The Mighty Roos squad has taken flight for training camp in Finland as they gear up for their tilt at the 2015 IIHF Division 2 Group A World Championships campaign.
The Roos will square off against an under 20 squad from Finnish Elite League team, the Lahti Pelicans, in a series of exhibition matches before heading to Iceland on the 10th of April.
Former Australian Under-18 captain Casey Kubara is a late addition to the squad as he comes off a solid three-goal stint with the National Under-20 team.
Kubara replaces Melbourne Mustang Jamie Bourke, who is unavailable due to work commitments.
Coach Ryan O’Handley says that regardless of world rankings, each team in the division will present their own challenges.
“Everybodys new, everybody’s got new players. You’ve just got to play the team you are facing,” O’Handley said.
O’Handley says that assistant coach Eric Lien has become a ‘film addict’, aiming to gain any advantage possible in order for the Australians to push their way back into Division 1.
“We know what to expect from these teams,” O’Handley said. “Depending on who’s coaching the team, the way they play the game could change but we are pretty familiar with the teams and nothing is going to surprise us.”
The team will be looking to gel and find the right chemistry ahead of the World Championships so fans can expect to see their favourites lining up alongside traditional rivals.
“We’ll shake it up,” O’Handley said. “Certain guys will play together here but the roles they have in this tournament could differ than the roles they have in the AIHL. We’ve got to identify guys that have chemistry early on but we as coaches have ideas as to what we want out of our defence pairings and out of our forward units.”
The Melbourne Ice’s Austin Mckenzie said that the players were excited about the tournament.
“It’s just another step up,” the 22-year old forward said as he prepares for his second stint with the senior Mighty Roos. “It’s what you’ve always strived for, it’s an amazing experience playing for Australia.”
The Australian’s will take the ice for the first game of the 2015 IIHF Division 2 Group A World Championships against newly promoted Spain on April 13 (11pm AEDT).