Why doesn’t Poland have a good hockey team

[SDS]

With so many countries in that part of the world having really good national teams or other in-house competitive leagues, why doesn’t a country large as Poland have its own hockey infrastructure?

[LGR4GM]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:33 PM, SDS said:

With so many countries in that part of the world having really good national teams or other in-house competitive leagues, why doesn’t a country large as Poland have its own hockey infrastructure?

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Does Poland have a preferred national sport like ⚽️?

[SDS]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:34 PM, LGR4GM said:

Does Poland have a preferred national sport like ⚽️?

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The Polish soccer team is decent.

[WildCard]

Culture I would guess. They like soccer not hockey.

[SDS]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:45 PM, WildCard said:

Culture I would guess. They like soccer not hockey.

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I would just think that their culture is very similar to other Slovak countries.

[WildCard]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:46 PM, SDS said:

I would just think that their culture is very similar to other Slovak countries.

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Maybe? Idk really just spit balling. The Irish and Welsh teams aren't good at soccer despite England being right there. Same with Switzerland near France and Greece next to Italy. We get our tails handed to us against Mexico too.

Edit: Actually I think Switzerland is decent

Edited March 16, 2022 by WildCard

[dudacek]

I’m sure it must have something to do with Ralph Krueger.

[SDS]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:53 PM, WildCard said:

Maybe? Idk really just spit balling. The Irish and Welsh teams aren't good at soccer despite England being right there. Same with Switzerland near France and Greece next to Italy. We get our tails handed to us against Mexico too.

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I mean it’s probably not fair that Polish people are the most charming, best looking, greatest people on earth and then also ask them to be good at hockey too. 

[WildCard]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:54 PM, SDS said:

I mean it’s probably not fair that Polish people are the most charming, best looking, greatest people on earth and then also ask them to be good at hockey too. 

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Personally I think that's Germans but last time we went that route it wasn't great

[Marvin]

I don't know why they don't have a good team.  They have been relegated out of the top 16 for a while.

[Weave]

[SDS]

  On 3/17/2022 at 12:54 AM, Weave said:

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The Poles command respect. 

[Two or less]

  On 3/16/2022 at 11:33 PM, SDS said:

With so many countries in that part of the world having really good national teams or other in-house competitive leagues, why doesn’t a country large as Poland have its own hockey infrastructure?

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Easy answer is just money. There is not many rinks in Poland to even have a place to begin to play. Poland got pretty crushed during the 2nd world war and then until early 1990's we were under Soviet rule, so rebuilding was a slow process until we got our independence.

Even the soccer team, has had a resurgence in the last 12-14 years, but prior to that they were not good besides in the 1970s when they were a power before money ruled the sport. There was no modern soccer stadiums or facilities until around 2010. Even the first highway in Poland wasn't build until like 2010. 

Polish player like Wojtek Wolski who made the NHL recently, grew up in a wealthy family in Poland and moved to Toronto area at a young age where his hockey talents took off.

Most popular sports in Poland: hockey, volleyball and ski jumping.

[woods-racer]

  On 3/17/2022 at 1:49 AM, Two or less said:

Easy answer is just money. There is not many rinks in Poland to even have a place to begin to play. Poland got pretty crushed during the 2nd world war and then until early 1990's we were under Soviet rule, so rebuilding was a slow process until we got our independence.

Even the soccer team, has had a resurgence in the last 12-14 years, but prior to that they were not good besides in the 1970s when they were a power before money ruled the sport. There was no modern soccer stadiums or facilities until around 2010. Even the first highway in Poland wasn't build until like 2010. 

Polish player like Wojtek Wolski who made the NHL recently, grew up in a wealthy family in Poland and moved to Toronto area at a young age where his hockey talents took off.

Most popular sports in Poland: hockey, volleyball and ski jumping.

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Did not see that coming.

 

[Two or less]

  On 3/17/2022 at 2:09 AM, woods-racer said:

Did not see that coming.

 

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In late 1990's / early 2000s, a ski jumper emerged by the name of Adam Malysz, and he became one of the best ski jumpers ever in the sport and popularity in the sport went all the way up. Malysz out of his own pocket and many sponsors then invested in the sport and he was very active. Since he retired, Poland has been a ski jumping power house in the world with multiple very good ski jumpers, including Kamil Stoch, who is going to retire a legend in the sport too. Now everyone loves it, and every event is a huge tv ratings event in Poland.

[Broken Ankles]

  On 3/17/2022 at 12:54 AM, Weave said:

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The national team drowned during spring training. 

[SDS]

  On 3/17/2022 at 1:49 AM, Two or less said:

Easy answer is just money. There is not many rinks in Poland to even have a place to begin to play. Poland got pretty crushed during the 2nd world war and then until early 1990's we were under Soviet rule, so rebuilding was a slow process until we got our independence.

Even the soccer team, has had a resurgence in the last 12-14 years, but prior to that they were not good besides in the 1970s when they were a power before money ruled the sport. There was no modern soccer stadiums or facilities until around 2010. Even the first highway in Poland wasn't build until like 2010. 

Polish player like Wojtek Wolski who made the NHL recently, grew up in a wealthy family in Poland and moved to Toronto area at a young age where his hockey talents took off.

Most popular sports in Poland: hockey, volleyball and ski jumping.

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It sounds like maybe you’ve been there?

For Poland, which is just a little bit bigger than the size of Texas, is literally surrounded on all sides by countries like Finland, Sweden, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, and Latvia even… Not to mention Russia…. It just seems like a great big hole in the middle of a hockey rich area.

[Two or less]

  On 3/17/2022 at 3:28 AM, SDS said:

It sounds like maybe you’ve been there?

For Poland, which is just a little bit bigger than the size of Texas, is literally surrounded on all sides by countries like Finland, Sweden, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, and Latvia even… Not to mention Russia…. It just seems like a great big hole in the middle of a hockey rich area.

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I was born and raised in Poland.

Germany is wealthy, while Czech, Sweden or Finland weren't destroyed like Poland was in ww2. Slovakia and Latvia are interesting though, i also always wondered how such a small and poor country got into ice hockey as much as they did.

[SDS]

  On 3/17/2022 at 3:54 AM, Two or less said:

I was born and raised in Poland.

Germany is wealthy, while Czech, Sweden or Finland weren't destroyed like Poland was in ww2. Slovakia and Latvia are interesting though, i also always wondered how such a small and poor country got into ice hockey as much as they did.

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Thanks for the insight! This jives with other things that I’ve read. Apparently, this question has been asked a lot.

 

Some of the people from the Poland subReddit say that Czechoslovakia and Slovakia are more mountainous and therefore concentrated more on winter sports.

[gilbert11]

  On 3/17/2022 at 1:49 AM, Two or less said:

Easy answer is just money. There is not many rinks in Poland to even have a place to begin to play. Poland got pretty crushed during the 2nd world war and then until early 1990's we were under Soviet rule, so rebuilding was a slow process until we got our independence.

Even the soccer team, has had a resurgence in the last 12-14 years, but prior to that they were not good besides in the 1970s when they were a power before money ruled the sport. There was no modern soccer stadiums or facilities until around 2010. Even the first highway in Poland wasn't build until like 2010. 

Polish player like Wojtek Wolski who made the NHL recently, grew up in a wealthy family in Poland and moved to Toronto area at a young age where his hockey talents took off.

Most popular sports in Poland: hockey, volleyball and ski jumping.

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I don’t know if your line about the popular sports was legit or you were making a joke but the mention of ski jumping made me laugh, and I’m Polish.

It was like:  What do they call leapfrog in Poland?

 

 

[Two or less]

  On 3/17/2022 at 3:56 AM, SDS said:

Thanks for the insight! This jives with other things that I’ve read. Apparently, this question has been asked a lot.

 

Some of the people from the Poland subReddit say that Czechoslovakia and Slovakia are more mountainous and therefore concentrated more on winter sports.

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No problem.

Czech the #1 national sport is hockey. Every city there has ice rinks. Kids grow up with the sport. And govt invests in hockey.

In Poland soccer is king. On top of just hockey rinks, but lack of coaches and training facilities.

[Two or less]

  On 3/17/2022 at 4:00 AM, gilbert11 said:

I don’t know if your line about the popular sports was legit or you were making a joke but the mention of ski jumping made me laugh, and I’m Polish.

It was like:  What do they call leapfrog in Poland?

 

 

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Wasn't a joke. lol

Photo from a ski jumping event in Zakopane, Poland. Big crowds, massive tv ratings.

[woods-racer]

It's always a good day to learn something new. 

[That Aud Smell]

Hockey was/is a massive part of Russia's 20th century culture.

I wonder if that alone has had an influence on Poland's view of the sport.

OTOH, the regions of the former Czech Republic embraced hockey, notwithstanding their former imperialist occupier's affection for the sport.

But every culture is different. My sense is that Poland has a unique, singular antipathy for Russia.

[MattPie]

  On 3/17/2022 at 4:00 AM, gilbert11 said:

I don’t know if your line about the popular sports was legit or you were making a joke but the mention of ski jumping made me laugh, and I’m Polish.

It was like:  What do they call leapfrog in Poland?

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This seems to have flown under the radar, but is hilarious.