Tag: Iga Schramm

Womens Hockey

2021 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #7-4

The march into the top ten continues as we reach the top five and those who just missed out. While this article features our player with the highest debut season on the list, we also start to get into a few players who have remained at the top of the list throughout the years. We are also now starting to reach more players who spent their 2021 season outside of Poland.

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.

Players 30-21Players 10-8
Players 20-16
Players 15-11

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

7 – Julia Skręt (F), 16, Polonia Bytom, (Not Ranked) 

Skręt’s career continues to rise just like her ranking, which is the highest debut ranking this year. A strong performance with Janow in the PLHK B led to her joining the powerhouse that is Polonia Bytom. The talented young forward would record three goals and one assist in 15 games across the regular season and playoffs. She spent most of her time during the year in the juniors with UKS Zagłębie Sosnowiec at the Młodzik ŚZHL (U16) level. 

Her strong performance in Poland and potential led to the Tychy native going abroad and joining Södertälje SK in Sweden. They are one of the best women’s teams in Sweden’s second division. The same league where other Polish stars like Kamila Wieczorek, Olivia Tomczak, and Wiktoria Sikorska applied their trade. Skręt will be the youngest Polish skater to ever appear in the league. 

6 – Ida Talanda (RW), 18, Polonia Bytom, (13, +7) 

Talanda is Poland’s best-kept secret. While other players have received interest or made headlines due to going abroad, Talanda has stayed in Poland and flourished. The Krynica native has long been ready for senior hockey, waiting for that special breakout moment. I feel she definitely came close to that in 2021, being only one of two U18 players that played with Metropolis Katowice in the EWHL. There she played 14 games and recorded one assist. In Poland, she recorded a career-high of 18 points (12G-6A-18PTS) in 15 games for Polonia Bytom. Her regular-season 11 points were tenth among all skaters. 

Talanda Goal vs. Gdansk

5 – Iga Schramm (F), 19, Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames, (5, 0) 

Despite the COVID-19 year, Iga Schramm was still able to go abroad and play her first season outside Poland. She was a late addition to the roster of Swiss club Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames, who play in the top level of Swiss Hockey. The 18-year-old posted two assists in 21 games. While not eye-popping numbers, it is in line with what most other young players posted in the SWHL A. Her lone regular-season assist put her tied for 19th in points among U20 skaters. Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames finished second last in the league, scoring only 38 goals in 20 games. The lack of production is not surprising for a few reasons. Schramm is returning to Poland with Poznan and a great year of experience under her belt. 

4 – Zuzanna Baran (RW), 19, ZHK Sarisanka Presov, (4, 0)

Due to my choice to not punish players for lack of games during the COVID season, Zuzanna Baran’s ranking was just kinda frozen as she only played one game in Slovakia for the 2021 season. She did record a single assist in her lone game. 

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Womens Hockey

The Future Core of the Polish Women’s Team Continues to Thrive

Sports are an escape from reality at times, but things like the COVID-19 pandemic can be impossible to ignore. COVID-19 has caused a lot of leagues to be continually delayed or even outright canceled. For women’s hockey, that risk is even greater. Women’s clubs don’t receive the same funding as their male counterparts. Things were looking bleak with funding already being at risk as well as the increased cost of things like COVID testing. The IIHF was quick to cancel pretty much all women’s tournaments while still fighting to hold their select few high revenue events. If there was anything that was going to slow down the revolution of women’s hockey in Poland, it was going to be COVID. That has not happened at all.

The Polish women’s league retained all of their teams, with only PTH Kozice Poznań dropping down to PLHK B. Not only that, but Metropolis Katowice, formerly the Silesia Brackens, are still playing in the EWHL. The EWHL gives national team members chances to play against some top European clubs. The biggest thing is the young core of Poland continuing to play abroad in top leagues around Europe. Wiktoria Sikorska made the jump to the top women’s league in Europe in the Svenska damhockeyligan. While Julia Zielińska returned to Finland, Iga Schramm made her first attempt at a league outside Poland. Multiple young Polish players have also popped up in Slovakia, but the league has yet to play many games. 

Wiktoria Sikorska

Wiktoria Sikorska has long been the #1 prospect in Poland. She is easily the best young forward Poland has seen since Kamila Wieczorek. Even then, Sikorska reached a height that Wieczorek has yet to, as Sikorska is the first-ever Polish player to appear in Sweden’s Svenska damhockeyligan. The Svenska damhockeyligan is considered to be the top women’s league in Europe. 

