Tigers man in GB fold for Olympic qualifiers
Telford Tigers defenceman Jonathan Weaver wants to help Great Britain qualify for the Winter Olympics for the first time since 1948.
Weaver, 38, was yesterday named in the national team's 22-man squad for next month's pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Cortina, Italy.
He is the only player from an English Premier League club to be named in the GB side, with the rest coming from the top-tier Elite League.
The former Coventry Blaze and Nottingham Panthers star said: "The aim is to go there and do our best to qualify for the next round. It should be a tough tournament, especially against Italy.
"It is every athlete's ambition to play in the Olympics and it is no different for ice hockey players. The closer you get, the more realistic it becomes.
!It is a long shot, but we've got to go there in the right frame of mind, work hard and hopefully we'll get through to the next round."
GB take on hosts Italy, as well as Netherlands and Serbia, in the four-team tournament from February 11-14.
The winners will go through to the final stage of qualifying, ahead of the Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang, Korea, in 2018.
Seventeen of the squad who won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championship (Division 1B) in Netherlands are named on the roster.
Great Britain coach Peter Russell and his assistant Tom Watkins, the Telford head coach, know Cortina represents a tough nut to crack.
Russell said: "It's a very exciting experience and a very tough challenge. We all can't wait to get started. We have three goals.
"Goal one – do what it takes to win the first game. Goal two – do what it takes to win the second game and goal three – do what it takes to win the third game.
"I guess it's like a new season for GB and we must come together with the same mindset, work ethic and fantastic team unity we showed in Netherlands last year."
The last time Great Britain played at the Winter Olympics was in 1948, when the tournament took place in Switzerland.
