Ambitious Bowns prepared to wait for the right opportunity

The 21-year-old is currently enjoying his fifth season in the English Premier League after signing for the club then known as the Sheffield Scimitars in 2007.

He has also represented Great Britain at Under-18, Under-20, and senior level and now believes he is ready to play in Britain’s top league on a regular basis.

“It would certainly be nice to move up to the Elite League. I feel I am ready but I won’t move anywhere to be a back-up,” said Bowns, who has been selected to carry the Olympic torch through Rotherham this summer.

“If I was to be a No 1 I’d be willing to move anywhere, but if I was going to be a back-up then I would want to be on a two-way with the Steeldogs.”

Bowns, who won best netminder at the Under-20 World Championships last year, is the top netminder in the EPL with a save percentage of 93.1 per cent.

Swinton-born Bowns became the first netminder to secure back-to-back shutouts in the EPL Cup semi-finals as Steeldogs ran out 1-0 aggregate victors over Milton Keynes Lightning.

Life was much harder in the first leg of the final, however, as his team went down 6-3 to recently-crowned regular season champions Guildford Flames with the second leg taking place in Surrey on Wednesday night.

“The second shut-out with it being away in Milton Keynes was great because you don’t expect to get one there,” said Bowns, who signed a two-way deal with Elite League outfit Hull Stingrays but, due to scheduling clashes with the Steeldogs, has only played a handful of minutes.

“The defence I’ve got in front me make my job so easy. If I can take care of rebounds then we usually do well because they’re always forcing players wide and doing their jobs.”

While Bowns is patient and cautious in his approach to success, he still has big aspirations for his career.

“You see too many netminders making the step up to the Elite League too soon and they get stuck in a rut sitting on the bench,” he said.

“That said, the next step for me is to the No 2 spot for Great Britain and then the year after next I want to be pushing for that No 1 spot.”

Steeldogs’ head coach Andre Payette believes Bowns will be a key factor in his team’s ability to overcome the three-goal deficit in the second leg.

He is adamant the youngster will go on to become the best British netminder in the game within the next two or three years and believes he could go on to prove successful further afield, either in Europe or North America.

“I think Ben is in the best place possible for at least another year,” said Payette. “He’s definitely going to be the best goalie in Britain - I’m convinced of that. I also think he’ll be good enough to play in North America in the near future.”

“One thing he does have on his side is time and going up to the Elite League just to be a back-up is the worst thing he could possibly do.

“I’m sure he’ll make the right move at the right time for him.”

Despite the odds being stacked against them, Payette takes his team into Guildford confident of overturning the three-goal deficit.

“In Ben, we’ve got the best netminder in the league, in Janis Ozolins we’ve got the best player in the league and I really believe we have the best conditioned team in the league,” said Payette.

“If we get an early goal, anything can happen so we’re just going to take it one period at a time.”

A shortened version of this article originally appeared on the secret:sheffield website at http://secretsheffield.wordpress.com/