The squad includes three goalkeepers, nine defenders, and 13 forwards. The vast majority of players compete in the
Polish Hockey League, but only five play abroad.
Kalaber left out one of the country’s leading players, Aron Chmielewski, as the 32-year-old had missed a good chunk of the season due to injury and was not in optimal shape.
“It was a difficult decision. We explained everything to each other and shook hands at the end,”
Kalaber told TVP Sport.
The competition in
Ostrava will be Poland’s first Elite World Championship in 22 years. They will face off in their first match against Latvia on Saturday, May 11.
That will be followed by matches against their other group B opponents, Sweden (May 12), France (May 14), Slovakia (May 15), the U.S. (May 17), Germany (May 18), and Kazakhstan (May 20).
There are two groups of eight, with the top four progressing to the quarterfinals and positions fifth to seventh qualifying for next year's
World Championship.
Poland is the tournament's outsider and the lowest-ranked country (22nd). Canada, in Group A, is currently the world’s number one.
