Tag: Alicja Mota

Womens Hockey March 8, 2023

2022 Top 50 Women’s U20 Players. #20-16

We are now in the top 20 of the rankings. In this group of players, we see many who have already surpassed the U18 squad and are now moving on to trying to make the senior national team. Whether they will be able to make the national team and then make impact on the ice remains to be seen. What is for sure, all these players are guaranteed to be stars in the PLHK.

Players had to be under the age of 20 and at least 13 years old on September 12th, 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. 113 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Fifty players received a ranking.

Players 50-31

Players 30-21

20 – Aleksandra Górska (F), 18, Atomowki Tychy (39, +19)

I don’t think anyone had a larger increase in year-to-year production this year than Górska. The Tychy forward went from one point in 12 games to 28 points in 18. Her 20 goals saw her tied, with teammate Sylwia Laskawska, for the 11th most goals among all skaters in the PLHK. A lot of her damage did come right in the front the net, you like to see players bury those. At the same time, scoring chances like that are fewer and far between against stronger teams. Overall that massive production increase during her final U18 season was impressive. She made the Polish U18 squad playing all four games and recording three shots at the September tournament.

19 – Wiktoria Kedra (D), 19, Atomowki Tychy, (31, +12)

The steady stay-at-home defenseman played a career-high in games for Tychy this year with 18 while scoring a goal and assisting on one. Kedra will be an impactful player in the PLHK, but her hockey sense and skating will need to continue to make strides if she wants to work her way up the national team given her limited offensive upside. That defensive hockey sense will probably get quite the jump as she is playing for Metropolis Katowice in the EWHL in 2023. Expereince against stronger teams is the best way for her to hone her promising defensive skills.

18 – Wiktoria Kierc (F), 17, UKH Biale Jastrzebie (36, +18)

Kierc has always shown flashes of offensive potential but really broke out this year with 24 points in 15 games. Her point total was second on UKH Biale Jastrzebie and saw her involved in 57% of the team’s total goals in the regular season. It was also tenth among all U20 skaters in points. With Jastzrbie not competing in 2023, Kierc is moving over to Tychy. It will be interesting to see how her production is impacted. While Jastzrbie was mostly void of talent, Tychy features some of the top PLHK scorers. This will be her first season outside Jastzrbie.

17 – Alicja Mota (F), 18, Polonia Bytom, (22, +5)

Mota has continued to work her way up the Polonia Bytom lineup and is becoming a considerable threat to drive offense. This year across the regular season and playoffs, she came up big with 19 points (5G-14A-19PTS) in just 12 games. Her 1.58 point per game average was tenth among all U20 skaters in the PLHK. Mota also represented the Polish U18 squad for the third time in her career. In 4 games, she posted a single assist and seven shots there. While Poland suffered offesnively as a whole in the tournament, Mota is a player I would have liked to see make more of an impact. Still, Mota should immediately be on the shortlist for senior national team opportunities.

16 – Alicja Kobus (F), 18, PTH Kozice Poznan, (13, -3)

Kobus experiences a slight dip, partly due to some significant risers. With Poznan this year, she posted 22 points in 20 games. These numbers are a tad down from some of her previous top-scoring years when Poznan participated in the PLHK B. She also represented Poland at the U18s this September. At the U18s, Kobus recorded zero points and just four shots. She is another player I had a bit higher hopes for, given her veteran status and past play. For 2023, she is with Gdansk, which should be a much better environment for growth and help her unlock the potential she has shown flashes of in the past.

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Womens Hockey January 10, 2022January 10, 2022

2021 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #30-21

We are finally beginning the women’s list for the 2021 season. I debated a lot about if I should make a list this year. For women’s hockey during the 2020-2021 season, there was a 12 game PLHK season, along with maybe five playoff games. A few top players also have the EWHL season and national team games. At most, you have around a 35 game season if a player played in every single one of those games, which for U20 players was not the case. We are working with a highly limited number of games, especially ones on film, to rank players on. While I never like to judge players on A single international events, IIHF events give us five games with footage where young players had a chance to play. It can represent one-third or more of a competitive season for a U18 player.

I wanted to make a list this year, as every single time Poland’s women team faces a new roadblock, they still find a way to grow. We had some great years and break-out seasons in the PLHK, along with a few players taking large career jumps. I will say take these rankings with more than a grain of salt. I am heavily relying on stats, limited footage, and a few outside opinions. I never intend for my rankings to be material for scouting, but more like a who to watch list for fans.

Players had to be under 20 on June 30th, 2021. 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. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. Ninety-five players were considered for the list and reviewed, and fifty players received a ranking. Players 50-31 will be revealed at the end of the series in the breakdown article. Only the top 30 players receive a report.

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2020, change in rankings)

30 – Amelia Bula (RW), 17, Naprzod Janow, (Not Ranked)

Bula has continued her steady offensive production increase reaching a new career-high in goals with nine in 15 games. Bula’s five goals in PLHK B found her tied for 12th among all skaters in the league. In total, she added three assists for a new career-high in points with 12. The goal-scoring right-winger would have undoubtedly made her first appearance on Poland’s U18 squad. She was named to the initial tournament but will be aged out for next year if the tournament is not rescheduled.

