“Davies! Davies! They’re going to Switzerland!”

Aaron Murphy’s call on the goal that kept Great Britain in the top flight of world hockey sadly did not prove to be prophetic.

The 2020 World Championships in Switzerland were cancelled along with many other sporting events last year.

Instead, GB has headed to Latvia for the 2021 World Championships with many protocols in place as the event taking place inside a bubble.

Certainly, Great Britain’s group looks tougher overall on paper than in 2019 but with all other tournaments cancelled and no relegation, there is no pressure to keep the top tier status intact.

Russia, Slovakia, Denmark, Belarus, Sweden, Czech Republic and Switzerland are GB’s opponents and life is made no easier with a contracted schedule.

Three back-to-backs with just a day of rest in-between are followed by a two-day break before the final game against Switzerland.

Even the nature of the schedule has been unkind to Great Britain.

They play the second game of a back-to-back against a ‘fresh’ opponent on three occasions – Slovakia, Belarus and Czech Republic.

When GB is the ‘fresh’ team after a day’s rest, they play their two toughest opponents – Russia and Sweden.

When Great Britain faces Denmark and Switzerland, both countries will have fresh legs.

So just what is in store for Great Britain from their opponents?

Russia is arguably the strongest team in Pool A with a roster packed with KHL and NHL players.

Sweden has a mix of KHL, SHL and NHL players along with a sprinkling of NHL prospects.

Belarus has an intriguing mix of youth and experience with few players in their mid 20’s.

Dinamo Minsk players make for over a third of the roster and also have some dual nationals including Geoff Platt.

The Czech Republic will be backstopped by current KHL champion goaltender Šimon Hrubec.

Detroit Redwings rookie defenseman Filip Hronek is also on the roster which is made up of a combination of players playing in the KHL, Finnish Liiga and Czech League.

Denmark is an opponent GB will be looking to right a wrong against after a poor performance in 2019. The Danish roster is hugely experienced with just four players under the age of 25 selected.

Players selected have been drawn from the SHL, DEL, Liiga, KHL and Metal Ligaen, including a notable name in Mikkel Bødker.

Slovakia is an intriguing opponent who I confess is very hard to weigh up on paper.

Players have been drawn from Czech Extraliga, Liiga, the Slovak League and SHL.

Marián Studenič of the New Jersey Devils is listed along with Boston prospect Róbert Lantoši.

Switzerland will be largely represented by those playing in their native NL.

Four NHL players on the roster are Nico Hischier, Philipp Kurashev, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler.

Putting aside blind hope and a warped sense of reality, the best Great Britain can hope for against Russia, Sweden and Switzerland is to do themselves justice and give a good account. In the same way, they did against Germany and the USA and not how they capitulated to Denmark.

Denmark and the Czech Republic are a level below but points against either of those two teams would be an incredible achievement. My expectations would be as above.

Great Britain is likely targeting Slovakia and Belarus as the two teams they could have some success against.

Slovakia has performed well at the last two championships but it’s difficult to measure whether this roster will be able to perform to the same level with many top players missing.

Belarus overtook France in the latest IIHF Rankings and we all know what happened last time around GB played the 13th seed.

Great Britain held a camp in Coventry before flying to Latvia with the main focus on speed.

As they found out in 2019, Pete Russel’s team were at times overwhelmed early in the tournaments by other country’s sheer skating ability.

While mentioning the Head Coach it’s worth noting Pete Russell will not be making the journey to Latvia having put his family first in what’s been a long year for him in Germany.

You can view his reasoning here:

There are a few players who Great Britain will be relying on if they are to have any success.

Ben Bowns:

So often the hero for GB, Bowns’ will be looking to bounce back from a troubled league campaign and show his worth on the international stage.

Ben O’Connor:

The offensively-minded defenseman was the catalyst behind the comeback win against France.

He hasn’t played at a decent level for well over a year now and it’ll be fascinating to see if he can make a positive impact. GB doesn’t have a lot of firepower from the blue line so might be relying on O’Connor.

Ben Davies:

His speed, tenacity and goal-scoring ability were all prevalent in 2019. Davies was the one player who made everyone stand up and take note. He’s not the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue when it comes to goals but his snipe against the USA and finish against France are proof he can score at the highest level.

Mike Hammond:

He scored and scored and scored some more in 2019. His knack for finding the net was invaluable but he also works his socks off on the forecheck. If GB can have success on the power play, you can bet Hammond will have a say in that regard.

Ciaran Long:

The diamond in the rough. A call-up has been a long time coming for the Belfast forward, who is doubtless chomping at the bit to show doubters what he can do.

If Ben Davies was the nice surprise in 2019, it could be Long in 2021.

Matthew Myers, Robert Dowd and Jonathan Phillips:

With no disrespect intended, the old hands. The trio has seen it, done it and got the t-shirt with GB. They will be relied on in various key situations and to integrate the younger and newer members into the team.

Brett Perlini:

Ever since joining the set-up, Brett Perlini has produced offense. Following a good season in the Alps League and a productive Elite League series, Berlini is well-primed to make an impact.

Liam Kirk:

Come on, you knew I would leave the wunderkind until last.

It’s been a frustrating time for Liam Kirk and this is his time to shine. The world will be watching, including NHL scouts and overseas clubs interested in signing the dynamic 21-year-old forward.

There will be nobody more motivated on the entire roster to play well than ‘Kirky.’

His skating ability is second to none and I would imagine he’ll be given more ice-time as the tournament progresses once he gets up to game speed.

Players to keep an eye on:

Young forward Sam Duggan making his full international debut.

Jackson Whistle who may receive more starts between the pipes with relegation a non-factor.

Defenseman Sam Jones and Josh Tetlow are also making their full international debuts at the age of 23.

Full Roster

Goaltenders

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

 Mark Richardson – EC Bad Nauheim

 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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