Sheffield Steelers quartet ready for Great Britain Olympic challenge

Cole Shudra's morale-boosting elevation into the Great Britain squad means the Sheffield team taking part in the EIHL in games against Manchester Storm and Coventry Blaze will be without their entire British skating contingent from last Saturday's 9-3 mauling of Glasgow Clan.

Sheffield were able to call up 19-year-old Steeldogs' Sam Cooper for his Steelers debut against Coventry on January 31 and he played a valuable seven and a half minutes and could be an option this weekend.

At any rate, the South Yorkshire side won't be much worse off than any of their main rivals, for bodies, despite the loss of their captain Robert Dowd, Brandon Whistle, and Sam Jones.

Cardiff Devils have four players on GB duty, as do Belfast Giants.

For Shudra, it is an honour and recognition he'd hoped for and symbolises his growth as a legitimate, dependable EIHL mainstay.

He received the call-up after an injury to forward Josh Waller.

Solid performances in Olympic Qualifiers in Cardiff will mean coach Pete Russell will find it hard to displace Shudra in the line up.

The versatile skater will make his full international debut after making 11 appearances for GB as a junior.

The 25-year-old played five times for the under-18s and made six appearances for the under-20s, including winning a bronze medal in 2018.

Domestically, he has not missed a game for Steelers this year and has scored seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 44 games in in all competitions.

GB Head Coach, Pete Russell, said: “We’re disappointed to lose Josh, especially at such a late stage.

“But as one door closes another one opens. Cole has had a fantastic season with the Steelers and fully deserves his call-up to the full international squad.”

GB - with ex Steeler Liam Kirk in their ranks - will take on China, Romania and Serbia from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th February at the Vindico Arena in Cardiff.

The group winners will progress to Final Qualifying in August 2024 – the final stage of qualifying before the Winter Olympics in Italy, which is due to start on February 6, 2026.