Solway Sharks were watching with interest as the Great Britain Ice Hockey Under 20s team was announced recently, and they were delighted that once again players from the local club feature in the National team, heading to Brasov in Romania in December to take part in the World Championship competition.
Sharks head coach Martin Grubb is also head coach of the GB Under 20s team and uses the same skillset to develop young players for the national stage that gives the Sharks their reputation for producing talented youngsters.
Liam Stenton yet again made the selection for the team, having made the GB U16, U18 and U20 teams in previous years, and will now take part in his 3rd World Championship as part of Team GB.
Coach Jamie Thomson said, “Everyone at Solway is extremely proud of Liam and his constant achievements. His commitment to his own development and the club in Dumfries for such a young athlete is second to none and him making this elite team is testament to that work ethic. We have no doubt he will do well as part of this team and wish him well.
We should also give young Kell Beattie a shout, he recently joined our club from Belfast Giants and at only 17 years old was called up to the GB U20 squad training camps and has been named as a reserve for the world championship team, a massive achievement for someone who is still in the selection process for the u18 team and we wish him well with that.”
Martin and Liam now look forward to heading off to Romania with the GB team mid-December, with Kell on standby to travel in case of injury or illness.
