Leading up to the start of 2019-20 season, we will preview every team in the PHL

There are just some sports teams that never seem to lose, no matter how the odds are stacked against them, they just seem to still be there contending for a shot at the title. Cracovia Krakow is the New York Yankees or New England Patriots of the PHL. Last season, they struggled, and it seemed that Cracovia was done for. Torun had taken their place in the standings at times and every part of the team seemed inconsistent. Then they went to the finals anyway losing to GKS Tychy. Since 2007-08 they have appeared in the finals 9 out of 12 times. There is just no counting them out. ITS A TRAP THEY LULL THE OTHER PHL TEAMS INTO BEFORE STRIKING LIKE A VIPER.

Forwards

Ondrej Mikula – Michal Vachovec – Damian Kapica

Mateusz Bepierszcz – Kamil Kalinowski – Michal Barta

Filip Drzewiecki – Adam Domogala – Sebastian Brynkus

Lukasz Kaminski – Kasper Bryniczka – Mateusz Bezwinski

Other forwards: Antoni Dziurdzia

The offense is similar to most years with Cracovia, some familiar faces with talented imports surrounding them. Damian Kapica is the best Polish forward in the PHL without a doubt. He is an incredibly gifted goal scorer as shown by his five-goal performance against Ukraine at the World Championship. Michal Vachovec returns after finishing third in scoring during the 2018-19 PHL season. Vachovec is a really skilled player and a joy to watch. Ondrej Mikula is the most significant addition to the team this year. The Slovakian winger has played 480 games in the Tipsport Liga, recording 239 points. In pre-season matches, he has produced quite well for Krakow. Cracovia will now also have Kamil Kalinowski for a full season. After coming over from GKS Tychy, he had 16 points in 22 games. Michal Barta is currently on a try-out and an interesting import. Barta has produced well in the top two levels of Czech hockey and had an above-average season in the Tipsport Liga. Adam Domogola is a personal favorite player of mine, and I was glad to see him post career-high numbers in the PHL last season. He is finally starting to break through and reach the potential he showed as a younger player. Then there are key pieces to the national team’s future like Sebastian Brynkus and Lukasz Kaminski. It is an ideal offense in the league without import rules.

Defensemen

Miloslav Jáchym – Bartlomiej Bychawski

Maciej Kruczek – Mateusz Rompkowski

Ales Jezek – Jiri Gula

Patryk Gosztyla – Bartosz Dabkowski

Other defensemen: Adrian Gajor

The defensive group is one of the best in the PHL and features some of the best depth in all of Poland. Miloslav Jáchym came over mid-season from Unia Oswiecim and was impressive. Like a lot of defensemen on Krakow, Jachym is a defensive first guy and doesn’t really offer a lot at the offensive end. I usually prefer defensemen that have stronger offensive tendencies, but none of the defensive only guys on Krakow can be upgraded that easily. Bartlomiej Bychawski is a fun player to watch. You never really know what you’re going to get. He is good at both ends of the ice, but also can be overly physical and take a lot of penalties. Maciej Kruczek is one of the top defensemen in Poland. He plays a strong two-way game. You know he is going to play a reliable game if Cracovia supplies his equipment… Patryk Gosztyla returns to Poland after developing in the Slovak junior system since 2015. Gosztyla has polished his skills and is ready to try his hand at professional hockey. This is a great defensive group with a lot of depth. I would prefer more offensive types, but this model as never dragged down Cracovia before.

Goalies

Miroslav Kopriva

Robert Kowalowka

The goaltending for Cracovia should be near the top, as Miroslav Kopriva showed a lot during his 16 game stint last season. Kopriva also has a strong history in the Central Hockey League and Tipsport Extraliga. The problem is his more recent performances in the Czech Republic’s first league and the Elite Ice Hockey League. There he posted back to back seasons with save percentages under .900. If Kopriva does struggle that could be the kiss of death for Krakow, as they no longer have a ready to start back-up like Michael Luba to turn to. Robert Kowalowka has been pretty inconsistent in his career so far and never played more than 11 games. Part of me wishes he played more though given his success in juniors and in small sample sizes in the PHL.

Prediction: 4th 

I am not as a big of a fan of Cracovia’s roster as I am for some teams. They still have a solid roster that should contend for a championship, but I feel there are more skilled and exciting teams. You can never count them out though, whenever things are bleak they still find a way. You also can’t forget about late-season transfers with them. Kalinowski, Kopriva, Jachcym, and Jezek all arrived halfway through the season last year and that isn’t counting ones who didn’t re-sign like Marek Tvrdon. You just can’t count them out.

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