The 2019 World Champions and Great Britain’s epic fight to stave off relegation feels like a lifetime ago.

A global pandemic put paid to the 2020 competition and even this upcoming unique event to be hosted in Latvia is going to be played in a bubble.

There were doubts about what strength of squad head coach Pete Russell was going to be able to name with many of the top players having many different concerns about the event.

Any concerns have been laid to rest with many familiar names returning and some exciting players will be making their full international debuts.

Countries are permitted to select a 28-player roster for this year’s tournament and Russell has announced an initial 27, with one player to be added in the coming days.

Those missing out after being a part of the 2019 squad are goaltender Thomas Murdy and defensemen Tim Billingsley, Stephen Lee, Mark Richardson and Paul Swindlehurst.
As regards the forwards, Robert Farmer, Joey Lewis and Colin Shields (retired) will all be missing with the former having not played competitive hockey for a while now and it was no surprise to see Farmer’s omission.

Five players are named in a full World Championship squad for the first time after previously representing GB as a junior.

Goaltender Jordan Hedley and defensemen David Clements and Josh Tetlow are joined by forwards Lewis Hook and Ciaran Long.
Blue-liner Sam Jones receives a first-ever Great Britain call-up and he along with Tetlow are the only defensemen under the age of 25 in the squad.

The firepower of Mike Hammond, Robert Dowd and Brett Perlini are much welcomed retentions along with starlet Liam Kirk who will be keen to put in a good showing with the world and NHL scouts watching.
The experience of Matthew Myers, Jonathan Phillips, Evan Mosey, David Philips, Ben O’Connor and Ben Bowns will help ease the transition of the newcomers into the team.

Had more players chosen to opt-out of this year’s world championships some talented youngsters would likely have been presented with a fantastic opportunity to represent GB.

Head Coach, Pete Russell, said: “As with any Great Britain squad, the coaching staff had many difficult decisions to make concerning this year’s team.

“A number of core GB players are unavailable for selection and we will miss those players for sure, but I still feel we have some great depth across our roster.

“Once again, this is the pinnacle of any player’s career and it will be a massive honour for them to step onto the ice against some of the best teams in the world.

“The squad has a good mixture of experience and fantastic young talent, but I do want to give a special mention to two players – Joe Hazeldine and Josh Waller – who just missed out. They are exciting prospects for the future and their day will come – and what I will say is that if anyone has to pull out, they will be on the plane.”

https://www.icehockeyuk.co.uk/2021/04/22/gb-name-team-for-world-championship-in-latvia/

If there’s one country and set of players that will handle bubble life it’s Team GB. Their camaraderie has played a key role in the success of the team under Russell’s tenure and will need to come into play during this unique tournament.

Although Great Britain’s tenure at the elite level of international hockey is safe for this year with no relegation, there will still be an enormous amount of professional and country pride at stake in not wanting to finish at the bottom of the standings.

Team GB will play three back-to-backs in nine days.
Russia and Slovakia, Denmark and Belarus before facing Sweden and Czech Republic.
After a two-day break, GB will then play Switzerland in the last group games.

GB roster (players listed by their Elite Series/NIHL Cup club or current club if playing in Europe)

Goaltending
Ben Bowns – Nottingham Panthers
Jordan Hedley – Coventry Blaze
Jackson Whistle – Nottingham Panthers

Defense
David Clements – Coventry Blaze
Dallas Ehrhardt – Manchester Storm
Mark Garside – Nottingham Panthers
Sam Jones – Sheffield Steelers
Evan Mosey – EHC Freiburg
Ben O’Connor – Sheffield Steeldogs
David Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Josh Tetlow – Nottingham Panthers

Forwards
Ollie Betteridge – Nottingham Panthers
Brendan Connolly – Sheffield Steelers
Ben Davies – Manchester Storm
Robert Dowd – Sheffield Steelers
Sam Duggan – Coventry Blaze
Luke Ferrara – Coventry Blaze
Mike Hammond – Coventry Blaze
Lewis Hook – Nottingham Panthers
Liam Kirk – Sheffield Steelers
Robert Lachowicz – Nottingham Panthers
Ben Lake – Manchester Storm
Ciaran Long – Manchester Storm
Matthew Myers – Sheffield Steelers
Brett Perlini – Nottingham Panthers
Jonathan Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Ross Venus – Coventry Blaze

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