Russell Cowley (born August 12, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player currently playing for the

Swindon Wildcats The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity Link Centre i ...

. He plays either as a forward or more recently as a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

Playing career

Cowley started his career at Swindon Phoenix in 2000 before joining Coventry Blaze in the BNL in 2001. He stayed with the Blaze as they progressed into the

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

, and was part of the team that won the Grand Slam (league, challenge cup & playoffs) in 2004–05. He signed for rivals

Cardiff Devils The Cardiff Devils () are a Welsh professional ice hockey team who play in the UK-based Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). The team plays at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay, currently known as ''Vindico Arena'' for sponsorship reasons. Cardiff' ...

in 2006 but returned to Coventry the following season, helping the Blaze to another two league titles in 2008 and 2010. Cowley played for the England under-18 and under-20 teams in his junior international career, and played on the

Great Britain men's national ice hockey team The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team (also known as Team GB) is the national ice hockey team that represents the United Kingdom. A founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1908, the team is con ...

. Although Cowley usually plays as a forward, he has played a number of games on defence for Coventry over recent seasons and was signed as a full-time

for the 2011/12 season. In March 2017, Cowley announced his intention to retire. Despite his retirement announcement, Cowley played for the Basingstoke Bison in the NIHL in the 2018–19 season - a tier below the EIHL, a league in which Cowley had played in for most of his career. A year later, Cowley signed for the Milton Keynes Lightning, whom had recently entered the reformatted NIHL.

Career statistics

Regular season & playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Russell 1983 births Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian ice hockey forwards English ice hockey defencemen English ice hockey forwards Canadian emigrants to England Cardiff Devils players Coventry Blaze players Basingstoke Bison players Milton Keynes Lightning players Living people Ice hockey people from Edmonton Swindon Wildcats players