The last couple of weeks has seen the Ice Hockey World Championship take place in Latvia. 16 teams from across the world - including heavyweights Finland, Canada and the USA - took to Riga’s Arena and Olympic Sports Centre to settle who plays the best hockey on ice.
Great Britain qualified by avoiding finishing bottom of their group in 2019 - and a 2nd bottom finish this time around may not seem like much to cheer about. But this year will go down as a landmark tournament for Team GB. Here’s why:
A first win at this level since the 1960s
Belarus 3-4 Great Britain
This may not be the result ice hockey fans or British sports fans will appreciate on the surface, but holding off a late fightback from Belarus meant Team GB bagged their first win in regulation time at a World Championship since 1962.
This is a landmark result in British sport and deserved far more media coverage than it generated.
Huge improvement over their previous performances
Compare Great Britain's performance in 2021 against the same teams they played against in 2019 and a clear trend emerges:
2019: Slovakia 7-1 Great Britain
2021: Slovakia 2-1 Great Britain
2019: Denmark 9-0 Great Britain
2021: Denmark 3-2 Great Britain (OT loss)
While Team GB did get slapped by some sides this year (losing 7-1 to Russia and 6-1 to the Czech Republic), progress is clearly being made. Slovakia only edged GB out, while taking Denmark to overtime means GB bagged a point against a side who almost hit double figures against them in 2019.
Even on a more basic level, GB have more points (four points in 2021 versus two in 2019) conceded fewer goals (31 versus 41) and scored more (13 versus nine). Team GB may not be one of the strongest ice hockey nations, but they have come on strong since their last World Championships.
Top scorer in the group stage
Liam Kirk may not be a household name to most British sports fans, but when the Arizona Coyotes selected him in the 2018 NHL draft, he became the first player born and trained in England to be drafted by an NHL side. The 21 year old now plays for the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey League, and has had quite a tournament.
Liam Kirk bagged 7 goals in his 7 games, making him both GB’s top goalscorer, and the top scorer of the whole group stage. Kirk’s two assists leave him with 9 goal involvements, which is only worse than two players across the whole group stage (behind Canada’s Connor Brown and Slovakia’s Peter Cehlarik - both involved in 10 goals).
While he will end up being overshadowed by players in sides who reached the latter stages, Kirk has outscored a score of NHL and KHL talent while playing for a much weaker side. He undoubtedly has a bright future and will have put sides on alert again about his talent.
In sum
Great Britain were the lowest ranked side going into this tournament, so expectations were never going to be high.
Indeed, Team GB are in a weird position in ice hockey. They are often too good for the second tier IIHF World Championship Division I (which they won last time they competed in 2018 - and in doing so gained promotion to the top level), but struggle against the major sides at the World Championships. They just don’t have the strength in depth, or the range of talent heavyweight sides like Canada, USA, Russia, and Finland can draw on.
But that does not mean it is all doom and gloom. Team GB are punching above their weight and - by not finishing bottom of their group - they would have avoided relegation to the Division I tournament if relegation were operating this year. Some more games and more confidence in this group of players, and they can go into the 2022 tournament with more to aim for than in previous years.
But, more than anything else, Team GB’s performance at this year’s World Championships shows Great Britain can compete at this level - something hockey fans have wanted to say for a long time.
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