Leeds Knights coach backs Kieran Brown and Mac Howlett to prove quality at GB camp

Brown and Howlett were among five players added to the GB training camp squad which will take place in Cardiff next month as part of the team’s preparations for the Olympic Qualifiers in Denmark.

GB head coach Pete Russell named his initial squad on Wednesday but 24 hours later added forwards Brown, Howlett and Logan Neilson, along with former Knights’ defenceman Archie Hazeldine and Peterborough Phantoms’ blue-liner Brad Bowering as ‘NextGen prospects’.

All five will be fully involved in the pre-tournament camp which also includes warm-up games against the Cardiff Devils and the Belfast Giants on August 23 and 25 before the final squad heads to Aalborg to take on Norway, Japan and hosts Denmark between Aug 29-September 1.

Both Brown and Howlett have flourished under Knights’ head coach Aldridge over the past two-and-a-half seasons, helping the team secure back-to-back NIHL National regular season titles, as well as lift the play-off trophy in 2022-23.

Aldridge hopes they go down there and showcase themselves to the fullest.

“It’s great for them,” said Aldridge. “They are two top players, especially at our level. They work really hard at their game and I know I’m biased because I get to see what they do every night, but they are great lads and they fully deserve to get the call.

“It’s a good idea that Pete is doing this. I don’t know what the plans are for GB, but there has to be some forward planning in place.

“It will be a great experience for them both to be around that environment and it’s a great chance to go and show what they can do and I believe they will surprise a few people.”

Russell said it was an ideal opportunity to assess where the next pool of talent for GB was.

“We are really looking forward to seeing all the players and evaluate them across the camp,” he said. “We can prepare, create competition and evaluate where our current and next talents are.

“It’s so good we can be one step ahead and integrate more British players into the men’s programme.

“Logan and Kieran have both already linked-up with us before and in many ways, it’s so good we can be one step ahead and integrate more British players into the men’s programme.”

“It’s good to get opportunities to integrate players of different ages into the process. It’s not easy, but this is the perfect time for us.”