Woodman Ready for World Championship Tilt

Perth Thunder defenceman Jamie Woodman is currently riding a wave of success.

Coming off the back of a personal best season with the Thunder in 2016 (3G, 6A in 26 games), Woodman has been selected for the Australian men’s team, the Mighty Roos, to take part in the 2017 IIHF World Championships starting tonight.

A former Australian junior representative, Woodman is excited at the opportunity to play with the Mighty Roos team for the first time.

“It feels awesome,” Woodman said. “I was always hoping that one day it would happen, having missed out a couple of times.”

The senior team have always been particularly supportive of Woodman in his endeavours to make it to the top level.

“Every time I didn’t make it, (Australia’s coaches) were really supportive of what I needed to improve on,” he said. “I may not have been ready at the time and fitted into the systems they wanted to play.”

Now Woodman has the chance to prove himself at senior level when the Australian team plays in Romania this month. The Mighty Roos won the gold medal at last year’s World Championships to gain promotion to Division II Group A, but Woodman doesn’t feel any extra pressure going into this year’s tournament.

“I think this is really where we need to burn bright,” Woodman said. “I try not to build those things up, I just want to go in, work hard and get a good result.”

The Mighty Roos team in 2017 is set to be diverse in terms of age range, with Woodman joining Thunder teammate Kieran Webster as one of five first-timers on the team, along with some experienced players such as Wehebe Darge, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Lliam Webster.

“It’s going to be awesome” he said. “There are a lot of guys who are great hockey players with great skill level. Having all those guys in the one line up is going to be scary.”

Woodman, along with the Australian team, spent several days prior to the tournament at a training camp in the Czech Republic where they got the chance to work on game theory and systems before flying to Romania for the tournament.

Woodman’s involvement with the junior squad in the past will prove to be good preparation heading into the senior tournament.

“Having that prior experience will help with the smooth transition” he said. “The tournament itself will be a world of its own; it’s just hockey, hockey, hockey when you’re there, you’re in a bubble and live the dream.”

The IIHF World Championships (Division II, Group A) begin tonight in Galati, Romania, with the Mighty Roos taking on Serbia in game one at 6pm WST. You can find all the information here.