Grzegorz Pasiut, from the Polish Hockey League champions Comarch Cracovia represented the Polish national team at the recent IIHF World Championship, Division 1 Group A. After his team's last game he discussed the state of the overal state of hockey, both at the national team and club levels, and looks ahead to the Champions Hockey League coming to Krakow.
by Lukas Podlesny
KATOWICE, Poland – For the second year in a row, Poland has hosted the IIHF World Championship, Division 1 Group A and finished in third place, just missing out on advancing to the top group. This year's tournament was in Katowice, while last year's was in Krakow – home of Comarch Cracovia, champions of the Polish Hockey League and qualifiers to the 2016–17 Champions Hockey League.
One of the leaders of both Cracovia and Team Poland is Grzegorz Pasiut. The 28-year-old centre is an offensive leader for his club, combining for 91 points in 76 PHL games over the past two seasons. This year was his ninth World Championship, and wearing an "A" on his jersey he collected 4 points (3 + 1) in 5 games.
In a tightly contested tournament, five of the six teams involved still had a chance of advancing heading into the final day, including the host Poles. Unfortunately, the results of the first two games eliminated any possibility of Poland finishing in the top two. Nonetheless, they went out and trounced Japan 10–4 in the last game to claim the bronze medal and go out on a high note.
Before the game you already knew you had no chance of advancing. What was your mindset heading into the game?
“We knew that we had to win in order to finish at least third. We did it for everything and helped us a lot the first period, in which we were able to score quite a few goals. After that we just had to make sure we kept the game under control and we were able to hold on.”
Did you watch the first two games of the day or were you fully concentrated on their evening game?
“Of course we watched the games, because we had hoped that we'd still have a chance to advance.”
Overall you lost the first two games, then won the last two. How would you evaluate the team's performance overall?
“Those first two games it was very weak, in our view. But overall, we're pleased that we were able to raise our level of play after that and win those last three games.”
You've played for the Polish national team a long time now. Have things changed much since you first started?
“A lot has changed. We're a team that's played together for several years now, and our improvement is the result of the overall cohesion of the group.”
And what about the Polish league?
“It's a bit slower than the national team, but certainly the league is on a significant upward trend.”
The national team has a lot of players from Cracovia and from Tychy. What is it like to play together after a hard seven-game series in the finals?
“It's alright. We're playing for Poland now and it doesn't matter if someone plays for Cracovia or Tychy or anyone else. We're a team and we fight for one another, regardless of club affiliation.”
By winning the championship your club qualifies for the Champions Hockey League. What does it mean for the team and overall for Polish hockey?
“It's definitely a very good opportunity for Polish hockey to attract sponsors, which would ensure that the league gets even better.”
Do you think you can compete with teams from the top leagues in Europe?
“For our team it's not going to be easy and it might go badly, but definitely we're looking forward to competing in high-level games.”
At last year's Division 1-A tournament we found out that Krakow has great hockey fans. How do you think they will react to the CHL?
“I think that fans from all over Poland will be interested in seeing CHL games. They'll want to see different teams and the best teams in Europe, which Polish fans just don't get a chance to see very often.”