Great Britain Head Coach Pete Russell has named his 23-man squad for next week’s World Championship in Zagreb.

GB will face hosts Croatia, as well as Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Ukraine from 17th to 23rd April in the six-team Division 1B tournament.

Nottingham Panthers forward Evan Mosey will play in his first World Championship tournament.

Robert Dowd, Robert Farmer and Jonathan Weaver make the trip after missing the Olympic Pre-Qualifiers in Italy through injury.

Jordan Cownie, Matt Haywood, Lewis Hook, Sam Oakford and Paul Swindlehurst are the players who are released from the squad.

Russell said: “I think we have a deep team and I think we have good balance.

“There is a real hunger in this team and that is so good to see.

“There were some huge decisions to make. All the guys made it very tough on the coaching team which is what they were here to do.

“They all competed hard against each other every session and conducted themselves well on and off the ice at all times.

“The young guys who were selected for the camp gained so much from it and competed all week and against Poland.

“It was a great success and something we must continue to do. They were not far away and will be big players for GB in the future.

“I want to thank all the 28 players for their effort and commitment to the programme. They all bonded fantastically well and bought in 100%.”

Russell’s side, who won the silver medal at last year’s World Championship in Netherlands, will now continue with their training camp in Coventry before flying to Zagreb on Thursday.

GB SQUAD

Netminders

Ben Bowns – Cardiff Devils
Stevie Lyle – Swindon Wildcats
Thomas Murdy – Telford Tigers

Defensemen

Josh Batch – Cardiff Devils
Mark Garside – Belfast Giants
Steve Lee – Nottingham Panthers
Ben O’Connor – Sheffield Steelers
David Phillips – Manchester Storm
Mark Richardson – Cardiff Devils
Jonathan Weaver – Telford Tigers

Forwards

Jonathan Boxill – Belfast Giants
David Clarke – Nottingham Panthers
Russell Cowley – Coventry Blaze
Robert Dowd – Sheffield Steelers
Robert Farmer – Nottingham Panthers
Robert Lachowicz – Nottingham Panthers
Evan Mosey – Nottingham Panthers
Matthew Myers – Nottingham Panthers
Craig Peacock – Belfast Giants
Jonathan Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Colin Shields – Belfast Giants
Ashley Tait – Coventry Blaze
Ross Venus – Coventry Blaze

(Image permission: Karl Denham)