Great Britain Quarter-Century Teams Unveiled: Liam Kirk And Then...
In the spirit of the NHL announcing quarter-century teams for each of its 30 franchises that have played since 2000, I thought I’d try a similar exercise by country – first and second teams. It’s not limited to NHL performance, although that carries a lot of weight. International play for the country also weighs heavily. To be eligible, a player needn’t have necessarily played for the country at a major tournament, but he had (or has) to be eligible.
Countries chosen have to have played in at least four major international tournaments (Olympic games, top-division IIHF World Championships or World Cups of Hockey) since 2000. Based on that arbitrary number, 20 countries qualify. Great Britain barely makes the cut with four top-level World Championships, while Hungary with three, South Korea and Poland each with two, and China with one do not.
I’m revealing them alphabetically starting with Austria, although the four teams in the 4 Nations Face-Off will be held back until the end, just before the start of the tournament. Scroll down for links to other teams published so far.
GREAT BRITAIN
First Team
F: Liam Kirk
F: Robert Dowd
F: Jonathan Philips
D: Mark Richardson
D: Ben O’Connor
G: Ben Bowns
Second Team
F: David Clarke
F: Colin Shields
F: Cade Neilson
D: David Phillips
D: Jonathan Weaver
G: Stephen Murphy
As is the case with Germany, there has never been a better British team than the one that represents the country right now and, as such, the entire first team is composed of current members – led by 25-year-old former Arizona Coyotes prospect and current Eisbären Berlin forward Liam Kirk – plus long-time captain Jonathan Philipps, who still plays in the EIHL but last played for the national team in 2023.
The second team is dedicated more to some of the long-time national team members who helped bring the team up from Division I Group B to the top tier of the IIHF World Championships, but I left one spot for 23-year-old center Cade Neilson, who played NCAA Division 1-A hockey and currently plays for the Utah Grizzlies, an ECHL team affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche. Playing for Team GB, Neilson has 14 points in his first 19 World Championship games and 13 points in six Olympic qualifying games.
Apologies to players considered but left off, including Matthew Myers, Ashley Tait, David Longstaff, Tony Hand, Evan Mosey and Brett Perlini. Brett’s brother Brendan Perlini – a former first-round pick and NHLer with the Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, was born in England and is probably eligible to play for GB, but he never has. On talent, he’d be on the first team easily but I couldn’t verify his eligibility and his inclusion might have annoyed some British hockey fans anyway.
Agree or disagree with the selections? Comment below and check back daily as more international quarter-century teams are revealed.
PUBLISHED QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS