Leeds Knights captain Kieran Brown determined to remain part of GB team going forward
KIERAN BROWN is hoping to use his “unbelievable” experience with Great Britain at the recent World Championships to drive him on to make the national team at next year’s tournament.
The Leeds Knights’ captain made his senior debut for the national team in Romania earlier this month, helping head coach Pete Russell’s team to a Division 1A gold medal and with it an instant promotion back to the top tier of the world game.
That will see GB head to Switzerland 12 months from now where they will play either in Zurich or Fribourg against some of the world’s best players from the likes of hockey powerhouse nations such as Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechia and this year’s champions, the USA.
It will be a strong test once again of GB’s credentials among the world’s elite, but one Brown hopes to be part of having impressed on his first outing with the national team in Sfantu Gheorghe.
Brown - the only player from the UK second-tier NIHL National league to make the GB squad - picked up his first-ever point at senior level when registering an assist in the opening 4-3 overtime win over Ukraine.
And even though the 24-year-old forward’s ice time may have diminished during the second half of the tournament at the Sepsi Arena, he was delighted to have been part of the success story.
“The experience was unbelievable,” said Brown. “I feel like I have learned so much in that short space of time that I have brought back with me.
“The group was really good. I knew virtually everyone, so it was quite easy going in and they were all very welcoming and understanding.
“Sometimes they were doing stuff that was totally different to what we do at Leeds but they were all happy to help me along.
“Having had a taste of it now, it has given me so much more motivation to try and make sure I’m involved next year.
“Pete brought me in a few times and talked to me towards the end when I wasn’t playing as much and apologised for me not getting as much ice time. But I said I was just honoured to be out there and that I understood as I wanted us to win gold as much as anybody else.
“Now that I've experienced it and seen what it is all about, in terms of a proper tournament and not just a training camp, hopefully I can do enough to get selected again and get to play against some of the best players in the world.”
Ryan Aldridge, Brown’s head coach at Leeds, said his captain’s appearances for GB were an important moment in his career.
“He got to prove that he could play at that level, it confirmed that he could play at that level - it was an important moment for Kieran,” said Aldridge.
“He’s hopefully going to come back from his time out there full of confidence and he will be desperate to make that team again next year and we will do all we can here to help him achieve that.”