Tag: Wiktoria Gogoc

Womens Hockey

2020 Top 30 Women’s U20 Players. #9-7

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

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

9 – Karolina Baran (F), 18, KS Cracovia 1906 (10, +1)

Baran had quite the season in the PLHK B league. She recorded 27 points (18-9-27) in 16 games. Her total was second in the league only to teammate Martyna Solorz. Baran almost doubled her 14 point total from last year in two fewer games. The former UKH Debica youth player also represented Poland at the U18s, recording seven shots and zero points. She was very strong at the Olympics hope tournament though and even scored versus Slovakia. Baran looked up to par against much tougher opponents. She should be a substantial part of the bottom six for the national team for years to come.

8 – Wiktoria Gogoc (D), 20, Silesia Brackens, (5, -3)

Gogoc falls in our ranking but remains one of the best defensemen Poland has. Her fall is more to do with the number of other defensemen that impressed me this year, along with the depth in net improving significantly. Gogoc spent most of her year with the Silesia Brackens in the EWHL, there she recorded two assists in 12 games. I think she is one of the players that needed to gain some experience against tougher opponents the most. She handled it very well, and I was excited to see how she would perform at the World Championships, but alas, we won’t get a chance to.

Nevertheless, Gogoc has a long future for team Poland, possibly on the top line of the defense.

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7 – Alicja Wcisło (D), 20, KH Polonia Bytom, (14, +7)

Wcisło is, without a doubt, the most offensively talented defensemen Poland has in their system right now. She was able to post substantial numbers in both the EWHL and PLHKA A. In PLHK A, she had 23 points (13-10-23) in 16 games. This was triple her total from last season in the PLHK A. In the EWHL, Wcisło put up four goals and two assists in 14 games. This was tied for sixth on the Silesia Brackens and top 20 for defensemen overall in the EWHL. Wcisło and Gogoc could easily form the top pair on Poland’s defense for a long time.

Players #6-4

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Womens Hockey

Top 15 Female U20 Polish Players. Part 2: 5 and 4

To see players 15-6 click here.

5. Wiktoria Gogoc

Gogoc has been considered one of Poland’s best defensemen for a long time now. Despite being only 18-years-old, she has already represented Poland on the senior level four different times. She was named the captain of Poland’s u18 team in 2017-18. She plays a two-way game and has the ability to rush the puck.

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Gogoc was able to thrive early in her career against tough competition. From 2015-2017, she played in the top Slovakian’s women league. In 40 games, she recorded 14 goals and 21 assists. In 2017-18 she would return to the PLHK with Naprzod Janow. In her first season back in the PLHK she had 7 points (3G, 4A) in 22 games. Gogoc also played 6 games and scored 1 goal at the Men’s u16 level. For this season, she moved to Polonia Bytom. In Bytom she won the PLHK championship this year, contributing 3 points (2G, 1A) in 4 playoff games. She had 2 assist in 7 regular season games. Her production decreases in the PLHK are a bit concerning.

These PLHK trends add to more concern after her performance at last year’s World Championships. In 207-18, she failed to record a single shot in 5 games, along with being heavily overmatched by the competition at times. I don’t want to judge her performance at his year’s worlds too much due to the fact that there was no way to view the event outside of actually being in China. Gogoc was on the lone defensive pairing, with Natalia Kaminska, that had a negative goal differential. She also scored a powerplay goal at the tournament for Poland.

Gogoc still remains of Poland’s top choices on defense. Her game should still continue to improve and as more strong offesnive players join into the line up making her skill set more useful.

4. Zuzanna Baran

Baran slots in at number four after a very strong U18 championship that saw her finish second on the team in points with 4 (1G, 3A). She was also put in a leadership position with being named an assistant captain.

Baran’s made her PLHK team debut in 2016-17 with KS Cracovia 1906, scoring 3 goals in 4 games. Her season was mostly spent with MKHL Krynica in the Slovakian league. In Slovakia, she had 6 points (1G, 5A) in 19 games. She would have a similar situation in the 2017-18 season. She only played one game in the PLHK, spending most of her time in Slovakia again with Krynica. She increased her production by a lot, scoring 8 goals and putting up 2 assist in 18 games. MKHL Krynica would not compete in the Slovakian league for 2018-19. Baran had shown enough in her time to earn a spot with one of the top clubs in the Slovakian league.

Baran, with Ida Talanda, are the lone Polish players to play in the Slovakia women’s league for a club other than Popradské líšky. The 16-year-old suited up for Sarisanka Prešov this season. She had 23 points (14G, 9A) in 20 games, this was good for 13th in the league. It was the 4th most by any player under 18. Baran is part of the strong emerging core of superb offensive skilled players. She has already proven her abilities in the Slovakian league and I hope to see her take on more challenges in the future.

 

If you want to keep up with all the offseason news make sure to follow us on Twitter @PolandHockey and like our Facebook page.