photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
It’s been a while. Prior to Saturday’s game against Latvia, Poland has not been seen in the top division of an IIHF World Championship for 22 years.
To put that into context, the last time Poland played at this level, the youngest man on the 2024 roster, Krzysztof Macias, wasn’t even born. Fellow forwards Kamil Walega, Pawel Zygmunt and Dominik Pas would have been in pre-school. For many involved in Polish hockey today, the days when their country could call on two NHLers might feel like ancient history.
On today's roster, team manager Leszek Laszkiewicz is on hand to provide that link to the past. In 2002, as a 23-year-old, he was part of the Polish team in Sweden; now he can share some of that experience with Robert Kalaber’s 2024 roster.
The stand-out for Laszkiewicz was the chance to face some of the best in the game. “It was exciting,” he recalled. “We played against some of the best NHL players of that time and it was great to get on the ice with them.”
Facing the best was a tall order. In the group phase, Poland faced eventual champion Slovakia, Miroslav Satan, Peter Bondra, Zigmund Palffy & Co, suffering a 0-7 loss. Finland – Niklas Hagman, Toni Lydman, Olli Jokinen, and Petteri Nummelin, due to be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame this month – handed out an 8-0 drubbing. Small wonder Laszkiewicz also recalls a huge step up in class from Division I to the elite. The previous season, he helped Poland cruise through a Pool B tournament in Grenoble, France, securing promotion with a game to spare after an emphatic 13-2 dismissal of Lithuania.
The last chance to escape the relegation round came against Ukraine, and a 3-0 reverse put the Poles in jeopardy.
That relegation round saw reinforcements. Mariusz Czerkawski, a New York Islander at the time, flew in from the playoffs to join Poland’s first Stanley Cup winner, Krzysztof Oliwa on offense. Czerkawski was also on the team in 1992 when his country had previously reached this level.
The pumped-up strike force finally got the Poles on the scoreboard: both NHLers on target in a 5-1 win over Italy, while Jacek Plachta had three assists. If Plachta’s name rings a bell, his son Matthias helped Germany to Olympic silver in 2018.
But it wasn’t enough. Defeat to Slovenia proved fatal to Poland’s survival prospects, despite a final-day victory over Japan. At the time, the World Championship had a place reserved for an Asian qualifier. The Japanese were reprieved, Poland and Italy went down. After beating Japan and finishing with 4 (2+2) points in three games, Czerkawski spoke of regrouping and doing better next time, little knowing how long it would be until the team returned to the elite.
Now the wait is over, but the relegation in Sweden 22 years ago still rankles. Current team captain Krystian Dziubinski, 35, has some memories of following the 2002 tournament.
“I remember watching the games,” he said. “We had some tough results, but what really sticks in my mind was when we played for relegation.
“Japan had some kind of wildcard and the way it ended up, even if we beat them we would drop down and they would stay.”
In 2024, no such wildcard exists. “Maybe things are different now and we can stay [in the top division],” Dziubinski added.
To put that into context, the last time Poland played at this level, the youngest man on the 2024 roster, Krzysztof Macias, wasn’t even born. Fellow forwards Kamil Walega, Pawel Zygmunt and Dominik Pas would have been in pre-school. For many involved in Polish hockey today, the days when their country could call on two NHLers might feel like ancient history.
On today's roster, team manager Leszek Laszkiewicz is on hand to provide that link to the past. In 2002, as a 23-year-old, he was part of the Polish team in Sweden; now he can share some of that experience with Robert Kalaber’s 2024 roster.
The stand-out for Laszkiewicz was the chance to face some of the best in the game. “It was exciting,” he recalled. “We played against some of the best NHL players of that time and it was great to get on the ice with them.”
Facing the best was a tall order. In the group phase, Poland faced eventual champion Slovakia, Miroslav Satan, Peter Bondra, Zigmund Palffy & Co, suffering a 0-7 loss. Finland – Niklas Hagman, Toni Lydman, Olli Jokinen, and Petteri Nummelin, due to be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame this month – handed out an 8-0 drubbing. Small wonder Laszkiewicz also recalls a huge step up in class from Division I to the elite. The previous season, he helped Poland cruise through a Pool B tournament in Grenoble, France, securing promotion with a game to spare after an emphatic 13-2 dismissal of Lithuania.
The last chance to escape the relegation round came against Ukraine, and a 3-0 reverse put the Poles in jeopardy.
That relegation round saw reinforcements. Mariusz Czerkawski, a New York Islander at the time, flew in from the playoffs to join Poland’s first Stanley Cup winner, Krzysztof Oliwa on offense. Czerkawski was also on the team in 1992 when his country had previously reached this level.
The pumped-up strike force finally got the Poles on the scoreboard: both NHLers on target in a 5-1 win over Italy, while Jacek Plachta had three assists. If Plachta’s name rings a bell, his son Matthias helped Germany to Olympic silver in 2018.
But it wasn’t enough. Defeat to Slovenia proved fatal to Poland’s survival prospects, despite a final-day victory over Japan. At the time, the World Championship had a place reserved for an Asian qualifier. The Japanese were reprieved, Poland and Italy went down. After beating Japan and finishing with 4 (2+2) points in three games, Czerkawski spoke of regrouping and doing better next time, little knowing how long it would be until the team returned to the elite.
Now the wait is over, but the relegation in Sweden 22 years ago still rankles. Current team captain Krystian Dziubinski, 35, has some memories of following the 2002 tournament.
“I remember watching the games,” he said. “We had some tough results, but what really sticks in my mind was when we played for relegation.
“Japan had some kind of wildcard and the way it ended up, even if we beat them we would drop down and they would stay.”
In 2024, no such wildcard exists. “Maybe things are different now and we can stay [in the top division],” Dziubinski added.