Former Great Britain defenceman Jonathan Weaver has been inducted into the UK Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.
He is the first of three 2024 inductees, with two more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Weaver’s career stretched over three decades from the 1990s to the 2020s, during which time he played over 1,000 games at club level and was capped 97 times for Great Britain’s senior team.
He was previously voted the Best British Defenceman five times at club level.
After making his full debut for GB in 1998, Weaver went on to win a gold, four silver and two bronze medals with the national team and captained the squad at six World Championship tournaments (2006-11).
In his final GB season in 2017, he was part of the side in Belfast that won the gold medal and promotion.
A glittering career
A glittering career has seen Weaver feature for numerous clubs across the UK since making his senior debut with Durham Wasps at the age of 16.
Most notably, he played a key role in Newcastle Vipers’ move up to the Elite League, winning the play-off championship in 2006.
He switched to Coventry and was twice on Elite League-winning sides with the Blaze, in 2007/08 and 2009/10, captaining the club on the second occasion.
He joined Nottingham Panthers in 2012 and helped them end their long wait for a league title, as well as winning the Challenge Cup and play-offs in the same season.
In total, Weaver played 1,066 games for British clubs, scoring 1,086 points (315 goals and 771 assists).
Away from the UK
Away from the UK, in 1999/2000 he travelled to North America and played briefly with Detroit Vipers in the International Hockey League and Mississippi Sea Wolves in the ECHL. He also spent time at a training camp in the American Hockey League.
Earlier this year, Weaver was appointed assistant coach of Great Britain’s men’s Under 20s.
He was presented with his Hall of Fame certificate on Sunday evening, ahead of the face-off between two of his former clubs, Nottingham Panthers and Manchester Storm.
