U16 league. He was teammates with fellow Pole Dominik Olszewski and current New Jersey Devils’ prospect Dominik Bokk. It was also an organization his father had played in; Sławomir Kiedewicz appeared for Kölner EC II in 2001. 

“Was a honour to wear the Haie Jersey for sure, it wasn’t easy to get there obviously I had to show character and work harder than anybody to prove, because of the foreigner status haha

Was really nice to meet and play with players like Dominik, especially when you are young and grow up together”

Adam Kiedewicz on getting to play with Kölner EC and players like Dominik Bokk

After another year at the U16 level in 2016, he would get his shot at the top U20 level the following year. At only 16 years old, Kiedewicz had made it to the top German junior level, the DNL, and it was also for Kölner EC U19 that had just made the previous season’s semi-finals. In his first year in the DNL, he would post four goals and four assists in 41 games. The solid first year attracted the Polish national team’s attention, which appointed the 16-year-old to the Polish U18 squad. 

“Special time for me and of course huge honour to represent the own country, because I was 16 at this time But nothing crazy.”

Adam Kiedewicz on memories of representing Poland U18

In April of 2017, he was off to Slovenia to represent Poland at an IIHF event for the first time. While Poland was relegated from the tournament, it was their first year back in Division 1 after being promoted the previous year. Still, things looked bright for Poland, as they had a special group of players in the tournament. Among the 2000-born players on the team were some notable prospects in Adam Kiedewicz, Damian Tyczyński, Kamil Wałęga, and Jan Soltys. While three of those players have become critical parts of the national team’s future, this would be the last time we saw one in the red and white. 

2017 was the last time Adam Kiedewicz represented Poland internationally. There were quite a few eyebrows raised in 2018 when he was not brought to camp for the Polish U20 team. The PZHL said after the event he was no longer representing Poland. A few people reported that the Toruń native would be trying his hand at making team Germany on the international stage. The reason seemed a bit far-fetched at the time, due to eligibility rules requiring him to play for four more years in Germany before he could appear for the German national team. The belief was now that Poland had lost a strong player to Germany, as was the fear with quite a few other young players. But why did Kiedewicz stop representing Poland? 

“In Germany the rules for foreigners are very strict, so I decided to not play for the Polish national team and get German passport.”

Adam Kiedewicz on why he hasn’t represented Poland since 2017

Following the 2017 season, the passport would not be his only change. He switched over to the Krefelder EV 1981 junior system. A team that is very familiar to Polish fans, as plenty of Poles have appeared for the club, including GKS Katowice forward Jakub Prokurat. Other Polish Root players like Darren Mieszkowski and Maciej Rutkowski also appeared for the team. So why the change in junior clubs? 

“I’ve changed the team because of the school and in my opinion it was the best move for me and my hockey future, Krefeld gave me the opportunity to end up the highest graduate of Germanys school system and by the way pro contract for the Del team so I decided to move on.”

Adam Kiedewicz on moving to Krefelder EV 1981

The passport and transfer seemed to pay off quickly. After Kiediwicz’s first season with Krefelder, where he was one of the leading scorers, he would sign a 3-year deal with the Krefeld Pinguine of Germany’s top league, the DEL. The Krefeld Pinguine were affiliated with Krefelder EV 1981.  He would continue to play junior hockey with Krefelder EV 1981 during the 2018 season. That season he would post over 110 points in what would be the final junior season of his career. 

The Toruń native was now set to play senior hockey after his career-high junior season. He moved up to the Obelriga, Germany’s third level of hockey, now with Krefelder EV 1981 U23. There he was teammates with long-time DEL forward Adrian Grygiel, born in Katowice, Poland. Kiediwicz would spend the next two seasons with the U23 club, posting 62 points in 81 games. 

Following the end of the 2021 season, his contract with the Krefeld organization would expire, and he would not re-sign. For the 2022 season, he moved on to Dresdner Eislöwen, who compete in the second level of German hockey, the DEL 2. He would record 17 points in his first year in the new league. 

“It was a big difference to play in DEL 2 than in Oberliga, the experience that I collected in U23 team helped me a lot to get on the senior level ( physical and quicker ) but there was a lot of strategy plays which I had to learn and I had to be patient on it.”

Adam Kiedewicz on moving from a U23 team in a senior league to a DEL 2 team

The young forward impressed enough to earn another opportunity in the league and has re-signed for the 2023 season. Kiediwicz making the DEL 2 is pretty impressive for a kid from Toruń. He comes from a hockey family that was only really known in Toruń and is growing it on a much bigger stage in Germany. The journey to the top league continues, and I would be shocked if he never makes it to the DEL. Even though he no longer represents the Polish national team, I can guarantee that Polish fans will follow and cheer his journey.

If you want to keep up with all the Polish hockey action, make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey, like our Facebook page, and add us on Instagram @PolishPuck_. Also, support us on Patreon to help keep the content flowing!