Peter Russell and Corey Neilson have officially confirmed the Great Britain national team roster ahead of the Olympic qualifiers. Talented names on the team sheet but will it be enough to make it to the Olympics? After a bad run at the IIHF world championships, team GB will be looking to bounce back and make their way to the Olympic games but have they brought in the right guys for the job
Key to success is by keeping the puck out of your own net and to do this you need a strong set of goalies; this year GB have selected three goalies to defend their pipes, they are Lucas Brine, Jackson Whistle, and Ben Bowns. We will break down all three goalies.
Ben Bowns
Ben Bowns is well known for club hockey in the UK as he has spent over a decade playing for clubs in the EIHL, but he has also played for team GB for the last 12 years and even before team GB it was their under 20s team.
Bowns tends to be their starting netminder in major tournaments however, he is closely challenged by Jackson Whistle. Bowns can definitely be a brick wall in net having an average save percentage of .898 over the last five years with team GB.
Bowns has a strong glove hand, normally being able to catch the puck at all speeds and at almost every angle. He is able to drop to butterfly in difficult, tense moments to cover the lower parts of the ice. His vision is good too as screens barely affect him which is a major positive for team GB as the go to plan by other national teams is to screen the goalie.
Jackson Whistle
Jackson Whistle, one half of the Whistle brothers, is a well-known goalie in the Elite Ice Hockey League as he has played for the Sheffield Steelers, Nottingham Panthers and (currently) the Belfast Giants. Whistle has been on GBs roster for seven years consecutive now.
Whistle is a solid goalie, who has spent too many years as the backup goalie for both his club and country, however, maybe it is time for Russell and Neilson to reconsider his role on the squad. Whistle is suitable to be a starting netminder for GB.
Whistle offers a hybrid game favouring the stand-up side of it, making blocker/stick and high gloves saves regularly but like Bowns he can play butterfly too which allows him to cover all angles. He has a good awareness of his surroundings and rarely gets faked out by players behind the goal line, he will bring a sense of reassurance at the back.
Lucas Brine
Lucas Brine is an up and coming goaltender in British ice hockey. He played for the Dundee Stars last season (now making the move to the Glasgow Clan) and he was called into action at the end of the 23/24 season to become the Stars starting goalie when Kevin Carr got injured.
During his short playing stint last season Brine managed to demonstrate a growing set of goaltending skills on the ice, making jaw-dropping saves in each game, showing great reflexes and rebound control.
Having Brine on the GB roster is helpful incase either Bowns or Whistle gets injured, they will have a goalie to cover them. With the correct training and coaching Brine could be one of the starting goalies for GB as he has the potential to be a great goalie.
Team GB has made a good selection when it comes to their goaltenders and they should have no issues with stopping the puck from going into their net. Russell has always shown how good his knowledge on goalies is and the has shown it again this year, this could be a great tournament for the UK and fans should look forward to it.
Author: Calan Yule
Last Edited: 22:05 - 17/07/2024
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