The Poland national men's ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Poland, and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. They are ranked 21st in the world in the IIHF World Rankings, but prior to the 1980s they were ranked as high as 6th internationally. They are one of eight countries never to have played below the Division I (former B Pool) level. As of 2024 the Polish national team plays at the top level of the World Championship.
Poland has competed in the Olympics thirteen times, most recently in 1992, with their best result being fourth place in 1932. They have been a regular participant of the World Championship, first appearing in 1930 and having appeared in all but one tournament since 1955. They frequently played in the top division, though were in Division I after being relegated in 2002. Poland made a return to the top division of the World Championship for 2024.
Poland was a regular participant of the early Winter Olympics, first competing at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where they finished ninth out of eleven teams. They would appear at ever Winter Olympics until 1956, with their best finish being fourth in 1932.
Financed by state coal money from the 1950s to the 1970s the Polish hockey team was a regular at the top level upsetting the Swedes, Finns, and Czechoslovaks from time to time. They hosted the World Championship for the only time in 1976, with the matches taking place in Katowice. At this tournament Poland defeated the Soviet Union 6–4 in their opening match, the first time Poland ever won against the Soviets and what is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in international hockey history. While Poland finished seventh and was relegated for the following year, their victory against the USSR helped prevent them from winning gold for only the second time in 13 years.[2]
The national team in 2006.
In the Olympics earlier that year, Poland played 5 matches in the top division, but lost all of them. In the first game, the team managed four goals on the West Germany but it was not enough as they lost 7–4. Four days later, after being destroyed by the Soviet Union, the Poles took on Czechoslovakia who dominated the whole game throughout and won 7–1, but after the drug testing, the officials found that one of the Czech players tested positive for doping and they awarded Poland with a 1–0 victory, although they didn't receive any points in the standings. With only two games left and no points in the standings, Poland had no shot at a medal, but still played the last two games against the United States and Finland, and lost 7–2 and 7–1 respectively.
Poland managed to clean up a bit over four years and played well during the 1980 Olympics and finished seventh out of twelve teams. They managed to pull off a huge upset in their first game by beating Finland 5–4, who would eventually advance to the medal round. In their next game, they played Canada and hoped to complete an even bigger upset. The Canadians didn't let this happen and beat the Poles 5–1. In the third game, Poland took on the five time gold medalists, the Soviet Union. The players knew that this would be a challenge because they had played the Soviets many times before and had lost by usually very lopsided scores, such as 8–3, 9–3, 16–1, and 20–0. The Polish team, however, had also beaten the Soviets once in the 1976 World Championship and some of the players from that game were still on the team. The team tried to keep the Soviets down, but it was too much and the USSR stormed to an 8–1 win.
With their toughest games out of the way, Poland would have one more chance to try to get to the Medal Round. They took on the Netherlands and went down early in the first period but managed to tie it about four minutes later. The Dutch team scored twice more in the period to lead 3–1. Polish hero Wieslaw Jobczyk (who scored a hat trick in the 1976 upset against USSR) scored to put Poland within one goal but the Netherlands stormed back to get two more goals before the third period to make it 5–2. The Poles ended up losing 5–3 and saw their hopes for the medal round come to an end. They had one more game against Japan, who had not won any games in the tournament and only tied once. Poland burst out in the first period and scored 3 goals before twenty minutes had ended. They scored two more goals and Japan seemed out of it. The final score was 5–1 for Poland. The team's final record was 2–3–0 and it received 4 points in the standings.
When Communist rule ended in 1989, the Polish national team began a slow decline in international play. They reached the Olympics in 1992, the most recent time they have played there, and finished eleventh out of twelve teams. During the 1990s the first two Polish-born and trained players were selected in the NHL Entry Draft: Mariusz Czerkawski was selected in the 1991 by the Boston Bruins, and Krzysztof Oliwa in 1993 by the New Jersey Devils; Oliwa won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000, the first and only Pole to do so.
Poland last competed at the Elite level in 2002 World Championship, where they finished fourteenth and were relegated. They then remained in Division I until they were relegated to Division IB in 2018, the lowest they had ever played at. The White Eagles finally returned to the elite level after finishing runner-up in group A in 2023. They will play in the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Group B.
The Kazakhstan women's national ice hockey team represents Kazakhstan in top international ice hockey competition, including the International Ice Hockey Federation's Women's World Championship. The women's national team is controlled by Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation. Kazakhstan had 127 female players in 2011.
The Switzerland men's national ice hockey team is a founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and is controlled by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.
The Ukrainian national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Ukraine, and is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Ukraine is currently ranked 27th in the world by the IIHF as of the 2020 IIHF World Ranking, while their highest IIHF ranking is 11th. As part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine played internationally from 1954 to 1991, and made their international debut as an independent country in 1992.
The Belgium men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Belgium, and has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 1908. They have played in four Olympic Games, the last in 1936. The team also participated in the European Championships from 1910 to 1932. They have won 2 bronze medals, 1 silver medal (1927), and 1 gold medal (1913).
The Australian men's national ice hockey team represent Australia in the sport of ice hockey under the jurisdiction of Ice Hockey Australia which is a part of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Australia competed in the Winter Olympics once, in 1960, when the team lost all of their matches. They have also competed in the Ice Hockey World Championships, 33 times with their best result being a ninth-place finish at the same Olympics with a 13th place in 1962. The national team currently are in division two after being relegated from division one in 2013 with the team being currently ranked 35th in the IIHF World Rankings.
The North Korea national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and represent the country in IIHF competition. They withdrew from the 2007 World Championships, and therefore were automatically relegated to Division III in the 2008 edition, where they finished first. They then played in Division II during the 2009 edition, and finished last bringing them back down to Division III for 2010. They are currently ranked 56th in the IIHF World Rankings.
The Lithuanian national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Lithuania. The team is overseen by Lithuanian Ice Hockey Federation who is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Lithuania is ranked 24th in the IIHF World Rankings. They have never competed in Olympic Games.
The Chinese national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the People's Republic of China. The team is controlled by the Chinese Ice Hockey Association and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The Japanese national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey of Japan. They are controlled by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Japan is currently ranked 23rd in the rankings and currently compete in the IIHF World Championship Division I. They have competed in eight Olympic Games competitions.
The Ukrainian men's national junior ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Ukraine. The team represents Ukraine at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Hockey Championship Division I.
The German men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Germany. The team represents Germany at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Junior Championship.
The Italian men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Italy. The team represents Italy at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship.
The Kazakh men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Kazakhstan. The team represents Kazakhstan at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Hockey Championship Division I. They have played in the championship level 8 times.
The Polish men's national junior ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Poland. The team represents Poland at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Hockey Championship Division I. Poland first played at the World Juniors in 1977, and throughout the 1980s moved between the Pool A and B, before dropping down in the 1990s. They last played at the top level in the 1997 World Juniors.
The Hungarian men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Hungary. The team represents Hungary at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship.
The Spain men's national junior ice hockey team is the national men's junior under-20 ice hockey team of Spain. The team is controlled by the Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Lithuanian men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Lithuania. The team represents Lithuania at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship.
The Romania men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of Romania. The team is controlled by the Romanian Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The French men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in France. The team represents France at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship's World Junior Hockey Championship Division I.
The Poland men's national under-18 ice hockey team is the men's national under-18 ice hockey team of Poland. The team is controlled by the Polish Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The team represents Poland at the IIHF World U18 Championships.
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(28 May 2023) [1] 
13–1 
Poland 
21–1 
China 
20–0 
(1929)
