Brits before the World Championships: the main thing is to hold on. The (ex)Litvínov’s Kirk will also take on the task

The British are one of the first teams to officially unveil their roster for the upcoming 2024 World Cup, which will take place in Prague and Ostrava. The roster also includes forward Liam Kirk, who spent last season with Litvínov. The Brits will not go to the championship with exaggerated ambitions. Their main task will be to save the team.

Published

7 months ago

4. 5. 2024

Rostislav Niedoba

Liam Kirk, Velká Británie — Zdroj: HC Verva Litvínov

Great Britain will have a tough task ahead of them when they return to the elite division of the World Cup. They may have dominated the lower division of the World Championships, but now the Brits face a confrontation with the absolute world’s best. They will have a hell of a time right at the start of the championship, as they will open the tournament with a duel against a loaded line-up of NHL stars from Canada.

The Brits haven’t played much in preparation. In February, they successfully made it through the third stage of Olympic qualification, beating China 10-1, Serbia 11-0 and Romania 7-4. At the end of April, they faced a stronger opponent on paper, welcoming Poland twice on home soil.

They won both times. First 3:1 and then 2:1 after a shootout. Poland can be considered an equal opponent for Great Britain. In the Ostrava group it will be the Poles who will want to extend their stay in the elite division of the World Championship for another year.

On the roster of the UK team we can find a very familiar name for Czech fans. Twenty-four-year-old striker Liam Kirk, who played for Litvínov in the Czech top flight last season.

He was quite successful in the Czech Republic. In 65 games he managed to score 43 points for 28 goals and 15 assists. During the knockout fights alone, he recorded 9 accurate hits. Liam Kirk scored the same number of goals at the 2021 World Championship in Riga. There he was one of the best scorers of the whole championship. Pete Russell’s team roster has a total of 25 names.

Now let’s go to Prague!

The British national hockey team is currently in Nottingham for a two-week training camp. Now the players have a few days off and will move to the Czech Republic on Sunday. Before the entire British crew heads to the championship venue, they will have a camp in Slany. There, Great Britain will face Kazakhstan in their last preparatory match on Tuesday at 17:00.

The British will face a very strong Canada at the start of the championship, and the very next day they will face Finland. But the most important matches are yet to come for the hockey midgets. It is expected that especially the game against Austria can be a match of truth for the British.

In total, they, like the other participants, have seven matches in the basic group. The Brits are not expected to storm into the quarter-finals. The number one task will therefore probably be seventh place in the group, which will ensure Great Britain’s participation in the elite division of the World Cup for next year.