Great Britain’s Jonathan Phillips is one of only few top-level players who has captained his national team for nine years.
photo: Chris Tanouye / HHOF-IIHF Images
At this time of year, when the focus is on the 16 best hockey teams in the world, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the IIHF consists of 81 members. Some are quite new to the game; some have been around more than a century. Some have won gold many times; some will never play near the top division. But they all play hockey, and no matter where’re they skate the puck is still the same size.
Which brings us to Jonathan Philipps, the captain of Great Britain. He is wearing the “C” at this year’s tournament for the 9th time at an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with GB’s men’s senior national team. It’s not a record, but it is a long and impressive achievement not just to play in nine World Championships but to be good enough and respected enough to be handed the “C” year after year.
If you think Phillips’s achievement is impressive, though, you might want to give it up for Ingvar Jonsson.
Who?
Ingvar Jonsson. Iceland. He has captained his country at every World Championship every single year since 2004. That’s a total of 18 years as captain! The 40-year-old defenceman has played at the club level for Skautafelag Akureyrar for most of his 15 years in senior hockey.
Which brings us to Jonathan Philipps, the captain of Great Britain. He is wearing the “C” at this year’s tournament for the 9th time at an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with GB’s men’s senior national team. It’s not a record, but it is a long and impressive achievement not just to play in nine World Championships but to be good enough and respected enough to be handed the “C” year after year.
If you think Phillips’s achievement is impressive, though, you might want to give it up for Ingvar Jonsson.
Who?
Ingvar Jonsson. Iceland. He has captained his country at every World Championship every single year since 2004. That’s a total of 18 years as captain! The 40-year-old defenceman has played at the club level for Skautafelag Akureyrar for most of his 15 years in senior hockey.
Ingvar Jonsson accepts the silver-medal trophy on behalf of Iceland at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group B in Mexico.
photo: fcosoto
Glen Foll captained Australia for 15 years between 1990 and 2006. The only year he wasn’t the C-man was in 1996, when his wife was having a baby! Foll grew up in British Columbia and played in the BCHL but was recruited at 19 to play Down Under. He won the Goodall Cup – Australia’s equivalent of the Stanley Cup – an incredible nine times.
Glen Foll last time captained Australia at the Division II tournament in 2006 close to home in New Zealand.
photo: NZIHF
Ronny Scheier of Luxembourg is the only other IIHF member of the “15 years as captain” club. What makes his dedication so amazing is that he has been the captain every single year since 2005. In 2017, he led the team to a first-place finish in Division III, taking Luxembourg to the Division II-B for the first time.
Luxembourg’s Ronny Scheier receives an award at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III in Bulgaria.
photo: Kostadin Andonov
Laurent Meunier had an amazing streak as well. He captained France for 13 consecutive years (2005-17) before retiring in a memorable ceremony alongside goalie Cristobal Huet at the World Championship in Paris.
Long-time French captain Laurent Meunier had his farewell on home ice when Paris co-hosted the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with Cologne, Germany.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Sergei Belo has also captained his team for 13 straight years. In his case, that means Israel, from 1998-2010. He also played in the domestic league for many years, and after retiring became the head coach of the national team for a year.
Tim Vos is the long-time “C”-man for Belgium, representing his country as captain 13 times between 1996 and 2010. He played for a variety of teams in Belgium and the Netherlands before retiring in 2017. He was part of the team’s great success in 2003 when the Belgians captured first place in Division II to move up to Division I.
When you think of Mexico, you think all-inclusive beach vacations, the pulse of Mexico City, the millions of fans cheering their football heroes. But Mexico has also been an IIHF member since 1985, and although it plays at the lower levels, it has a small but dedicated fan base and passionate group of core players. Among these is Fernando Ugarte, who has played for San Jeronimo in the domestic league for most of his two decades. He has also worn the “C” 12 times in succession (2007-18).
Of course, no such list would be complete without the name Jesper Damgaard. The Dane captained his senior national team for the first time in 1999, when it was in the old B Pool. He captained the team 11 of the next 12 years as it rose through the ranks, and continued to wear the “C” for seven seasons at the top level. In 2018, he was named winner of the IIHF’s Bibi Torriani Award.
Two players have captained their team ten times – Tommie Hartogs of the Netherlands and Miguel Baldris of Spain. And four players have nine World Championships as captain on their resume – Switzerland’s Mark Streit, Balazs Kangal of Hungary, Andre Marais of South Africa, and Philipps.
Being a captain is a responsibility and an honour. It is conferred only to players who have earned great respect for their quality of play and their leadership, their dedication to their national team and, of course, to the game itself. These 14 men who have worn the “C” for nine years or more form the core of the IIHF’s “captains hall of fame” and deserve recognition for their achievements.
Tim Vos is the long-time “C”-man for Belgium, representing his country as captain 13 times between 1996 and 2010. He played for a variety of teams in Belgium and the Netherlands before retiring in 2017. He was part of the team’s great success in 2003 when the Belgians captured first place in Division II to move up to Division I.
When you think of Mexico, you think all-inclusive beach vacations, the pulse of Mexico City, the millions of fans cheering their football heroes. But Mexico has also been an IIHF member since 1985, and although it plays at the lower levels, it has a small but dedicated fan base and passionate group of core players. Among these is Fernando Ugarte, who has played for San Jeronimo in the domestic league for most of his two decades. He has also worn the “C” 12 times in succession (2007-18).
Of course, no such list would be complete without the name Jesper Damgaard. The Dane captained his senior national team for the first time in 1999, when it was in the old B Pool. He captained the team 11 of the next 12 years as it rose through the ranks, and continued to wear the “C” for seven seasons at the top level. In 2018, he was named winner of the IIHF’s Bibi Torriani Award.
Two players have captained their team ten times – Tommie Hartogs of the Netherlands and Miguel Baldris of Spain. And four players have nine World Championships as captain on their resume – Switzerland’s Mark Streit, Balazs Kangal of Hungary, Andre Marais of South Africa, and Philipps.
Being a captain is a responsibility and an honour. It is conferred only to players who have earned great respect for their quality of play and their leadership, their dedication to their national team and, of course, to the game itself. These 14 men who have worn the “C” for nine years or more form the core of the IIHF’s “captains hall of fame” and deserve recognition for their achievements.