a basket for the biggest star, a goalkeeper with a newly printed passport – Hockey – Sportacentrs.com

Poland have not played in the elite division since 2002, when they finished in 14th place, ahead of the Italian and Japanese hockey players, but the Japanese, thanks to the Asian quota, retained their place in the strongest society. Not only Mariusz Czerkawski and Krzysztof Oliva – the only Polish hockey players who have played in the NHL – were in the lineup, but also the then 23-year-old Leszek Laszkiewicz. Now Laszkiewicz is the general manager of the Polish national team.

Two years ago, the Poles managed to climb out of the third level of the World Championship, defeating Ukraine (3:2 in the bullpen) and Japan (2:0) in the decisive matches at home. Last year, with the first round, Poland returned to the elite. The only loss was experienced when the host Great Britain conceded in overtime (4:5). 7:0 against Lithuania and also South Korea, 6:2 against Romania and 4:2 against the Italian national team, which was relegated from the elite.

The Polish national team experienced a rapid rise in popularity, however, the year 2024 slowed down optimism. In February, there was a disappointment in the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games, finishing at home behind the Ukrainians and South Koreans. It is Ukraine that will go to Riga at the end of August and participate in the final round of qualification.

Test matches before the World Championship have not increased optimism either. The Poles started mid-April with 5-2 and 6-2 against Hungary, who celebrated winning the first division a week ago and will return to the elite next year. But those were the only wins – a run of six losses in a row, highlighting the team’s problems in attack as Poland scored just five goals in six games.

“When the Polish national team starts well, it knows how to play well above its talent level. However, it is not a team that knows how to fight back if the first goal is conceded. Partly because Polish hockey players, especially veterans, are seriously behind in skating skills,” in a conversation with the portal Sportacentrs.com was evaluated by Benjamin Krzywicki, a Pole living in America, who started describing Polish hockey in English ten years ago by creating a website Polish Puck.

The Polish national team is by far the oldest team in the world championship. Of the 25 hockey players included in the team, 20 play in the local championship. Goalkeeper Dāvids Zabolotny and defender Pavel Droņa play in the German second league, center Kamil Valenga – in the Czech second league (11 games and 0+0 in the Czech Extraliga), 19-year-old forward Krzysztof Macaš – in the Canadian juniors, but Pavel Zygmunt spent the season at the highest level. He was a teammate of Jānis Jakas and Kristaps Zīles in “Verva” Litvīnova, but the 24-year-old forward accumulated very modest statistics – two goals and three points in 37 games.

The 32-year-old Aron Khmeljevskis, who was crowned Ekstraliga champion four times, was left behind. Poland’s current biggest star switched teams in the off-season and joined Olomouc, but suffered a wrist injury in mid-October that forced him to miss more than four months. Khmeljewski returned to the lineup at the end of the season and also participated in Poland’s first test matches, but the head coach Robert Kalabers decided not to include him in the team for the trip to Ostrava.

“It’s a huge surprise,” Krzywicki commented on Calaber’s selection. “Hmelevsky is the most titled player of the decade, a proven value in the Czech Republic. In my opinion, he is still one of the best players in Poland. It’s hard to imagine a more famous name that could not be included in the squad. I don’t want to call it a mistake, but a missed opportunity.”

The progress of the Polish hockey team has been facilitated by the progress of the Polish championship, but Tomek Valtonen, a Finnish coach born in Poland, who led the Polish national team in 2019, but now works as the head coach of the Slovakian Ekstraliga team Michalovce “Dukla” represented by Kaspars Daugavins and Kristofers Bindulis, has mixed feelings.

“The problem that has existed for a very long time – Polish hockey players do not play in strong foreign leagues. Young Polish hockey players should go abroad as soon as possible. The Polish championship can offer such good salaries that leading hockey players will earn more at home than abroad. To break through abroad, first of all you have to agree to a salary reduction, you have to work hard for several years and only then you have to enjoy the fruits. In my opinion, that is the biggest problem,” assessed Tomek.

Last season, six Latvian ice hockey players played in Poland, and defenseman Magnus Jākobsons became the champion together with “Unia” of Oświęcim. Due to unsatisfactory sports results, the Slovakian champion has been excluded from the Champions Hockey League, giving the place to the best club in Poland.

“Poles should be taken seriously – there are no bad teams in the elite. Polish hockey is progressing. Their championship is getting stronger every year. As far as I’ve heard, players are offered more favorable contracts in Poland than in Slovakia. Anyone wants to fight, anyone will try to use the majority. We must prepare seriously.” warned Harijs Vītoliņš, head coach of the Latvian national team, before the World Championship.

Forward Richard Bernhardt, who represented “JKH GKS” of Jastšembe, started but did not finish the season in Poland. The team that the head coach of the national team, Kalabers, works with on a daily basis. “They will try to play fast and aggressive hockey from the beginning and throughout the game, and they will also be disciplined. I think there will be a lot of power play,” Bernhard predicted in a conversation with the Sportacentrs.com portal.

The Poles themselves are aware that the main game is waiting for them on May 20, when they will face Kazakhstan. In other matches, only excellent goalkeeping can help to grab points. Krzywicki believes that it is the strongest line of the Polish national team.

The 36-year-old American John Murray, who has ten seasons behind him in Poland, six of them winning the championship title, is expected to play the role of number one. For a long time there was no clarity about the second number, but the problem was solved in the corridors of the government – the Czech Tomáš Fuchík received a Polish passport. The goalkeeper, whose top flight was the Slovak Ekstraliga, has played six seasons on and off in Poland.

“Given the quality of the league, there aren’t many foreigners of that caliber going to Poland. Although Murray is still expected to play as the No. 1 goalkeeper, playing time will probably be split between Murray and Fucic to keep both goalkeepers fresh from the sheer volume of shots. It will be very important for Poland to be able to compete with other teams,” Krzywicki said.

A week ago, in a test match against the Slovaks, the Polish national team lost three goals in the first six minutes and lost 1:6. “We went out on the pitch with too much respect. Chaos crept into the game, but we were able to sort ourselves out and progress. Let’s be honest – we rarely play against opponents of this level, and it takes time to get used to that pace,” said Patrik Vronka, who has played for three seasons consecutively became the most productive hockey player of the Polish Championship.

He tried his hand at the Austrian, British and French championships, but always returned home. “Appetite is created by eating. We won a ticket to the strongest, now we will fight against the strongest. But we must understand that there is a big difference between the first division and the elite group. I think that keeping the place would be a surprise,” Vronka was candid. “On paper, we won’t be favorites against any team. All opponents have experience in the elite division, we don’t. But we will give everything in every game – so that people can see that we are fighting, that we are trying.”

The Polish team is counting on a lot of support – Ostrava is only a 20-minute drive from the Polish border. Yes, hockey is not among the most popular sports in Poland, but we must not forget that there are about 38 million people living in Poland. An average of 32,000 people watched the test match against Hungary on television in mid-April, and 85,000 tuned in at the peak.

Poland’s squad for the 2024 World Championship