When Tampa Bay Lightning training camp opened Sept. 17, Wojciech Stachowiak’s name might have initially blended in for many fans amidst a long list of players.
Signed to a one-year contract in May after being plucked from the DEL, the top professional league in Germany, not much was known about the 26-year-old forward.
Stachowiak has changed that quickly. He ended Friday by tossing a puck over the glass at Benchmark International Arena as the first star of an NHL preseason game. He scored two goals and three points on Friday to lead the Lightning to a 6-5 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Stachowiak’s two goals and three points both co-lead all Lightning players through the first three games of the 2025 NHL preseason.
Jon Cooper liked his first impression of Stachowiak on Sept. 21, when the forward helped set up the game-opening goal in a 2-1 win for Cooper and Tampa Bay in their preseason opener. The forward built on that in Friday’s win.
“You can see he's played pro,” Cooper said postgame Friday… “Sneaky good signing. And again, we're early in the preseason, but he's really taken steps to make himself noticed, and that's what you want to do. Granted, he is more experienced, a little older and stuff like that, but he's going to help our organization. There's no doubt.”
Stachowiak’s hockey story began in a different style of skates in a country far from Tampa. Now in North America, the 2025-26 season could see him achieve dreams he’s held since he first played a game.
‘The best option for me’
Stachowiak prefers to play center, but he can also play on either wing. He scored 10 goals and 30 points for ERC Ingolstadt in the DEL last season before scoring a team-high three goals while having six points in seven games for Team Germany at the 2025 IIHF World Championship tournament in May.
Stachowiak isn’t a total stranger to North American hockey, playing two seasons for Michigan State University from 2018 to 2020 after a short stint in the United States Hockey League.
He played parts of the previous six seasons in the DEL and said this felt like the right time to join the NHL. Tampa Bay seemed like the right organization for that jump, he said this week.
“Just how they treat everyone, how they treat young players and upcoming players, it just sounded like the best option for me,” he said of Tampa Bay. “They want to develop guys to be NHL players, so that's what I'm looking for.”
Stachowiak’s gameplay has been noticeable mostly for its simplicity through two appearances. He often makes the quick, easy play and is effective on the breakout. He has played both on the wing and in the middle so far this preseason.
“Competing would be one of the biggest things in my game,” he said. “My speed, too. I like to get on the forecheck and create offense, but I’m as responsible in the defensive zone as the offensive zone. I’d say I’m a two-way center.”
He scored one goal from the bottom of the right circle on the power play on Friday before adding another on a redirection.
He also had the secondary assist on Zemgus Girgensons’ game-opening goal, getting the puck in the right corner before feeding a backhand pass to the slot. Girgensons had plenty of compliments for Stachowiak postgame on Friday.
“I think he's looked great,” Girgensons said. "He had a great game today. He's looked great in practices. I love his game. He's a great guy too."
A new coach in Germany installed added confidence over the previous few seasons for Stachowiak, who said he constantly aims to improve his work in the faceoff circle.
NHL and Global Pursuits
Stachowiak began his on-ice career as a figure skater at four years old before picking up hockey at the age of six.
He grew up in Poland with his family before moving to Germany by himself at 11 years old to further his dream of playing professional hockey.
“The first couple of years I lived in dorms, hotels, whatever. My first year, there was another buddy of mine that went with me. He stopped and I was by myself for some time, but the team really took care of me and we had a couple of people looking out for us and making sure that we ate well and that we got to school. It definitely makes you grow up faster, but it was necessary.”
Stachowiak grew up idolizing Joe Thornton, which is a big reason why Stachowiak wears No. 19 on the back of his jersey. He has also tried to model his game after other players, taking notes from Evgeni Malkin, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid.
Those players stem from all over the world, but Stachowiak had local idols from his adopted home country in Germany, too.
Some preliminary rosters have listed Stachowiak as a possibility to join NHL players such as Leon Draisaitl, JJ Peterka, Tim Stützle and Moritz Seider for Team Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. That's a primary goal for this season, too.
“I definitely want to go,” he said. “If I get an invite, I'm saying yes right away. It'll be a pleasure and honor if I can represent Germany at the Olympics. So, I'm definitely looking forward to that.”
Stachowiak has played with Peterka, Nico Sturm, Seider and others, but he’s never played with Draisaitl—Draisaitl led the league in goals last season and has won the Art Ross Memorial Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. His 956 career NHL points are most all-time by a German-born player.
“He’s one of the best players in the world, so it would definitely be an amazing experience. A big opportunity to learn.”
Draisaitl isn’t the only NHL superstar that Stachowiak wants to learn from this season.
He wants to play for the Lightning in 2025-26 alongside Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and the many other players expected to see time in Italy. In the meantime, Stachowiak will continue enjoying his latest opportunity in hockey.
“Every guy's goal here is to make the team. How I work, I try not to think about the future, just stay in the moment and have fun with the guys. Have the best training camp I can have and hopefully make the team by the end of it.”
