HULL, UK – Excel Hull Stingrays forward Lee Mitchell has been named in the Great Britain squad for the two World Championship warm-up matches against the Netherlands next month.
The 22-year-old has been on the fringes of the GB party in recent seasons with a knee injury preventing him from participating in the Euro Hockey Challenge in France in February 2008 and denying him a possible place in the squad for the tournament in Austria two months later.
Mitchell, who has participated in the last two Elite League All-Star games, was then named as a reserve for last year’s event in Poland where Britain claimed a bronze medal.
But he has been included in a 31-man party for the games in Nottingham on April 10 and Sheffield a day later before the squad is reduced to 23 ahead of the tournament in Slovenia where GB will play Croatia, Korea, Hungary, Poland and the hosts in Ljubljana between April 17-23.
Mitchell said: “It is always nice to be picked for your country. It is a chance for me to show what I can do in the two games, just like a number of other players who are hoping to be in the squad for the World Championships. Hopefully I can do enough. It would be awesome to make the squad, any time you represent your country it is an honour.”
Despite missing the first couple of months of the campaign with a knee injury, Mitchell received the coach’s player and players’ player of the years awards at Stingrays’ end-of-season ceremony last night.
He added: “It is always an honour to receive these awards. It shows you are doing something right and that you are appreciated. I have really enjoyed it since I came back from the injury and we are all now looking forward to the play-offs against Coventry.” Contact Comment@Prohockeynews.com
