Spring Cup gives Jonathan Phillips and GB ice hockey internationals chance to prepare for World Championships

Phillips is one of several players expected to be announced on Pete Russell’s roster for the IIHF tournament who will be playing for Sheffield Steeldogs in the behind-closed-doors competition which starts this weekend.

Ben O’Connor, Davey Phillips, Liam Kirk and Ben Lake – all hoping to be on the plane to Riga – will also compete alongside Phillips for the Steeldogs.

For the last 15 years, Phillips has played with the Elite League’s Sheffield Steelers who, along with everyone in the sport, saw the 2019-20 season curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The deadly virus has also gone on to deny EIHL teams the chance to stage any kind of 2020-21 campaign. Up until last week, there were hopes that a four-team mini-series involving the Steelers, held behind-closed-doors in Covid-secure surroundings, would still go ahead.

To book your pay-per-view online ticket to watch the Steeldogs take on Swindon Wildcats on Sunday (5pm) head HERE

But those hopes were dashed when it transpired that the offer of up to £4m in funding, part of the Government’s £300m-plus Winter Sports Survival Package announced last November, was in fact only available in the form of loans, a situation EIHL owners could not afford to get into.

One of the driving forces behind the EIHL mini-series was to help GB internationals prepare for the World Championships, with GB kicking off their Group A campaign on May 22 against second seeds Russia.

Some GB players, including Phillips’s Steelers team-mate Rob Dowd, have found roster spots in Europe, but a significant number of those likely to be part of Russell’s squad will now use the Spring Cup as the basis for their international preparations.

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“We were all hoping the EIHL mini-series would get the go-ahead,” said Phillips, who had a short spell playing in Germany’s third tier before returning home before Christmas. “The GB guys were all banking on that, especially with the Worlds coming up, it was imperative we were all actively playing.

“Our first game is against Russia and we’re now coming up to nearly a year now from when a lot of people were last playing.

“When the mini-series fell through, Woody (Steeldogs’ coach Greg Wood) asked if I’d be interested in playing in the Spring Cup. Like everyone hoping to be in Riga, I want to be in the best shape I possibly can and this gives me a chance to do that.

To book your pay-per-view online ticket to watch the Steeldogs take on Swindon Wildcats on Sunday (5pm) head HERE

“I know we are pushing for some extra ice time in terms of practise sessions, so we should be on a few times a week.

“We’re going to be playing two games a week for most of it and being on the ice maybe five times a week will only help get us back into that competitive mode and get the timing going once again, which all of us need.”

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