Great Britain has continued to defy the odds at the top tier of men’s hockey.

The 2022 World Championships will be their third go-around in Pool A, and the task is no less arduous than in 2019 and 2021.

The absence of Liam Kirk and Mike Hammond through injury leaves a gaping hole offensively in the roster.

How big?

Hammond scored four of Great Britain’s total of nine goals in the 2019 campaign.

 Liam Kirk led the way with seven goals and two assists in 2021, with Mike Hammond next best with four points (2G, 2A).

The remainder of the roster contributed just a further four goals.

The addition of Scott Conway to the roster adds an unknown dynamic to Great Britain’s team.  

Opponents will have seen very little of the Belfast Giants forward beforehand.

An elite goal scorer and point producer in the Elite League this past season, Pete Russell will hope the former Providence Bruins forward can recapture that magic in his first appearance at the World Championships.

There are goals on the roster, however. Brett Perlini and Robert Dowd have shown themselves to be capable.

Ben Davies has scored against the best in the world. Remember the snipe from out of the box against the USA. Oh, and a certain goal against France.

Players have stepped up in past campaigns. This will be no different.

Great Britain will again rely heavily on stalwart goaltender Ben Bowns, who looked sharp in the warm-up games despite his season in Slovakia having ended weeks previously.

Defensively, Great Britain looks in good shape. There is plenty of experience combined with young blueliners who are comfortable in possession and making breakout plays.

FULL ROSTER: https://www.icehockeyuk.co.uk/list/great-britain-men/

The warm-up games taken at face value, appear to have been a disaster.

Four defeats, little in the way of offense and Denmark took them to town last Sunday in a crushing 8-0 reverse.

 Let’s not forget that the Danes have some incredibly talented players from the top echelon of North America and Europe.

 I read nothing into warm-up games where different combinations are tested, special teams and systems tinkered with and the intensity of a tournament simply isn’t there.

There should be plenty of optimism in the camp. There are fresh new faces in Cade Neilson and Josh Waller to generate excitement, whilst the older guys have been here before and will have confidence at this level now.

The focus in Group B for fans and pundits will doubtless focus on the last game of the tournament.

 However, there might be possibilities to pick up points before a potential ‘France 2019’ clash against Norway.

Saturday, May 14:

Great Britain v Czechia

Czechia is an extremely solid nation in the top tier and will cause problems for other teams in this tournament.

They have qualified for the quarter-finals in four of the last five tournaments, winning bronze in 2019.

 During that time, Czechia has lost just six games in regulation through the group stage and will provide a stern opening test for Great Britain.

 There is a wealth of NHL (2744), AHL (1986) and KHL (1054) experience on the roster. Not only that, but this roster has played a combined 327 games at the World Championships.

 Some familiar NHL (prospect) names include goaltenders, Lukas Dostal (Anaheim), Marek Langhamer and Karel Vejmelka (both Arizona).

 Defensemen Filip Hronek (Detroit), Radim Simek (San Jose) and forwards Tomas Hertl (San Jose), Dominik Simon (Anaheim) and Jakub Vrána (Detroit).

 Sunday, May 15:

 Great Britain v Norway

 Norway has established itself as a top tier nation without pulling up any trees.

 In the last eight competitions, they have finished 10-13, failing to qualify for the quarter-finals but rarely under threat of being relegated.

 In the same vein as Czechia, Norway has a roster chock full of World Championship experience (550 games).

 The vast majority of the team plays in Norway, but there is scattered experience in the NHL, AHL and across Europe including the SHL, Liiga and DEL.

Norway has a potential NHL Defenseman in Emil Martinsen (Lilleberg), a 107th overall selection by the Arizona Coyotes in 2021.

I believe Great Britain should be targeting this game as one they could legitimately steal a point or more. The downside is that Norway will have had a rest day after playing hosts Finland on Friday, whilst GB is playing the second half of a back-to-back.

Tuesday, May 17:

Great Britain v Sweden

Sweden will be hugely motivated in 2022 after shockingly failing to qualify from the group stage in the last World Championships.

Before that, Sweden made the quarter-finals in 2019 and was crowned champions in 2017 and 2018.

The current roster doesn’t have the World Championship experience you might expect but is still full of talent.

Almost 3500 NHL game experience and familiar names include goaltender Magnus Hellberg (Detroit), Defensemen Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo), Erik Gustafsson (Chicago) and Adam Larsson (Seattle).

 Forwards Rasmus Asplund (Buffalo) and Emil Bemström (Columbus) are complimented by NHL unsigned prospects Lins Karlsson (Vancouver), Elmer Söderblom (Detroit) and Nils Åman (Colorado).

Thursday, May 19:

Great Britain v USA

The United States has won four bronze medals in the last six tournaments and enters the 2022 event with a roster that doesn’t strike fear into you.

There is a lack of superstar talent but plenty of North American experience with over 3000 NHL and 2000 AHL games on the roster.

The combination of NHL players, those signed to ELC’s and prospects includes Captain Seth Jones and fourth overall selection in 2021, Luke Hughes.

Great Britain was able to score against the US the last time these two teams met, and I would not be surprised if that were to happen again. An upset still looks like a ‘miracle on ice’ longshot.

Friday, May 20:

Great Britain v Finland

Quite possibly the toughest game on paper.

Not only is Finland hosting and will have the backing of a fervent crowd, but they were finalists in 2021 and winners in 2019.

The Finns are a notoriously difficult nation to match up against, and Great Britain will do well to hang onto their coattails.

 Current NHL players are forwards Joel Armia (Montreal) and Juho Lammikko (Vancouver) and Buffalo prospect Henri Jokiharju is also on the roster.

 Finland covers all bases when it comes to experience, including almost four hundred games at the World Championships.

Sunday, May 22:

Great Britain v Latvia

 Often overlooked by the world’s elite, Latvia is a far tougher nut to crack than you may imagine.

 They’ve made just one quarter-final appearance in the last nine championships but have always secured their status with little threat of relegation.

They have a couple of NHL players in Columbus netminder Elvis Merzlikins and San Jose forward Rudolfs Balcers, who has just established himself following a trade.

Latvia’s roster is comprised of players spread across all the top leagues in Europe including SHL, KHL and Liiga.

Monday, May 23:

Great Britain v Austria

Austria was promoted for this tournament to replace Belarus. 

It will be their first competitive action since being relegated in 2019 from Pool A.

Austria has been a yo-yo nation at the top echelon of the IIHF.

The consensus is that the result of the GB v Austria game will likely determine the fate of each nation.

 The Austrian roster is predominately made up of players from the Ice Hockey League (formerly EBEL) and that is a level GB should be capable of competing against.

 Selected 161st overall by New Jersey in 2020, 22yo centreman Benjamin Baumgartner is one to keep a keen eye on.

 Another exciting young player is 18yo Rogle BK forward, Marco Kasper. The centreman is a consensus first pick in the upcoming 2022 NHL Entry Level Draft and has just played his first full season in the SHL.

How to Watch:

FreeSports shall be broadcasting all Great Britain’s group games.

FreeSports is available on Freeview HD channel 64, Sky HD channel 422, Virgin HD 553, TalkTalk 64, BT Vision channel 64, and Samsung TV Plus.

It is also available on the FreeSports Player, which only requires you to sign up for a (free) account to access the site www.freesportsplayer.tv

All games not broadcast on FreeSports should be available to watch on the IIHF YouTube channel.

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