Ice hockey’s tragic season can end on a high after shock deaths of Mike Hammond and Adam Johnson… as Great Britain take on mighty Canada and Co at the World Championships

It’s a chance for British ice hockey to end a season of unprecedented tragedy by showcasing the rise of domestic football that has taken them back to the top of the world stage.

As Great Britain begins its return to the top level of the World Championship, starting against Canada’s very best in Prague today, they will remember those absent in a year that has seen the sport hit by a devastating number of losses.

That tragic run began last July when Mike Hammond, a key member of the GB side who had just secured promotion to the top flight at the first attempt, died aged 33 in a car crash in Canada.

Just a month earlier, Sheffield Steelers, the country’s biggest club, had been rocked by the sudden death of their rising striker Alex Graham, aged 20, just days after signing his first professional contract.

Then came the incident that shocked the sport worldwide when Adam Johnson, the overseas star of Nottingham Panthers, who had played at the highest level with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, died after a freak accident during a match against Sheffield.

Finally, one of the game’s most popular figures, Coventry Blaze assistant coach Dayle Keen, who had also coached GB youth sides, died suddenly, also aged just 33.

Robert Dowd has felt the full extent of the excruciating events more than most as a hugely experienced and hugely successful forward who took over the captaincy of both Sheffield and GB this season from fellow Steelers legend Jonathan Phillips.

Now Dowd will lead GB to the ice in the Czech Republic, where they will play seven matches against elite opposition over the next eleven days, fresh from leading Sheffield to the ultimate triumph over adversity as they completed a domestic treble last week.

“The hockey world in Britain has come together like never before this year,” said Dowd, 35. “Supporting each other as everyone did in the toughest of times, no matter what club they followed or what allegiance, was a credit. for everyone involved in the sport.

“So much has happened that it’s been a tough year for a lot of us all season and we have different memories of different guys. Now we’ve come to this tournament and we’re used to seeing Mike Hammond with us.

“A few of us were sitting in our team room last night watching some of the highlights from last year (when GB won the Division One tournament in Nottingham) and Mike played a big part in that. That hurt us again when we saw his face. We are playing this tournament for him – and for others.”

Johnson’s loss in an Elite League match in October, when his throat was slit following an on-ice collision, hit the sport hard worldwide, but also changed the game forever: every player at all levels of British ice hockey now wears neck gaiters and other extra protective equipment.

Meanwhile, a man remains on police bail more than six months after the tragedy, awaiting whether he will be charged with manslaughter. The show had to go on somehow.

“We spent a lot of time together away from the rink trying to get through everything,” Dowd told Mail Sport of his Sheffield team.

“Everyone deals with things differently and dealing with all of this has just brought us closer together and I think we showed that on the ice. We’ve all been there for each other and to come out the other side and win a treble is something really special.

“I’ll remember those guys in the room until the day I die.”

Now comes the ultimate test for GB. “We have a great opportunity to continue to be among the best in the world,” Dowd said.

“We don’t expect to win a medal or beat Canada, but we have a chance to improve as the tournament progresses and we will try to get some results to stay at this level.”