Elite Series Draft

The Nottingham Panthers drafted Team GB goalie Ben Bowns as the first overall pick of the 2021 Elite Series Draft, after trading assets with the Manchester Storm.

Gui Doucet, the Panthers' representative at the Draft, stole the headlines by trading the second, seventh and tenth overall picks for Manchester's first, ninth, and 16th selections.

TRADE! | #Draft2021 @Mcr_Storm trade picks 1, 9 and 16 to @PanthersIHC. In exchange for picks 2, 7, and 10. pic.twitter.com/s5ZazZYAjl

— EIHL | #2021EliteSeries (@officialEIHL) March 8, 2021

Before the Draft had begun, the Sheffield Steelers rocked the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) by protecting NHL prospect Liam Kirk. Until it emerged that he had signed a contract with Sheffield, Kirk, 21, was expected to be available in the Draft.

The Manchester Storm used the second overall pick to draft former Coventry Blaze star Ben Lake. Mike Hammond and Matthews Myers were selected third and fourth, respectively, by the Coventry Blaze and Sheffield Steelers.

With the Elite Series set to begin on 3 March, teams will now seek to add 'imported' talent to their rosters.

Coventry head coach Danny Stewart admitted that the Blaze have held positive talks with international players and hope to announce their first signings in the coming days.

The Blaze, who finished the 2019/20 season third in the EIHL standings, prioritised young talent in the Draft, picking-up promising defenceman Cole Shudra in the third round.

Teams were invited to select a maximum of ten players from the Draft, with the final three assigned to a 'Taxi Squad'. Taxi Squad players will act as reserves during the tournament and will be available to step into the line-up when required.

With a number of players currently competing abroad, it is highly possible that Taxi players will be called upon in the opening weeks of the Elite Series.

Coventry, Nottingham, Manchester, and Sheffield's rosters can be viewed in full below:

Player | Position | Draft Pick

Coventry Blaze | Head Coach: Danny Stewart

Luke Ferrara | Forward | Protected

Ross Venus | Forward | Protected

Alex Forbes | Forward | Protected

David Clements | Defenceman | Protected

Jordan Hedley | Goalie | Protected

Mike Hammond | Forward | #3

Paul Swindlehurst | Defenceman | #6

Cole Shudra | Defenceman | #11

Samuel Duggan | Forward | #14

Mac Howlett | Forward | #19

Tom Rutkis | Forward | #22

Vanya Antonov | Forward | #27

Taxi Squad:

Sam Russell | Defenceman | #30

Will Bray | Goalie | #34

Austin Mitchell-King | Forward | #37

Manchester Storm | Head Coach: Ryan Finnerty

Dallas Ehrhardt | Defenceman | Protected

Joe Hazledine | Defenceman | Protected

Zach Sullivan | Defenceman | Protected

Ciaran Long | Forward | Protected

Finlay Ulrick | Forward | Protected

Ben Lake | Forward | #2

Josh Batch | Defenceman | #7

Ben Davies | Forward | #8

Craig Peacock | Forward | #10

Matthew Haywood | Forward | #17

Declan Balmer | Defenceman | #24

Stephen Murphy | Goalie | #25

Taxi Squad:

Jacob Lutwyche | Forward | #32

Ben Solder | Defenceman | #33

Sam Gospel | Goalie | #39

Nottingham Panthers | Head Coach: Tim Wallace

Jackson Whistle | Goalie | Protected

Josh Tetlow | Defenceman | Protected

Robert Lachowicz | Forward | Protected

Brett Perlini | Forward | Protected

Ollie Betteridge | Forward | Protected

Ben Bowns | Goalie | #1

Lewis Hook | Forward | #9

Mark Garside | Defenceman | #15

Owen Griffiths | Forward | #16

Kieran Brown | Forward | #18

Jordan Kelsall | Forward | #23

Craig Garrigan | Forward | #26

Taxi Squad:

Liam Stenton | Defenceman | #31

Morgan Pizzo | Forward | #34

Will Kerlin | Goalie | #38

Sheffield Steelers | Head Coach: Aaron Fox

David Phillips | Defenceman | Protected

Brendan Connolly | Forward | Protected

Jonathan Phillips | Forward | Protected

Robert Dowd | Forward | Protected

Liam Kirk | Forward | Protected

Matthew Myers | Forward | #4

Sam Jones | Defenceman | #5

Josh Waller | Forward | #12

Alex Graham | Forward | #13

Ben Churchfield | Goalie | #20

Jason Hewitt | Forward | #21

Adam Jones | Defenceman | #28

Taxi Squad:

Jack Musil | Forward | #29

Chris Warburton | Goalie | #35

PASSED | #36