Sheffield Steelers captain Jonathan Phillips is currently in Croatia with the British national team, trying to help the team move from Division IB up to IA at the IIHF World Championships. With 3 points against Lithuania, Phillips helped his team stay unbeaten with two big games left to play. 

by Alan Ilijic

ZAGREB – Team Great Britain is doing pretty well at the IIHF World Championship Division I Group B tournament. After starting with a win over hosts Croatia on Sunday, they needed overtime to beat Estonia on Monday, then crushed Lithuania 8-0 on Wednesday and now sit in second place, one point behind Ukraine with two games to play. 

On the off day between the team's third and fourth games we spoke to Jonathan Phillips of the Sheffield Steelers and he shared his thoughts on Team Great Britain, British fans, this past season and the experience of playing in the Champions Hockey League. The Steelers defended their Elite Ice Hockey League title and thus have re-qualified for the CHL next season as well.

Phillips had 1 goal and 2 assists against Lithuania for his first 3 points of the tournament. Team GB is definitely on the right path to winning the gold, but they'll need to get past Romania and Ukraine first.

First of all, congratulations on a huge win against Lithuania. You looked pretty dominant even without injured Sheffield teammate Robert Dowd (who led the team with 5 points in the first two games). How good is this British team?

“Thank you. We have a lot of depth for sure. This is the first tournament that we have all of our players back in the lineup – we feel we've got four solid lines and that can produce each night. We've got guys who know their roles and understand them, so that's a big part of our team identity. We have chemistry, we've been together for quite some time now.”

Just a quick question about the last game . . . Was Estonia unexpectedly tough to beat?

“We knew they were going to be tough. We struggled against them last year and ended up beating them 2-1. We know they like to play offensively, they tend to look for odd-man rushes and I just think we didn't match up against them that game. We looked kind of sluggish. It wasn't a typical GB performance and hopefully it won't hurt us in the stretch.”

With Lithuania out of the way, there's only Ukraine left. Assuming that you beat Romania on Friday, do you think you can beat Ukraine on Saturday?

“That's our ultimate goal – we're going into that game to win. Obviously we have to take care of Romania first, and we won't take them lightly. [Friday's] game will be a lot about focus and being direct. Nevertheless, we're confident in ourselves. We'll put everything on the line to try and win the gold.”

British hockey has seen a lot of success in recent years. Do you feel it is due to the overall quality of the British ice hockey league?

“I think the league is very strong now. There are some pretty good teams and there is a lot more depth throughout the league now. In the past, teams were winning the league around February. Now it mostly it goes down the wire. There are a lot more quality imports coming in and the British guys playing there are now playing with and against some very good players. I think it helps. Things are getting more professional there and it's rubbing off on the GB national team.”

The Sheffield Steelers won the title again this year. How does it feel?

“Excellent! It was a tense season. At the end we had to win five games and they all felt like Game 7s, but in the end it was really rewarding and pleasing.”

With the title you re-qualify for the Champions Hockey League. Do you look forward to playing teams from top European leagues again?

“Yes, definitely! We played in Gothenburg against Frolunda last year and that was a great experience. We actually played very well against them. It was our first game and we had four, maybe five practices before that game. They were beating us 2-0 after the second period, if I recall correctly. Then we fell apart in that third, but I think that experience definitely helped us last season.”

After that nasty loss against the eventual champions you played three pretty even games against Frolunda and JYP Jyvaskyla – two very strong teams. Do you think in the coming years British teams can get to that level of beating some teams from the top leagues?

“Definitely. Winning against teams from Sweden of Finland is maybe a bit far-fetched right now, but I reckon we definitely match up with some other teams from other nations there. I think if we qualify and play against teams from the other groups, we have a pretty good chance of winning some games.”

Does playing in the CHL help improve the British league overall?

“100%. When we first came from the CHL, our game was fast and direct. You could tell six weeks later how we were coming down to the British level almost, but it definitely got us ready for our domestic season.”

In terms of the British national team and the overall chemistry, how much does it mean that you all play in Britain?

“I don't think it's overly important. In the past we've had players going to Kazakhstan and Sweden. The more players that can get away, the better. It gives us more exposure, but then again we get the chemistry because we've been seeing each other week in, week out, but I believe the more players that can get out and play outside of Britain, it is definitely going to make them better and benefit the GB program.”

With the level of British hockey obviously improving, do you see Britain one day playing solidly in IA or maybe even the top level?

“Of course. We need to get the junior programs running fluently and start investing in that more and get them the real guidance. The men's team has finally got a real identity and we know where we're going and know our goals and expectations but  we need to keep filtering in from the younger groups and make sure they come through.”

One question I have to ask . . . There are hundreds of British fans in the stands for all of your games. How does it feel to almost be playing in front of a home crowd?

“They've been unbelievable again this year and it seems every year there are more of them coming. This year they've been so loud, so energetic and they pick us up whenever we're down. We can't thank them enough. They're great fans, they're here to have a good time.”

My last question . . . How do you like Zagreb? Did you get the chance to see the city?

“We've been to the centre a few times. A few of us were actually here once before – it was 13 years ago or something like that and that was my first tournament with the senior team. We remember Zagreb from back then and were all really excited to come back again. As kids we loved it here. Also the weather has been nice, too.”