Why British ice hockey will be poorer on Friday night

Friday's Great Britain match against Brandon McNally's Italy should be a fitting finale.

If GB win promotion to the top pool of the World Championships a lot of that success will be down to him.

His on-ice contribution hasn't always been about goals, assists, or hits.

It's been about hard work, a unifying presence, and a pragmatic approach... all combined with speed and uncanny reserves of energy.

At 40, he plays like a man half his age.

GB coach Pete Russell regards Phillips as "a friend, a great person, a massive part of the room, a calm leader who leads by example."

There can be no more accurate tribute.

Most British ice hockey fans know the story of the Welsh lad who upped sticks from Cardiff in 2006 and began a Sheffield career numbering a mind-boggling 1,040 Steelers' games.

It makes you wonder how many of those matches he can actually remember.

There must be huge swathes that are a blur in his mind.

The player certainly has an acute memory of how he started off to become the player, leader, husband, and father of today.

"I was never a confident child, I was a kid with a stutter who wouldn't put his hand up in class even if I knew the answer," he told BBC Wales.

"Being around that team environment where everybody's working together, hockey teaches you to be resilient and to have confidence.

"Hockey's given me so many life lessons."

Phillips' presence on the GB side has been incalculable.

It was interesting, recently, to see how next-generation superstar Liam Kirk reacted when a social media poster asked whether the skipper was being picked for sentimental reasons.

"I've seen a lot of stuff said about him (Phillips) and about him being in this team," said the Maltby 23-year-old.

"I think it is disgusting. He belongs in this team, he deserves to be here, what he has done for British hockey and for us as a nation...

"We hope he can go out on a high. He is a big part of my journey lot of respect and gratitude for him."

Kirk's reaction is an example of the type of team camaraderie that Phillips has engendered his whole adult life.

And the game of ice hockey will be poorer for his retirement on Friday night.