Great Britain v Poland: Sheffield Steelers' Robert Dowd on what playing for GB really means to him

The Sheffield Steelers’ captain – fresh from leading his team to an historic grand slam triumph in 2023-24 – has never made no secret of how proud he is to pull on a GB jersey and is eager to do so once again when Pete Russell’s team arrive in Prague to take on the likes of hockey superpowers such as Canada and Finland in another daunting-looking group.

GB warm up for their return to the world’s elite with two games against Poland this weekend, the first of which sees Leeds’ Elland Road Ice Arena stage its first-ever international encounter (face-off 7.30pm).

The two teams will then face each other again at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, the venue where Russell and his players have been for the first days of their pre-tournament training camp.

Dowd is unlikely to feature for GB over the weekend given the return of a nagging upper-body injury that made him a doubt for the Steelers’ play-off finals weekend in Nottingham, when they beat Belfast Giants in the final to add to their previous league and Challenge Cup triumphs under head coach Aaron Fox.

And while he will be likely sidelined for the warm-up games, Dowd still intends being at the main event when GB’s campaign gets underway against Canada on May 11.

“It’s no secret, I love playing for my country,” said Dowd, who captained GB in February’s successful 2026 Winter Olympics Pre-Qualifiers in Cardiff. “From the first time that I was ever selected, it’s been a massive pride of mine to represent my country at all levels. To be representing it on the biggest stage in the world again is amazing.

“I always get a second wind when the GB games come around after a long season – coming into the GB training camp every year is so much fun. A lot of this squad I’ve grown up playing against and alongside and the core group of guys that we’ve got here, we all want to go and do something special together again.”

Given the quality of the teams they will encounter in Group A – with games against Switzerland, Czechia, Denmark, Austria and Norway scheduled on top of clashes with Canada and Finland – the primary aim of the GB team will be simply to retain their top-tier status.

It is something they managed to achieve for three successive tournaments after 2018 saw them earn a stunning promotion back to the top-flight for the first time since 1994.

Two years ago saw them relegated back to Division 1A, but it was only temporary with Dowd and his tramp-mates earning an instant return when winning in Nottingham almost 12 months ago.

“We love being the underdog,” added Dowd. “Last year was a bit different for us, playing in that pool and being favourites.

“But we thrive in the underdog role and it’s fantastic to be back among the world’s best, playing against some of the world’s top, top nations.

“We know we’re going to have to produce some of our best hockey. The primary goal has to be to stay in the top tier with the world’s best.

“Obviously we’re playing some teams where we’re not expected to get any kind of result – the real powerhouses of world hockey – but there are a few games which we will zone in on and try and get points from them.

"The other games are all about honing our game and making sure we can get the points we need from the games we believe we’ve got a chance in.”

Even though he is unlikely to play any part at Elland Road, Dowd is delighted to see GB take one of its warm-up games to a brand new venue, something he believes will help grow interest in the sport, particularly on the back of the success Leeds Knights have had in NIHL National over the past two seasons.

“Taking it to Leeds to get some more eyeballs on the national team is fantastic,” said Dowd. “The Knights have done fantastically well there and that has helped grow the game - to be selling the number of tickets that they have been this past couple of seasons, they’ve done an awesome job.”