{"id":108188,"date":"2021-04-29T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T12:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=108188"},"modified":"2021-04-28T20:22:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T00:22:31","slug":"team-great-britain-unveil-roster-for-2021-iihf-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2021\/04\/29\/team-great-britain-unveil-roster-for-2021-iihf-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Great Britain Unveil Roster For 2021 IIHF World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Team Great Britain has unveiled its roster ahead of the 2021 IIHF World Championships in Latvia, with Arizona Coyotes<\/a> draftee Liam Kirk the headline name in Pete Russell’s roster.<\/p>\n

The former Peterborough Pete features in a roster comprised of a majority of players currently participating in the EIHL Elite Series, a month-long tournament organised to help prepare Team GB for the upcoming championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Head coach Peter Russell said<\/a>: \u201cAs with any Great Britain squad, the coaching staff had many difficult decisions to make concerning this year\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\u201cA 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, this is the pinnacle of any player\u2019s career and it will be a massive honor for them to step onto the ice against some of the best teams in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team Great Britain face daunting task<\/h2>\n

Team GB face the International Athletes from Russia in their opening game of the World Championships on 22 May in Riga, Latvia.<\/p>\n

Based in the Olympic Sports Center, Team GB were drawn into Group A alongside Russia, Slovakia, Denmark, Belarus, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.<\/a><\/p>\n

Great Britain secured promotion to the top pool of the World Championships in 2018, upsetting Hungary to join the world’s elite for the first time since 1994.<\/p>\n

A year later, Russell\u2019s Lions defeated France 4-3 in overtime to prevent an immediate return to the second tier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Due to the pandemic, Great Britain\u2019s opening game against Russia sees them return to the ice for the first time since February 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of this has been made possible by the Elite Series and I would like to thank the Elite League once again for their assistance and providing an opportunity for British players to get competitive hockey under their belt this season,\u201d Russell continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe squad has a good mixture of experience and fantastic young talent. I do want to give a special mention to two players \u2013 Joe Hazeldine and Josh Waller \u2013 who just missed out. They are exciting prospects for the future and their day will come. If anyone has to pull out, they will be on the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell’s roster includes a number of new faces, with David Clements, Jordan Hedley, Lewis Hook, Ciaran Long, and Josh Tetlow called up for the first time.<\/p>\n

Full Squad:<\/h2>\n

Ben Bowns \u2013 Nottingham Panthers
\nJordan Hedley \u2013 Coventry Blaze
\nJackson Whistle \u2013 Nottingham Panthers<\/p>\n

Defence<\/strong>
\nDavid Clements \u2013 Coventry Blaze
\nDallas Ehrhardt \u2013 Manchester Storm
\nMark Garside \u2013 Nottingham Panthers
\nSam Jones \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nEvan Mosey \u2013 EHC Freiburg
\nBen O\u2019Connor \u2013 Sheffield Steeldogs
\nDavid Phillips \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nJosh Tetlow \u2013 Nottingham Panthers<\/p>\n

Forwards<\/strong>
\nOllie Betteridge \u2013 Nottingham Panthers
\nBrendan Connolly \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nBen Davies \u2013 Manchester Storm
\nRobert Dowd \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nSam Duggan \u2013 Coventry Blaze
\nLuke Ferrara \u2013 Coventry Blaze
\nMike Hammond \u2013 Coventry Blaze
\nLewis Hook \u2013 Nottingham Panthers
\nLiam Kirk \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nRobert Lachowicz \u2013 Nottingham Panthers
\nBen Lake \u2013 Manchester Storm
\nCiaran Long \u2013 Manchester Storm
\nMatthew Myers \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nBrett Perlini \u2013 Nottingham Panthers
\nJonathan Phillips \u2013 Sheffield Steelers
\nRoss Venus \u2013 Coventry Blaze<\/p>\n

(Players listed by their 2021 Elite Series club.<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>