Ice hockey and England are not exactly synonymous.
Sure, the country may have won an Olympic gold medal for the sport in 1936, but in a country where curling dominates winter sports, ice hockey isn't high on the list.
So the fact that the British team will be competing in the men's 3v3 ice hockey competition. 2024 Gangwon-do Winter Youth Olympics This is a big step in the development of sports in this country.
And it is the youngest member of an 11-strong team of players who is helping to write the next chapter of British ice hockey. kingston mackenzie.
The 14-year-old told local BBC news program East Midlands Today: “It's a dream come true, it's really inexplicable.” [my feelings].
“It means a lot to me and it means the whole world. It's special to be given the opportunity to represent Great Britain at the Youth Olympic Games.”
GB Youth Olympic Head Coach danny myersHe played 59 times for the senior national team during a storied playing career that included a number of honors with Nottingham Panthers, and played a key role in McKenzie's eventual selection.
“I got an email from Danny Myers saying you were invited to the trial,” the teenager recalled. “And it just kept going and I kept pushing myself.
“It was really difficult. We had really good players, 11 players. It was pretty incredible to squeeze in there.”
Myers told BBC Radio Nottingham: “This whole trip was really fun, especially this one.” [under] Dear 16-a-side team, I get to talk about GB and what it means to me.
”[Telling them] “You are all at the very beginning of this amazing journey and have the potential to represent GB for a long time.” The experience of playing for GB's junior and senior teams has really meant a lot to me.
“I’m really excited about what this can do for our players and what it means for them. They are on the precipice of a very exciting future ahead of them.”
3-on-3 hockey is played cross-ice in the end zones of a regular rink, rather than on full ice.
In the 3v3 tournament, 8 men's teams and 8 women's teams are divided into one round robin group. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals, with Team GB joining Austria, People's Republic of China, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Poland and Spain in the men's tournament.
