The evening of April, 28, 2018 will long live in the memory for the fans, followers and everyone associated with Great Britain ice hockey.

Requiring just a tie in regulation to secure the single point for the gold medal and promotion to the top echelon of World Championship hockey, GB found themselves trailing 2-1 to hosts Hungary with time fast running out.
Cue a goal with 15.8 seconds remaining to guarantee that point and an eventual victory in the shootout – which ensured GB facing the world’s best in Slovakia this May in the IIHF World Championships.

 

IIHF 2019 World Championships

Group A (Košice)
Canada (1)
United States (4)
Finland (5)
Germany (8)
Slovakia (10)
Denmark (12)
France (13)
Great Britain (22)

Group B (Bratislava)
Sweden (2)
Russia (3)
Czech Republic (6)
Switzerland (7)
Norway (9)
Latvia (11)
Austria (17)
Italy (19)

GB has found themselves in a group with powerhouses Canada and the USA.
Both countries feature a plethora of NHL stars and after finishing fourth and third respectively last time around, will be hungry to turn that into a gold medal in 2019.

Finland were quarter finalists in 2018 and could feature players such as Mikael Granlund, Kasperi Kapanen and Eeli Tolvanen, though the only current NHL player on their roster at the time of writing is Juho Lammikko.

Germany are ranked 8th in the world and have an outstanding star in their ranks with Leon Draisaitl plus other regular NHL players Dominik Kahun and Korbinian Holzer.

Slovakia are not the force they were in the early 2000’s but as hosts will have the backing of the home nation and are likely to field a roster of hugely experienced players including regular NHL talent Christián Jaroš, Tomáš Tatar, Erik Černák and Richard Pánik.

Denmark will be an unknown quantity without Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, Frederik Andersen amongst their ranks. They will be far from a pushover though with Ottawa right winger Mikkel Bødker in their ranks and others who ply their trade in the AHL, Sweden and Finland.

France shall be the last opponents GB face in the group stage and it could well be a pivotal encounter that decides both teams fate. The French are the lowest seeded team after GB but have been known to cause a shock or two at the World Championships, having beaten Russia and Canada in the past and most recently defeated Finland in 2017. The majority of the French roster play in their native league.

Head coach Pete Russell named a 25-man squad which somewhat controversially didn’t feature Ciaran Long despite putting up sixty points in as many games for the Manchester Storm this past season.

Goaltenders
Ben Bowns – Cardiff Devils
Thomas Murdy – Cardiff Devils
Jackson Whistle – Sheffield Steelers

Defencemen
Tim Billingsley – Nottingham Panthers
Dallas Ehrhardt – Manchester Storm
Steve Lee – Nottingham Panthers
Evan Mosey – Cardiff Devils
Ben O’Connor – Sheffield Steelers
David Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Mark Richardson – Cardiff Devils
Paul Swindlehurst – Belfast Giants

Forwards
Ollie Betteridge – Nottingham Panthers
Ben Davies – Guildford Flames
Robert Dowd – Sheffield Steelers
Robert Farmer – Nottingham Panthers
Luke Ferrara – Coventry Blaze
Mike Hammond – Manchester Storm
Liam Kirk – Peterborough Petes
Robert Lachowicz – Nottingham Panthers
Ben Lake – Coventry Blaze
Joey Lewis – ESV Kaufbeuren
Matthew Myers – Cardiff Devils
Brett Perlini – Nottingham Panthers
Jonathan Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Colin Shields – Belfast Giants

Now the moment has almost arrived, excitement for the challenge ahead is at an all-time high but this is professional sport and GB won’t be happy just to cherish the memories through ten days of competition.
So can they avoid relegation after putting in tremendous work to reach this level for the first time since 1994?

The task at hand is perhaps best summed up by the fortunes of the relegated teams in 2018.
Belarus and South Korea finished bottom of Group A and B respectively, neither attaining a point and a combined goal differential of minus 72.

The expectation of everyone on the outside is that Great Britain are likely to be mauled by every opponent. However this is a group of players who have been exceeding expectations and defying the odds for the past two years.

Dare to dream was the motto during the last campaign and this roster will give it their all in attempting to cause an upset – they may only need one to ensure they remain at this level for 2020.

Key factors for success:

Coaching:

There will be a certain amount of pressure on Head Coach Pete Russell, who will need to indulge in some pragmatism in order for GB to have the best chance of staving off relegation.
Six of the games are back-to-backs and managing ice-time for key players as well as goaltending duties has to be high on the agenda. That along with thinking outside the box with tactics and diligently preparing the players for what they face alongside special teams.

Special teams:

Team GB has a history of a lack of discipline at IIHF tournaments and top level opponents will make hay given enough power play opportunities.
If step one is to remain disciplined, then step two is to improve upon a penalty kill that has historically struggled.
Yes Ben Bowns and Jackson Whistle (I believe both will receive playing time) will have to be GB’s best penalty killers but the unit in front of them has to be both brave and smart in order to deny some of the world’s best talent on show.

The power play was a strength in helping GB to be promoted, netting four goals at a 22% strike rate.
With even strength scoring opportunities like to be at a premium, the power play could make a decisive difference in GB’s fortunes.

Key players:

Without trying to overstate the obvious – GB’s best players have to be their best players for them have any kind of success.

Ben Bowns is the backbone of GB and had another tremendous season for Cardiff Devils despite a slightly rocky start and set a new all-time franchise record for the club.
There can be no higher praise than from the highly experienced Charles Linglet who has played in the AHL, NHL, KHL and at the international level – “In Ben Bowns they (Team GB) have a goalie who I’ve seen for myself can steal you games. He steps up for big games and hopefully for big tournaments like this.”
If Bowns plays out of his skin then GB have the capability to shock one of the lower ranked countries.

With goals likely to be hard to come by, defensemen Ben O’Connor and Evan Mosey are likely going to be key in providing some much needed offense from the blue line with both that way inclined.
Both are highly experienced campaigner that will be relied on heavily in most situations.

Brett Perlini was named the best forward and overall player by the media in 2018 IIHF World Championship Division I, Group A last year.
He was GB’s leading goal scorer hitting the twine four times and was tied with Ben O’Connor for leading scorer on the team with six points.
A former draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks, Perlini spent much of his playing career in the minor leagues of North America before heading to UK shores in 2017. Nobody will be more motivated than the 28 year old to have success at this level.

Liam Kirk is very much the wild card of the pack having played a bit-part in GB’s promotion last year.
Since then the Arizona Coyotes draft has put together a very impressive rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League and was dominant in recent GB junior action.
With a penchant for finding the net during his time in North America to date, the 19yo might surprise with his skills in front of goal and general development in his overall game.

Schedule (Times in BST)

Saturday, 11 May

Great Britain v Germany (15:15)

Sunday, 12 May

Great Britain v Canada (19:15)

Tuesday, 14 May

Great Britain v Denmark (15:15)

Wednesday, 15 May

Great Britain v USA (15:15)

Friday, 17 May

Great Britain v Finland (19:15)

Saturday, 18 May

Great Britain v Slovakia (19:15)

Monday, 20 May

Great Britain v France (15:15)