Sean Easton the Head Coach for Team GB U-18s has named his side for the IIHF U18 World Championship Division II tournament.
Team GB are in Group A for the tournament and will face the hosts Estonia as well as Romania, Korea, Serbia and Lithuania.
The group stage will last from the 3rd to the 9th of April at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia.
The U18s haven’t played since the 2019 iteration of the tournament.
Additionally it will be Easton’s first games as Head Coach.
He’s had lots of experience in Chelmsford being the Head Coach of the Chieftains and Tomahawks Under-16 and Mohawks Under-18.
Furthermore Easton was also Assistant Coach for GB Under-16s and U18s before being made Head Coach in the 2020-21 season.
He said of this: “We can’t wait to get going. I’ve been Head Coach for two years now and we haven’t played a game in that time”.
He continued, saying: “It’s a great group of guys we’ve got this year. The team looks strong and we’ve had to cut good players to get to our final selection. This group will be very hard-working”.
Of the current roster five played in the most recent Under-20 tournament in Brasov.
“They can guide the players through the dos and don’ts, the tournament rules and how you conduct yourself”. He said.
Included in this five are Jack Hopkins who was third top scorer for the Under-20s in the Junior World Championship in 2022.
He scored twice and assisted five in the same number of games played.
The 17-year-old centre who currently represents Nottingham Panthers could be making his first appearance for Team GB U-18s in April.
With these more experienced players Easton will be aiming to go one step further than the U20s tournament result of a bronze.
He’ll also be looking to avoid a repeat of 2019 when the U18s saw relegation to Division II.
Photo Credit: Ice Hockey UK
