Team GB Announces Roster for Olympic Qualifiers: Aiming for Gold

Team GB's roster has been released and there are a lot of familiar names on it but is it strong enough for the raft of the Olympic qualifiers. In this article we will go through the roster and any changes made from the IIHF world championship team. 

Team GB had a bad run in the IIHF world championship however, they are preparing for a completely different tournament and they can expect a lot of different skilled countries. Peter Russell and Corey Neilson has named their squad for the tournament.

Here is your Olympic qualifiers team GB:

Netminders:

Name	Club/Contract	Age
Ben Bowns	Cardiff Devils/24-25	33
Jackson Whistle	Belfast Giants/24-25	29
Lucas Brine	Glasgow Clan/24-25	21

The netminders selected are all top notch with too experienced veterans and a developing rookie goalie. 

Defense

Name	Club/Contract	Age
Josh Batch	Cardiff Devils/24-25	33
David Clements	Coventry Blaze/24-25	29
Nathanael Halbert	HKM Zvolen/24-25	28
Sam Jones	TBC/TBC	26
Evan Mosey	Cardiff Devils/24-25	35
Ben O’Connor	Dundee Stars/24-25	35
David ‘Davey’ Phillips	Hull Seahawks/24-25	36
Mark Richardson	Cardiff Devils/24-25	37
Sam Ruopp	ERC Ingolstadt/24-25	28
Joshua Tetlow	Nottingham Panthers/24-25	26

Team GB has a strong defensive core for the Olympic qualifiers however, it is the same as the one which competed in the IIHF world championship, which struggled so many fans and analysts will be wondering do they have what it takes for the Olympic qualifiers.

Forwards

Name	Club/Contract	Age
Oliver Betteridge	Nottingham Panthers/24-25	28
Cameron Critchlow	Manchester Storm/24-25	32
Johnny Curran	TBC/TBC	29
Ben Davies	Cardiff Devils/24-25	33
Robert Dowd	Sheffield Steelers/25-26	36
Liam Kirk	Eisbären Berlin/25-26	24
Sam Duggan	Cardiff Devils/24-25	26
Robert Lachowicz	Glasgow Clan/24-25	34
Ben Lake	Belfast Giants/24-25	34
Cade Neilson	Michigan Tech/24-25	23
Sean Norris	Guildford Flames/24-25	24
Brett Perlini	Cardiff Devils/24-25	34
Cole Shudra	Sheffield Steelers/24-25	25
Josh Waller	Guildford Flames/24-25	25

The forwards are the same too however, there is one addition which is Josh Waller. This forward set is a mix of good passers and shooters which is definitely a bonus for the Olympic qualifiers.

Team GB has barely changed since their bad run in the IIHF world championship, so is this a sign of trust and commitment or a sign of a lack of British ice hockey players? 

Team GB have selected players who are stars in the EIHL and some players who are dominating ice hockey elsewhere. Other nations shouldn’t sleep on this team as they can pull my tricks out of the hat and have their opponents trailing.

Author: Calan Yule

Last Edited: 21:35 - 17/07/2024