“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”
This has become an overused phrase about sports but it’s extremely applicable to the Great Britain men’s hockey team.
They have continually punched above their weight in recent history.
It’s far too easy to focus on the immediate here and now than to step back and take a wider view of what the current (and recently retired) group of players and coaches has achieved.
In 2013, Great Britain was relegated to Division 1 Group B, the third tier of world championship hockey. They lost all five games, scored just five goals and the opposition scored at will against them.
It would take four years for Great Britain to bounce back, with Pete Russell orchestrating successive promotions to launch the nation into the top tier. A remarkable accomplishment which is still unheralded outside of the sport.
For Great Britain to have spent four of the last five world championships competing against the world’s best is an incredible achievement given the resources.
For context, the current squad consists primarily of players plying their trade in the UK Elite League.
The ranking of the EIHL in terms of standard across Europe can be debated until the cows come home, but it’s not in the top five and at best I would rank it ninth or tenth.
Five of the current GB squad played outside of the UK last season, albeit not exclusively in top leagues in the countries concerned.
Nathanael Halbert (ICHL), Sam Ruopp (DEL2), Brett Perlini (DEL3), Cade Neilson (NCAA) and Liam Kirk (Czech Extraliga).
With the pool of players lacking the type of talent you would expect from a nation competing in the top tier, the whole is worth far more than the sum of its parts.
The truth is Great Britain has to deliver performances at the high end of their capacity to enjoy success at the top level.
Despite being unable to get over the line in avoiding relegation, there were some positives to take from the 2024 tournament.
Special teams have often been GB’s nemesis but overall they were much improved. The power play ticked along at 25%, sixth best amongst all nations. The penalty kill ebbed and flowed but took another step forward after struggling previously against the world’s elite.
Great Britain allowed fewer even-strength goals (22) than Germany, Latvia and Denmark. That aligns with consistently good goaltending as Bn Bowns and Jackson Whistle posted a combined 88.19 save percentage. The goaltenders were ranked 12th and 14th respectively amongst their peers in that category.
The victory over Austria is just Great Britain’s second in regulation against a top-tier nation after previously defeating Belarus. It was made even more impressive by the fact it was their second game in under 24 hours and the absence of talisman, Liam Kirk.
Those regulation victories against 16th and 13th seeds respectively, plus Great Britain should have defeated, or at least taken points from eleventh-seeded Denmark, shows how far the program has come.
An impressive performance against Canada and periods of matching up against Switzerland and Czechia show another step forward in development. The reverse to Norway is ultimately the biggest disappointment of the tournament and the result which relegated them. It was the stark reality that when Great Britain didn’t bring their A-Game, they could not match a team ranked inside the top twenty.
With expectation comes pressure from outside sources. In some quarters, Great Britain has been labelled as a yo-yo nation, not good enough against the world’s best but better than the tier below.
It’s an unintended backhanded compliment when you consider where the program was when Pete Russell took over as head coach.
Great Britain has risen to 17th in the world, which bodes well for the immediate future. A return to the top tier in 2026 would potentially place them in a group with greater potential for survival.
Until then, there’s the small matter of an Olympic Qualification tournament in Denmark, where the opportunity lies for GB to create themselves a piece of history.
If you have enjoyed this article, please consider supporting my work in the links below. No donation is too small, even if it’s just the cost of a coffee. It would be much appreciated. Thank you
UK Hockey Blog 