Heading into the 2019 IIHF World Championships there was one certainty as far as Great Britain were concerned.

If they were to going to upset the odds at the top level of international hockey, goaltender Ben Bowns was going to have to be their star performer.

Bowns has consistently been the best GB netminder playing in the EIHL with the Cardiff Devils and has helped the club win two league titles, a pair of Challenge Cup Trophies and back-to-back playoff championships.

Over the past five seasons, the Rotherham born goaltender has posted a combined .914 save percentage and a goals against average never higher than 2.5 during that time.
Last season the 28 year old also set a new club high with his 29th shutout for the Devils surpassing Stevie Lyle‘s record.

After helping guide his country to consecutive gold medals and promotions, there was little doubt in my mind that Bowns would indeed find another level playing against a calibre of player he had never faced before.

In doing so, the Cardiff Devils netminder earned a whole host of new admirers across the hockey world as his heroics denied current and future NHL stars. His performances ultimately led to Team GB pulling off the unthinkable by remaining in the top echelon of the World Championships thanks to a final stage group win.
His 230 saves were a new IIHF record and although a save percentage of 0.881 might not look pretty on a stats sheet it was an incredible effort considering the amount of rubber and Grade A scoring opportunities he faced.

A taste of Bowns’ work last month:

There was much talk on blogs and social media that Bowns might deserve an opportunity to prove himself at a higher level and a recent report from a Sheffield based newspaper that Danish teams were interested in the goaltender (make your own mind up whether that is any truth in that or whether it‘s a troll job).

I was asked on several occasions whether I thought Bowns is good enough to play in the American Hockey League.
Goaltending is pretty much voodoo but I belive behind a well structured team and defense, Bowns could adapt to survive at that level.

The likelihood of a team from that league acquiring him is low in my opinion however.
More now than ever, NHL organisations want their young goaltending prospects to be plying their trade in the AHL. Bowns could be signed as a potential number three but at this point that would be a backward step in my opinion at his age.

There’s also little to be gained by spending time in the ECHL should a team be tempted to have an overseas netminder. The East Coast league pays very poorly in the main and includes some brutal scheduling and travel.

Faced with that prospect would not compare to the ‘luxury’ of staying with Cardiff in familiar surroundings and of course remaining close to his family, which I believe to be high on the list of priorities for the goaltender.

A European adventure might be much more to his liking but again I believe the fit would have to be nigh on perfect to lure Bowns away from Cardiff.
I can only speculate that the Liiga, SHL, Metal Ligaen or DEL might be tempting options should teams from those leagues make Bowns an offer and I’m certain he’ll take as much time as he needs to ponder his future this summer.

Great Britain’s netminder requires a rest after a busy year and it’ll be intriguing to see what offers come his way and where he plies his trade by the time the 2019-20 season rolls around.