Through 18 games this year, the 17-year-old forward has a goal and assist with Göteborg HC. While the numbers are not as eye-popping as we are used to with her, they are very impressive in context. Göteborg HC is the worst team in the SDHL. They are currently 0-18-2, with only 20 goals on the year. The team’s leading scorer has seven points, so not a lot of support for Sikorksa. Her two points also rank 9th among U18 skaters. Only 25 other U18 players have played five games in the SDHL this year, so getting there is not an easy accomplishment. She currently is tied for the lead in shots on goals for the team with 44. 

Julia Zielińska 

Julia Zielińska had already made a statement in Finland last year with an impressive season at just 15 years old. I usually have a rule of avoiding talking about players who are under 16, but Zielińska is one of the few exceptions to the rule, as she is impossible to ignore. The soon to be 16-years-old returned to Kiekko-Espoo for 2020-21. 

Since her return to Finland, she has been one of the best two-way defensemen in the country. This included a recent four-goal game! She has splint her season between Kiekko-Espoo’s team in the Naisten Liiga and Mestis. In the Metsis, she has 17 points (8G-9A-17PTS) in 12 games. Her point total ranks 28th in the league and sixth among all U18 players in the league. It is also sixth among all defensemen and second among all U18 defensemen. This is excellent production for her. In the Naisten Liiga, she has managed two games, her first two regular-season games with Kiekko-Espoo. While Sikorksa has a few other forwards, who rival her success, no other polish defensemen rivals the heights that Zielińska has reached. 

Iga Schramm

Iga Schramm is the last of the young polish core making a trip far from Poland this year. Schramm signed pretty close to the start of the season with Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames. The team plays in the top Swiss women’s league, the SWHL A. The 18-year-old forward has played 12 games so far with zero points yet. The team currently sits second-last in the league with 25 goals in 14 games, not the strongest team around her. Playing in a league of this caliber is extremely valuable for Schramm, though, who has shown extensive growth almost every year. 

The Future

These three players are not the only ones who are taking on the challenge outside of Poland. Martyna Sass and Zuzanna Baran are both in the top Slovak league. At the same time, I have also recently talked to a young player’s parent, whose child will be looking to make the jump. Players inside Poland are also both making huge strides, whether in the EWHL or PLHK. The pandemic might have slowed their ascent up the IIHF rankings, but it has not slowed down the progress of women’s hockey in Poland.

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Womens Hockey

Iga Schramm Signs in Top Swiss League

One of Poland’s best young forwards Iga Schramm has signed in the
Swiss Women’s League (SWHLA), the top level of women’s hockey in Switzerland. Schramm is joining the Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames (NHA) per swisshockeynews.ch. NHA finished third last year in the SWHLA. The team made it to the finals, but they were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Schramm had a standout performance at the U18s this last season. She always seemed to around the puck and making a play when she had possession of it. She posted four points (2G-2A-4PTS) in five games, which was tied with Wiktoria Sikorska for the lead on team Poland. She also managed 21 shots in the tournament, her shot total was second on team Poland. She also had a solid showing at the Olympic Hopes tournament, scoring vs Hungary.

Iga Schramm will be only the second Polish player to play in the league. Kamila Wieczorek made her debut in the league last year for EV Bomo Thun.

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_.

Womens Hockey

2020 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #6-4

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 continue 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.

Players #30-20

Players #19-15

Players #14-10

Players #9-7

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

#6 – Helena Grzybowska (G), 18, PTH Kozice Poznań, (Unranked)

Grzybowska took any chance she had to play this year and excelled in it. In this list I have raved about how strong Poland looked at the U18s on the defensive end, a major part of that was Helena Grzybowska. She finished the U18s with a .948 save percentage percent. She also faced the second-most shots at the entire tournament. It was an absolute star-making performance. She also had strong performances at the Olympic Hope tournament for Poland.

On the club side, she played twelve games between Popradské líšky, PTH Kozice Poznań, and Silesia Brackens. In the top Slovakia women’ league, she posted a .942 sv% in 7 games for Popradské líšky. This included three shutouts. In her three games with Poznań, she posted a .950 sv%, while facing at least 35 shots in each game. In two games for the Brackens, She posted a .893 sv%, which was second among Polish goalies and U18 goalies in the league. With Sass and Grzybowska in net, Poland is set for a long time.

