Great Britain’s Robert Dowd battles for puck possession against ROC’s Nikita Zadorov
photo: Chris Tanouye / HHOF-IIHF Images
Throughout Great Britain’s rise to the top division, the team’s motto has been ‘Dare to Dream’. Now, buoyed by a victory over Belarus on Wednesday, the next instalment could, at least theoretically, mean a trip to the quarter-finals.
It’s a long shot, but in a tournament where the unthinkable seems to happen more often than the predictable, it’s a possibility that forward Robert Dowd is relishing.
“We’re absolutely still daring to dream,” he said. “When we came in 2019 I felt we were a bit in awe of the situation and were soaking it all in rather than taking the bull by the horns. We were happy to be there, and kind of content with whatever happened.
“After that, we’re back with a different attitude. Now, if a couple of results go our way and we keep playing the way we have and get a couple more results, you never know what could happen.”
If that sounds like a bold statement, then bold is a big part of Britain’s game in Riga. After several heavy losses in Kosice two years ago, this time the Brits have been competitive in three of their four games.
“I think we’ve proved in this tournament that we can play with these teams,” Dowd added. “We’re making our own plays instead of just sitting back and letting them come at us, trying to defend all night.
“We’ve been making good hockey plays and going at some teams. I thought there were large stages of the game against Belarus when we were taking it at them and they were on their heels, and that was a nice feeling.”
The only exception was the opening game against Team ROC. Britain was down 4-0 after 11 minutes and eventually lost 7-1. But that was the team’s first game since Olympic qualification action in February 2020 and represented a sharp change of pace for a roster that had limited opportunities to play in a COVID-affected season.
“I went away to play but the majority on the team weren’t fortunate enough to get overseas and play anywhere, so it’s been very tough,” Dowd added. “That was reflected in the first game. We were still trying to get up to speed against teams that have been together. The Russians played all year and they were together for a month as a unit, playing warm-up games. We had none of that, just a week or so together and most guys only played about 15 games all years.
“That first game we had to try to get up to speed with this tournament, to adjust to the pace of play and I think once we adjusted you could see even in that third period we looked better. We’re getting better, game in, game out, period after period, and we need to keep striving in that direction.”
It’s a long shot, but in a tournament where the unthinkable seems to happen more often than the predictable, it’s a possibility that forward Robert Dowd is relishing.
“We’re absolutely still daring to dream,” he said. “When we came in 2019 I felt we were a bit in awe of the situation and were soaking it all in rather than taking the bull by the horns. We were happy to be there, and kind of content with whatever happened.
“After that, we’re back with a different attitude. Now, if a couple of results go our way and we keep playing the way we have and get a couple more results, you never know what could happen.”
If that sounds like a bold statement, then bold is a big part of Britain’s game in Riga. After several heavy losses in Kosice two years ago, this time the Brits have been competitive in three of their four games.
“I think we’ve proved in this tournament that we can play with these teams,” Dowd added. “We’re making our own plays instead of just sitting back and letting them come at us, trying to defend all night.
“We’ve been making good hockey plays and going at some teams. I thought there were large stages of the game against Belarus when we were taking it at them and they were on their heels, and that was a nice feeling.”
The only exception was the opening game against Team ROC. Britain was down 4-0 after 11 minutes and eventually lost 7-1. But that was the team’s first game since Olympic qualification action in February 2020 and represented a sharp change of pace for a roster that had limited opportunities to play in a COVID-affected season.
“I went away to play but the majority on the team weren’t fortunate enough to get overseas and play anywhere, so it’s been very tough,” Dowd added. “That was reflected in the first game. We were still trying to get up to speed against teams that have been together. The Russians played all year and they were together for a month as a unit, playing warm-up games. We had none of that, just a week or so together and most guys only played about 15 games all years.
“That first game we had to try to get up to speed with this tournament, to adjust to the pace of play and I think once we adjusted you could see even in that third period we looked better. We’re getting better, game in, game out, period after period, and we need to keep striving in that direction.”
