Great Britain Under-18s Head Coach Sean Easton has named his team for this year’s IIHF U18 World Championship Division II Group A in Tallinn.
GB will face hosts Estonia, as well as Korea, Lithuania, Romania and Serbia, from 3rd to 9th April at the Tondiraba Ice Hall.
It’s set to be the first international action for the GB U18s since the 2019 tournament in Hungary with the 2020 and 2021 editions – also scheduled for Tallinn – cancelled because of the pandemic.
Easton said: “We can’t wait to get going. I’ve been Head Coach for two years now and we haven’t played a game in that time.
“It’s a great group of guys we’ve got this year. The team looks strong and we’ve had to cut good players to get to our final selection. This group will be very hard-working.
“We’ve got a great mixture of skill, hunger and speed. There will be a lot of determination. I think we have a rounded team and all four lines are very well-balanced. All my teams, we skate hard and I like them to be relentless.”
Five of the roster – Sam Cooper, Oliver Endicott, Jack Hopkins, Cain Russell and Liam Steele – played at the recent Under-20 World Championship Division II Group A in Brasov.
GB returned with the bronze medal and Easton believes these players can be crucial for the rest of the squad who have not had World Championship experience.
“They can guide the players through the dos and don’ts, the tournament rules and how you conduct yourself,” explained Easton.
“They have the experience of the little things you probably don’t get to experience at club level. They can be a calming head because they have been there already.”
Netminders
Ben Norton – Northwood Huskies, USA
Alex Oldale – Sheffield Steelhawks
Defence
Kell Beattie – Solway Sharks/Belfast Giants
Daniel Bradley – Slough Jets
Kieran Chung – Connecticut RoughRiders, USA
Samuel Cooper – Raiders IHC/Guildford Flames
Archie Hazeldine – Leeds Knights
Milique Martelly – Streatham/Milton Keynes
Liam Steele – Stanstead College, Canada
Jacob White-Sey – Slough Jets/Bees IHC
Forwards
Ben Brown – Dundee Comets/Dundee Stars
Harry Corkum – Slough Jets/Raiders IHC
Oliver Endicott – Swindon Wildcats/Bristol Pitbulls
Cameron Hamill – Belfast Giants
Carter Hamill – Leeds Knights/Belfast Giants
Jack Hopkins – Telford Tigers/Nottingham Panthers
Sam Lyne – Northwood Huskies, USA
Austin Osborn – Kitchener Jr Rangers, Canada
Dawson Osborn – Kitchener Jr Rangers, Canada
Cain Russell – Swindon Wildcats/Bristol Pitbulls
Josh Shaw – Swindon/Bristol Pitbulls
Mack Stewart – Leeds Knights/Belfast Giants
Reserves
Netminders: Tyler de la Bertouche (Raiders IHC), Luca Tessadri (Chelmsford). Defence: Max Lewis (Ontario Hockey Academy, Canada), Bailey Perre (Swindon/Bristol Pitbulls), Tommy Spraggon (Billingham Stars), Billy Thorpe (Peterborough Phantoms), Monty Tucker (New England Wolves, USA). Forwards: Finley Bradon (Billingham Stars), Adam Erskine ( Raiders IHC), Callum Field (Milton Keynes Lightning), Dan Martin (Peterborough Phantoms/Nottingham Lions), Ellis Ricci (Nottingham Lions), Louie White (Ontario Hockey Academy, Canada).