“Our ultimate goal is to be in the Olympics”

by John Cushing, October 2026

British Ice Hockey is a brand new organisation with a brand new, if not familiar, Performance Director with the “ultimate goal to be in the Olympics, 100%.”

Jonathan Phillips is the former captain and with 116 caps, the most capped player in Great British history, but after a brief excursion following sporting retirement into education, he’s now back to oversee all the elite teams including the men, women and Para teams too.

Described as the “heartbeat of the national team for two decades” having played in World Championships, Phillips set out his stall to help transform the game in this country, when talking to Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy.

“In recent years, when I was a player, I remember we got down to the final qualifying round a couple of times. But it really is that step process. Our ultimate goal is to be in the Olympics, 100%. I think as a nation, we have to make sure that we're attacking each step.”

His role is to improve the GB Development Pathway for junior Athletes, and work collaboratively with other national stakeholders to elevate the game for everyone involved.

“I think that's one thing we kind of all have seen, is that our kids today are way more skilled than we all were, like, by a mile. But it's the finer details, it's just a little bit of that hockey IQ, and that only really comes from the experience you've gained from playing, so to kind of accelerate that a little bit, and to teach those things.”

“We’re looking at those players and getting experienced coaches being more involved, and keeping that alignment, which I think is really important. I think one thing with, the national program, the seniors. I think our identity was by far the strongest of any nation. And I say that with confidence. I think that's what took us to the top pool. It took us back up there, stayed up there, and I think that's one area where we did a fantastic job. Now, if we can align all those other programs and junior teams with that identity, that style, what makes us British, that real kind of pride and passion.”

You can listen to the whole podcast here:

Jonathan isn’t the only “new” face in the sport in the country. Tim Bratton is the interim CEO and has overseen a historic merger - bringing the governing bodies of England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey together - to create Ice Hockey UK.

“It makes sense in the UK to have that single governing body. We think it brings benefits for everybody. Lots to do in terms of integration, but, I think it puts us in a really great place that we've managed to achieve that.”

Ice Hockey UK is the first Olympic sport in Britain to fully unify governance across all home nations. “If we've got the same national pathway program, rather than having maybe, you know, two, three, or four different ones, then that's got to be for the benefit of players. If we're taking the same approach to coach education across all of our clubs, that's got to be a benefit for coaches. We're all pulling in the same direction, and we've all got lots to learn from each other as well, which is another benefit.”

There’s definitely a demand for the game in the UK as Tim explained “6,000 people are playing ice hockey in the UK across, rec, junior, women's, men's, para at the moment. That's an awful lot of people, and then the statistic that I think most surprises people is we're actually the fifth most watched team sport in the UK and the most popular indoor sport!”

“Manchester Storm had their first game of the season in their AO Arena home - they had 11,000 people. Like, that is unbelievable, and what a great job! They're competing, essentially, with Man United and Man City, you know, so there's big competition within that city” revealed Jonathan Phillips, who also praised his former club Sheffield Steelers.

“People often associate Nottingham and Sheffield, quite rightly, but it really is north, east, south, and west across the UK” replied Tim, who’s now aiming to get “greater visibility for this fantastic sport that is already watched by a real core of supporters.”