Interview with Robert Dowd (Great Britain)
Dowd is now 33. His career began in his hometown of Billingham and has taken in spells in the USA, Sweden and, this season, Italy. But most of his career has been in the UK with the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League.
However, if British hockey had enjoyed a higher profile when he was making his senior debut in the 2008/09 season, there might have been more opportunities – something the forward is hoping might inspire the next generation.
“I would have loved an opportunity like this to strive towards when I was younger,” he said. “We were never at this level when I was younger, we didn’t have a shop window like this. If some of the younger guys have a good tournament here, they could end up in one of the best leagues in the world but when I was coming through, even if you had a good tournament, agents were still very unwilling to look around Europe for you.
“Now we have such a shop window for young kids to strive towards. If they can make it to this level, they can make it anywhere. If we can build a system where we’re going to stay here for a sustainable amount of time and get young kids into the best leagues in the world that would be great for British hockey.”
With that in mind, Dowd is serious about his responsibilities towards the emerging players on GB’s roster. With the threat of relegation removed this season, it means the likes of Josh Tetlow, Sam Jones, Dave Clements and Lewis Hook got their first international call-ups, while there’s a World Championship debuts for Sam Duggan. Wearing the ‘A’, Dowd is enjoying a bigger leadership role in his 12th senior IIHF tournament. He’s also looking to a future in coaching
“I enjoy doing the coaching side in the summer,” he said. “I love working with the younger generation, it’s fun to see people develop in such a short time. Once my playing career finishes, I’d definitely be interested in bringing on the next players.”
But it’s not all responsibility. While Dowd’s performances on the ice are catching the eye – he’s second in scoring for GB with 3 assists so far – his tattoo has also captured attention. A number 75 on the back of the forward’s neck matches the number on his jersey – but it turns out to be a legacy of a holiday.
“To be honest, it was a drunken night out in Magaluf [in Mallorca],” he laughed. “It seemed like a good idea at the time but I woke the next morning with a sore head and sore neck and I was panicking! I just hoped it wasn’t a butterfly or a unicorn, something ridiculous like that on the back of my neck.
“Luckily, when I saw it, it was a 75 so I thought ‘OK, I can live with that’.”
However, if British hockey had enjoyed a higher profile when he was making his senior debut in the 2008/09 season, there might have been more opportunities – something the forward is hoping might inspire the next generation.
“I would have loved an opportunity like this to strive towards when I was younger,” he said. “We were never at this level when I was younger, we didn’t have a shop window like this. If some of the younger guys have a good tournament here, they could end up in one of the best leagues in the world but when I was coming through, even if you had a good tournament, agents were still very unwilling to look around Europe for you.
“Now we have such a shop window for young kids to strive towards. If they can make it to this level, they can make it anywhere. If we can build a system where we’re going to stay here for a sustainable amount of time and get young kids into the best leagues in the world that would be great for British hockey.”
With that in mind, Dowd is serious about his responsibilities towards the emerging players on GB’s roster. With the threat of relegation removed this season, it means the likes of Josh Tetlow, Sam Jones, Dave Clements and Lewis Hook got their first international call-ups, while there’s a World Championship debuts for Sam Duggan. Wearing the ‘A’, Dowd is enjoying a bigger leadership role in his 12th senior IIHF tournament. He’s also looking to a future in coaching
“I enjoy doing the coaching side in the summer,” he said. “I love working with the younger generation, it’s fun to see people develop in such a short time. Once my playing career finishes, I’d definitely be interested in bringing on the next players.”
But it’s not all responsibility. While Dowd’s performances on the ice are catching the eye – he’s second in scoring for GB with 3 assists so far – his tattoo has also captured attention. A number 75 on the back of the forward’s neck matches the number on his jersey – but it turns out to be a legacy of a holiday.
“To be honest, it was a drunken night out in Magaluf [in Mallorca],” he laughed. “It seemed like a good idea at the time but I woke the next morning with a sore head and sore neck and I was panicking! I just hoped it wasn’t a butterfly or a unicorn, something ridiculous like that on the back of my neck.
“Luckily, when I saw it, it was a 75 so I thought ‘OK, I can live with that’.”