Walery Kosyl played in two Olympics and four top-level World Championships for Poland.
photo: Polish Ice Hockey Federation
Polish ice hockey has lost a legend. Walery Kosyl, one of the greatest goalies to have played in the Polish leagues and who represented his country many times at IIHF events, passed away on 8 November at age 81 at the Radosc Nursing Home in Poland. The announcement was made by Jacek Bogusiak, a longtime historian of the LKS Lodz team.
Kosyl was born in Nazi Germany during the war, where his parents had been deported for forced labour. They later returned to Poland and settled in a modest house on Pienista Street in Lodz. Walery was attracted to hockey at an early age. He became a fine goalie in his teens and made his professional debut with the local club team, LKS Lodz, in 1962, the team for which he would play most of the next two decades.
He made his international debut at the 1966 World Championship in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, playing in five of the team’s seven games. It was his first of seven tournaments during a time that the team struggled to remain in the A Pool, moving up and down between B Pool. He played at the 1967 Worlds, B Pool, and when the team was promoted for 1970, Kosyl played in seven of the team’s ten games, notably a 2-2 tie with East Germany, Poland’s only point of the event.
Kosyl was again front and centre at the 1972 Olympics, appearing in all five of Poland’s games, and a year later he played virtually every minute of the 1973 Worlds, starring in the team’s 4-1 win over Germany and stopping 24 of 25 shots along the way. He also played in their 1-1 tie with Finland.
In 1974, Kosyl again played in all ten games of the World Championship, and he made his final starts with Poland at the 1976 Olympics, when the team finished sixth.
In domestic-league play, Kosyl was in a class of his own. He played for 20 seasons, all but three with Lodz (Legia Warsaw, 1964-67, where he was stationed for military duty). He was Sport magazine’s Golden Stick winner for the 1972-73 season as the best player in Poland and won the league title with Legia in his final season there.
Kosyl was as quirky as any goalie. He once scored a goal in a league game by skating up ice with the puck, then firing a bullet shot from inside the blue line that startled the opposing goalie.
He had many offers to play abroad but rejected them all, preferring to be near friends and family. After retiring, he coached the Lodz team on two occasions, 1984-85 and 1987-88, and he also trained young players from the Lodz Hockey Club at the local Sports Centre. The team now hosts a youth tournament in his honour, the winner receiving the Kosyl Cup.
Kosyl was born in Nazi Germany during the war, where his parents had been deported for forced labour. They later returned to Poland and settled in a modest house on Pienista Street in Lodz. Walery was attracted to hockey at an early age. He became a fine goalie in his teens and made his professional debut with the local club team, LKS Lodz, in 1962, the team for which he would play most of the next two decades.
He made his international debut at the 1966 World Championship in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, playing in five of the team’s seven games. It was his first of seven tournaments during a time that the team struggled to remain in the A Pool, moving up and down between B Pool. He played at the 1967 Worlds, B Pool, and when the team was promoted for 1970, Kosyl played in seven of the team’s ten games, notably a 2-2 tie with East Germany, Poland’s only point of the event.
Kosyl was again front and centre at the 1972 Olympics, appearing in all five of Poland’s games, and a year later he played virtually every minute of the 1973 Worlds, starring in the team’s 4-1 win over Germany and stopping 24 of 25 shots along the way. He also played in their 1-1 tie with Finland.
In 1974, Kosyl again played in all ten games of the World Championship, and he made his final starts with Poland at the 1976 Olympics, when the team finished sixth.
In domestic-league play, Kosyl was in a class of his own. He played for 20 seasons, all but three with Lodz (Legia Warsaw, 1964-67, where he was stationed for military duty). He was Sport magazine’s Golden Stick winner for the 1972-73 season as the best player in Poland and won the league title with Legia in his final season there.
Kosyl was as quirky as any goalie. He once scored a goal in a league game by skating up ice with the puck, then firing a bullet shot from inside the blue line that startled the opposing goalie.
He had many offers to play abroad but rejected them all, preferring to be near friends and family. After retiring, he coached the Lodz team on two occasions, 1984-85 and 1987-88, and he also trained young players from the Lodz Hockey Club at the local Sports Centre. The team now hosts a youth tournament in his honour, the winner receiving the Kosyl Cup.