#5 – Iga Schramm (F), 18, PTH Kozice Poznań (7, +2)

The forward that stood out to me the most at the U18s this year was Iga Schramm. She always seemed to around the puck and making a play while there. She posted four points (2-2-4) in five games, which was tied with Wiktoria Sikorska for the lead on team Poland. She also managed 21 shots in the tournament, her shot total was second on team Poland. She also had a solid showing at the Olympic Hopes tournament, scoring vs Hungary.

In her club season with Poznań, she posted 19 points (12-7-19) in 12 games. This ranked fourteenth in the league and number one overall on Poznań. Schramm already made her senior IIHF debut last year, recording zero points in five games. I was really excited to see how she would have fared at the Worlds this year.

#4 – Zuzanna Baran (RW), 18, Šarišanka Prešov, (4, 0)

Baran didn’t really have a strong appearance at the U18s. She recorded zero points and registered 11 shots, but Poland’s offense as a whole struggled at the tournament. She is ranked fourth once again thanks to her excellent season in Slovakia. In the Slovak top women’s league, Baran posted 34 points (13-21-34) in 22 games. Her point total ties her for eleventh overall in the league, third among players under 20, and first among players under 18.

Her situational point break down was very impressive as well with 85.3% of her points coming at even strength, 8.8% on the powerplay, and 5.9% shorthanded. Seeing a player do so well offensively without a majority of those points coming in five on five hockey is a great sign about their potential. This was also an 11 point increase from last season when she had 23 points. Baran has a very bright future and should be a valuable part of Poland’s top 6.

Player #3

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Womens Hockey

The Scoring Struggle. 5 Thoughts 2020 Women’s U18 D1B World Championship

Coming into this hockey year, I predicted that both of the Polish women’s team would be able to earn promotion during 2020. Poland’s U18 team had a roster that featured almost everyone returning from the previous year. The key players were taking more huge steps in their careers and gaining valuable experience. My prediction did not occur, as Poland struggled to generate any offense during the tournament. On the final day, the offense would explode with five goals to keep Poland from being relegated. It was the best Poland played all-tournament, but how did the rest of the tournament go?

Attack on Titans

There was a huge size difference in this tournament for Poland. Going by average height, Poland was the second smallest team in this tournament. It was very noticeable at times as taller opponents were just able to push through Polish defenders. It is something that Poland can’t really fix either. It was by no means the disadvantage that lost Poland games, but it was certainly a big hurdle.

Standout Schramm

Iga Schramm made her fourth and final appearance for the Polish U18 squad and she did fantastic. She recorded two goals and two assists, which tied Sikorska for the team lead. She looked very confident rushing the puck and had a solid shot. Schramm was second on team Poland in shots with 21. The Poznan center was great in the faceoff draw as well. Schramm appears to be another solid piece towards Poland’s future.

Best In Net. Best My Chemical Romance Song.

Helena Grzybowska had an absolute standout performance in net. She faced the second-most shots in the tournament and finished with the second-highest save percentage at .948. She kept Poland in every single game of this tournament and absolutely proved that Sass is not Poland’s only goalie capable of starting. Every part of her game was impressive.

Sikorska’s Off Tournament

Wiktoria Sikorska served as captain for Poland at this tournament. It was obvious to anyone watching that she was the best player on the ice for Poland. In her first trip to the U18s she had five points, last year she had ten points, this year only four points. In a tournament, where Poland needed scoring badly their best player did not produce as expected. Sikorska will be able to represent Poland at one more U18 tournament next year.

[highlights] GREAT BRITAIN - POLAND 1_5

A Moral Victory

I don’t believe in moral victories in sports. This tournament was as close as they come through in my opinion. Poland took Austria to overtime and battled hard with Norway.

This team and sport is making progress in Poland. Their performances are getting better and better by a wide margin every year. They played so well defensively that if they were just a fraction better on offense we would be talking about Poland’s first gold medal team of the 2019-20 season.

Quick Thoughts

– This was one of the best defensive performances by any Polish team in recent memory. They were very good limiting at high danger chances.

– Julia Zielinska had some ups and downs this tournament, but her highs showed why she is the future of Poland on defense

– Ida Talanda has some potential and could make for an interesting prospect.

– eight departures from the team are coming, most of them having spent two or three tournaments on the U18 squad. Both goalies are also leaving. This will be a really different team next year and Poland women’s hockey will hopefully show a lot of growth.

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