The Great Britain Universities Men’s GBU(M) ice hockey team will be selected at Ice Sheffield on Friday.
The selection process commenced in January and has seen almost 100 players from across the UK – and internationally – competing for a place in the team that will compete at the FISU World University (Winter) Games, which will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
A recent visit to the host city by GB delegation chiefs from BUCS has confirmed that the world-class facilities, developed specifically for this event, have been described as outstanding and ready ahead of schedule.
GBU(M) will be facing top international opposition, with a tough first round featuring Canada, USA and Slovakia.
“This will be the fourth time GBU(M) have competed at this event,” said team manager Simon Hopkins.
“This event is globally renowned as being second-only to the Winter Olympic Games and will see top-level athletes competing across all winter sports in their respective disciplines.
“It’s widely accepted that we have a team consisting of students that play ice hockey, as opposed to our competition, who arguably have ice hockey players that are also students.
“Many of the players representing the top nations, for example Canada and Russia, have players that have already played for their junior international teams at IIHF World Championship tournaments, and we have previously played against guys that have NHL, KHL and SM-Liiga experience.
“However, we’re definitely going to Kazakhstan to compete, but we’re focusing our attentions on our second-round fixtures”.
Head Coach, Matt Bradbruy, said: “Although we’re in the latter stages of our selection, we’re still keen to consider late entries into the program.
“Realistically, we’re looking for players across all positions that have some EIHL or EPIHL experience.
“However, all players must be GB passport holders – including dual national with GB – currently registered on a higher education course and available to travel from 25th January to 8th February 2017.”
Any interested players should contact Simon Hopkins by midday on Thursday 27th October 2017 to be considered.
Both GBU Men and Women are currently seeking sponsorship for this event.
If you can help, the BUIHA would be delighted to hear from you to discuss the various options and opportunities to reach a truly global market place.