29 – Alicja Kopciara (F), 19, Unia Oswiecim, (24, -5)

Kopciara takes another fall in the rankings. As the forward gets closer and closer to graduating from the list, their production has not increased as you would like to see from a veteran of the PLHK at this point. With just two goals in PLHK A, it was the lowest total of her career. She did add three goals and two assists in five PLHK playoff games. A player that can hang with the best of them in Poland, but may not be a national team level forward yet.

28 – Karolina Rostalska (D), 20, UKH Biale Jastrzebie (25, -3)

Rostalska takes a slight fall on the list again. After a breakout year in 2019 with 11 points, her production has decreased in both years since, and not something you want to see from a player gaining more experience. In total, she had two goals and three assists in 15 games. Of course, they’re also a defensewoman, so I don’t want to judge them on production, but it was also what happened to get them ranked so highly previously. Has above average height for the PLHK and uses her long reach for easy takeaways at times.

27 – Adriana Solecka (RW), 19, Atomowki Tychy (30, +3)

I feel for the players on Tychy in 2021, as there was not much to work with at times. In total, the team only scored 14 goals. A fifth of those goals involved Solecka, who finished with a goal and two assists in 12 games. Not a great year, but she kept pace with the previous production while her team went from 19 goals to 14. Her three points this year were third on Tychy. Again another player where stats don’t tell their whole story.

26 – Anna Zaborska (F), 19, Unia Oswiecim, (Not Ranked)

Zaborska has steadily earned more and more in Oswiecim, and she is now becoming a more reliable option on the offensive side. During the 2021 season, Zaborska set a new career-high with four points (3G-1A-4PTS) in 12 games. She would also add another goal and two assists in five PLHK playoff games. The Krakow native is primed to earn a lot more chances for the 2022 season.

25 – Olga Jaskulska (F), 16, Stoczniowiec Gdansk, (28, +3)

Jaskulska switched over to the Gdansk organization full time in 2021 after appearing for UKS Wikingowie Elbląg and Gdansk in 2020. In total, she posted two assists in seven games, which is slightly below her production in 2021. She also played ten games with the men’s Stoczniowiec Gdansk u18 team scoring one goal. Most likely will be a U18 appointment soon, possibly next season.

24 – Patrycja Wójcik (D), 16, Polonia Bytom, (Not Ranked)

Wójcik is someone I was hoping to see at the U18s. I have heard a lot of great things, with one person telling me they were a guaranteed national team defender soon. That seemed to be proving true this year after rejoining Polonia Bytom after a season in Janow. Playing for the best team in Poland’s women division in a solid defensive role is a good sign for one’s future. While we don’t judge players on anything that happened after June 30, getting chances on Metropolis Katowice is a good sign for how the national team sees her. She played 11 games in Polonia Bytom, with 25 games in the juniors.

23 – Zuzanna Rduch (F), 18, UKH Biale Jastrzebie (Not Ranked)

Rduch has continued to establish herself as one of the best offensive options on Jastzrebie. This year she posted another career-high in points with 32 (21G-11A-32PTS) in 15 games across the PLHK B and C. Her 32 points ere the second-most points among all B league players and tied for second in goals.

Jasztrzebie was one of the few teams I was able to watch a lot of film on this year, even if only random highlights. In those highlights, though Rduch and Szymik were an amazing duo. Rduch likely would have had a shot at making the U18 squad last year, but unfortunately had already aged out for this year.

22 – Alicja Mota (F), 17, Polonia Bytom, (23, +1)

This is where having to rely on statistics hurts a lot. Mota is a young talented forward on a powerhouse team in Polonia Bytom. Offensive chances may be few and far between, and she did get a few opportunities on the second line but was mostly relegated to the third or bottom line. The Ruda Slaska native saw her production drop from five points in 14 games to two in 11. Mota has a lot of talent and would have continued to work her way up the U18 squad roster. She likely missed two U18 IIHF tournaments due to covid. In some games to end the year with the U18 squad, she recorded two goals and an assist versus Latvia.

21 – Matylda Stępień (F), 13, PTH Kozice Poznan, (Not Ranked)

Every year a player on the list makes me feel old. That title goes to Matylda Stępień, who was born in 2008. At just 12-years-old, they were able to post 23 points (15G-8A-23PTS) in 15 games. This was their rookie senior season as well. The Warszawa native also played for the Warszawa men’s junior team recording three goals and three assists in seven games. I hope they are on a path similar to that of Magdalena Łąpieś.

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Womens Hockey March 14, 2020March 20, 2020

2020 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #30-20

While this is not the time when I initially wanted to start this list, as I was hoping to have the Women’s World Championships to help distinguish some players at the top of the list. The coronavirus outbreak has effectively canceled or postponed all tournaments for the year.

This really is a bummer for Polish hockey with the amount of young talent they have at their disposal. It definitely seemed liked Poland had a chance to earn promotion at this year’s senior world championship. Women’s hockey in Poland is vastly on the rise with more players each year and a quick ability to develop players that are able to compete outside of Poland in stronger leagues. The talent pool has evolved so quickly that we have doubled our list size from last year. There is still a tremendous amount of work to be done, but the future is bright. Today we start our 2020 ranking of the top 30 U20 Women’s players in Poland.

A player has to be 20 or younger on March 13th, 2020. There is no minimum age to make the list. Players are judged based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential.

Honorable Mentions (In No Order): Aleksandra Górska, Antonina Puchowska, Wiktoria Kedra, and Julia Grzelak

Rank – Player Name (Position), Age During Next Hockey Season, Team (Ranking in 2019, change in ranking)

30 – Adriana Solecka (RW), 19, SKKH Atomówki GKS Tychy, (Unranked)

Solecka returned to Tychy this year after playing with Janow for the past two seasons. After recording 0 points in 9 games with Janow in the PLHK A, she put up 5 points (2-3-5) in 14 games for Tychy. After some time apart, she is appearing to become a solid forward for Tychy.

29 – Julia Zaborowska (D), 17, KH Polonia Bytom, (Unranked)

Zaborowska made her IIHF debut this year for Poland at the U18s as part of a very good defensive core. I can’t recall her doing any bad, but also nothing that really stood out, which is probably best for a non-offensive defenseman. Her season in Poland was not much either as she only played three games for Polonia.

28 – Olga Jaskulska (F), 15, GKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk, (Unranked)

Jaskulska was able to earn a larger role in Gdańsk this year and recorded her first three assists in the top Polish women’s league. She also was able to slightly up her production at the junior level from 11 points (7-4-13) to 13 points (7-6-13). Jaskulska is still a very young player, and her play at the top level shows some potential. She will most likely be able to earn a spot on the U18 squad in the coming years.

27 – Katarzyna Zaborska (D), 17, UKHK Unia Oświęcim, (Unranked)

Zaborska looked a lot better at the U18s this year, and well I don’t really believe in plus-minus, she was one of only three Polish players to finish positive. She also had a much stronger season for Oświęcim finishing with 5 points (4-1-5) in 15 games, compared to 3 points (1-2-3) in 17 games last season. I feel she could be a solid two-way player for Poland.

26 – Justyna Zyla (F), 15, UKHK Unia Oświęcim, (Unranked)

The youngest and second smallest player on Poland’s U18 squad was impressive at times during the U18s. While her stat sheet was pretty blank with only one shot, she showed she should definitely be back on team Poland next year. She also notched two goals for Oświęcim, during her club season.

25 – Karolina Rostalska (D), 19, UKH Białe Jastrzębie, (16, -9)

Karolina has one of the biggest drops from the list last year. Last year she had an okay showing at the U18s aided by a strong season with UKH Białe Jastrzębie. This year her production dropped by 6 points and her penalty minutes tripled. Along with the number of defenders that impressed at the U18s, her drop was inevitable.

24 – Alicja Kopciara (F), 18, SKKH Atomówki GKS Tychy, (8, -16)

Kopciara had drops in production at both the U18 level and with Tychy. After posting 3 points (2-1-3) at the U18s last year, this year she went pointless at the event. Kopciara was a force last year in the PLHK with 9 goals in 17 games, but only recorded 2 goals in 4 games this year. A lack of production at the u18s and lack of playing during the regular season are the reasons for her drop, but she remains a very strong goal scorer.

23 – Alicja Mota (F), 16, KH Polonia Bytom, (Unranked)

The soon to be 16-year-old is already a three time champion in Poland with Polonia Bytom. Mota posted career highs in games played, goals, assists, and points this year with Polonia after recording 5 points (2-3-5) in 15 games. She also represented Poland at the U18s, but only recorded 4 penalty minutes. She showed some potential at the tournament but was too often overmatched. She also represented Poland at the youth Olympics.

22 – Alicja Sowa (F), 16, KH Polonia Bytom, (Unraked)

Sowa was apart of the worst line at the 2019 U18s, but that was not the case in 2020. Her play drastically improved, though Poland was much better defensively overall. Sowa’s biggest jump came with Polonia. This year she recorded 8 points (1-7-8) in 15 games to help Polonia to first place. This was after she was pointless in 10 games the previous year.

21 – Julia Łapińska (F), 15, GKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk, (Unranked)

At just 14 years old, Lapinska was able to finish top 25 in PLHK scoring. She had a great year for Gdańsk recording 13 points (6-7-13) in 10 games. This included good performances at the junior level as well. She is very short at 4’9 and likely her height contributed to her being left off the U18 squad, but I have no doubt if she keeps up her production she will make the team next year.

20 – Magdalena Łąpieś (F), 14, GKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk, (Unranked)

Lapies legit turns 14 on March 15th, the 13-year-old finished top 15 in PLHK scoring with 24 points (8-16-24) in 15 games. Lapies comes out of a promising Lodz youth hockey program that is continuing to pump out a lot of great talent. She has produced at a strong rate anywhere she has gone. She will likely be joining the Polish U18 squad very soon.

Players #19-15

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Tag: Alicja Mota

2022 Top 50 Women’s U20 Players. #20-16

2021 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #30-21

2020 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #30-20

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