Great Britain head coach Pete Russell has named his team for next month’s Olympic Qualifiers in Nottingham.

The IIHF Olympic Pre-Qualification Round 3 Group J takes place from Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th February 2020 at the Motorpoint Arena, home of the Nottingham Panthers.

The group comprises of Estonia, Hungary, Romania and hosts GB with only the nation that tops the standings moving on to the final qualifying stage for the 2022 Beijing Olympics

There are some notable absentees from the team that performed heroics back in May against the world’s best in Slovakia when Great Britain performed a miraculous comeback against France to avoid relegation.

Tim Billingsley misses out on the blue line while forwards not selected include Robert Dowd, Robert Lachowicz, Joseph Lewis and Liam Kirk.
Colin Shields retirement represents a landmark in British hockey having been a mainstay of the nation and he signed off in the best possible way this past May.

There are first GB call-ups for Travis Ehrhardt, Brendan Connolly and Scott Conway.

The most intriguing and exciting name of those is the latter.
Scott Conway was born in Basingstoke but has been playing in North America since 2009.
After a three year stint in the NCAA with Providence College, the 24 year old signed professional terms with AHL team, Providence Bruins.
The left-handed centre man has accumulated five points (3-2-5) in the AHL and a further fourteen in nineteen games for ECHL outfit Atlanta Gladiators which includes ten goals.

Brendan Connolly is ten years the senior of Conway but will also be making his GB debut. The Sheffield Steelers forward I the Elite League’s leading points scorer with 42 points (22-20-42_ in 34 games at the time of writing and has proven himself a dominant force during his two previous campaigns in the Elite League for Belfast and Glasgow respectively. The only question mark over him is his discipline, with IIHF officiating far more stringent than the Elite League and special teams are often so crucial in these short tournaments.

Travis Ehrhardt joins his brother Dallas on the roster. A well rounded defenseman plying his trade for a second straight season for Glasgow, Ehrhardt is ranked sixteen amongst blue liners in scoring with 18 points (5-13-18) in thirty games.

As per https://www.icehockeyuk.co.uk/2020/01/15/russell-names-gb-team-for-olympic-qualifiers/
Pete Russell said: “Picking this group was tough but in a good way, as there was serious competition for spots.

“The guys who we have added into the group are having really good seasons so far and we could not ignore their progress at this stage.

“In-season tournaments are a little different from the World Championship and the in-form guys can help us hit the ice with strong confidence levels.

“It’s a short preparation and only three games that await us, so we have to be ready both mentality and physically right from the start.

“Some really good players have not made the 22 and I am sure those guys will finish the season strong to look to force the way back into the World Championship group.

“But right now it’s about the challenge that awaits us all in Nottingham and it’s not a easy one.

“We will, as always, respect our opponents and be backed by our own fans as the home nation. What a great opportunity and experience awaits us all.”

On paper it’s a group that should be highly competitive if you put stock into the current IIHF rankings.

The tournament gets under way on Thursday 6th February with Hungary (ranked 21st) facing Estonia (26th), before GB play Romania (27th) in the evening game.

Great Britain are ranked 20th by the IIHF following the most recent World Championships and enter the tournament as marginal favourites to progress having proved they can compete at times with some of the world’s best and holding the advantage of playing at home.

Thursday 6th February 2020
15:30 – Hungary v Estonia
19:30 – Great Britain v Romania

Saturday 8th February 2020
14:00 – Hungary v Romania
18:00 – Estonia v Great Britain

Sunday 9th February
14:00 – Romania v Estonia
18:00 – Great Britain v Hungary

Netminders
Ben Bowns – Cardiff Devils
Jackson Whistle – Nottingham Panthers

Defencemen
Josh Batch – Cardiff Devils
Dallas Ehrhardt – Manchester Storm
Travis Ehrhardt – Glasgow Clan
Steve Lee – Guildford Flames
Ben O’Connor – Sheffield Steelers
David Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Mark Richardson – Cardiff Devils
Paul Swindlehurst – Belfast Giants

Forwards
Ollie Betteridge – Nottingham Panthers
Brendan Connolly – Sheffield Steelers
Scott Conway – Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL)
Ben Davies – Guildford Flames
Robert Farmer – Lausitzer Fusche (DEL2)
Luke Ferrara – Coventry Blaze
Mike Hammond – Lausitzer Fusche (DEL2)
Ben Lake – Belfast Giants
Matthew Myers – Cardiff Devils
Brett Perlini – Nottingham Panthers
Jonathan Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Ross Venus – Coventry Blaze