HOCKEY\\\ I think hockey is coming back to its place and where we would always like to see our national team – said Radosław Piesiewicz. President of the Polish Olympic Committee, during a meeting with representatives of the national team.
The white and red team were promoted to hockey’s elite at the Division 1A World Championships in Nottingham, which ended on May 5. At the event, the Poles beat Romania 6:2, Italy 4:2 and Lithuania and South Korea 7:0 each. They also lost 4-5 to Great Britain after extra time. as a result, Poland will compete in next year’s elite world championships after a 22-year break.
– I hope we will play against the United States, Canada – teams that are said to be where the real hockey is – admitted Radosław Piesiewicz. – A round of applause to the whole team. I hope this is the start of a good time for hockey. As President of the Polish Olympic Committee, I will do my best to help PZHL out of its financial problems. I hope that sports results will speed up this process, that big sponsors will finally appear. It’s a huge opportunity for everyone to create something great in ice hockey.
– What happened was a very long process – added PZHL President Mirosław Minkina. – The union had a lot of problems in 2018, but we managed to reconcile with the players and hire a coach who now shines. Hiring Robert Kalaber was our target. The players, with all their work, all their efforts, have come to what we can all appreciate now – added the president of Minkina.
The Slovak coach started working with the national team three years ago. A year ago, under his leadership, the Poles won the 1B Division World Championship in Tychy (III World Hockey League), and now they got another promotion.
Unfortunately, the picture is spoiled by the financial problems mentioned by Mirosław Minkina, ie the rapidly increasing debt and the conflict with staff demanding payment of unpaid salaries. – After the battles in court, the boycott of the national team, we sat down to the table, we came to the conclusion to change something. We shook hands and everything went in the right direction – admitted the captain of the national team, Krystian Dziubiński.
Now the players have a break during the holidays and then return to training. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, and this year is going to pass quickly. We need to do as many good things as possible,” Kalaber stressed.
Players must not lack motivation, as they are aware that performance at the Elite World Championships can prove to be a springboard for a career. This was the case of Leszek Laszkiewicz, who after the 2002 World Cup signed a contract with the leading Czech team HC Vitkovice.
– Players will have everything in their hands. Many managers from all over the world come to the championships, so if they play at a good level, they can sign valuable contracts – admitted Laszkiewicz, who is currently the team manager of the Polish team. “This championship was great. I had the opportunity to observe Jaromir Jagr. Playing against world-class players I was able to learn, but I also felt proud to play against them and test my level.
The president of Minkin also wants to take advantage of the good times of Polish hockey. – We have several very large universal halls, but there are no permanent facilities dedicated to hockey. There is no infrastructure to organize a friendly match against Canada or Sweden, which would be attended by many supporters, overnight.
We will endeavor to implement the National Ice Sports Center program as soon as possible. Poland needs a hall dedicated not only to hockey, but also to figure skating and curling. This is an installation for six to seven thousand spectators – added the head of the PZHL at the end.
