Raiders youngster Brynley Capps admitted his World Championship debut with Great Britain under-18s recently is something he will 'always remember'.
The 16-year-old finished as the team's leading scorer during the Division 2A tournament in Poland last month, with six goals and five assists, as they claimed the silver medal behind the hosts.
And Capps also walked off with the forward of the tournament prize, as well as the GB Supporters' choice, to complete an outstanding week.
"It was a great honour to be selected to the GB squad and get the chance to play in a World Championship," he said.
"I really enjoyed my first tournament. We had a great group of players who all bought into what the coaches asked of us and ultimately we bonded well as a team.
"It did take me a game or two to adjust to the different style of hockey to what I've been used to playing on a weekly basis, but once I scored my first goal - and after a couple of line tweaks - I found my confidence and didn’t really look back and then looked to push myself more in each game."
After a 6-4 loss to Poland in their first game, Capps opened his account in a 4-2 win over Croatia and netted again, alongside clubmate Joe Tomalin, in a 4-0 victory over Serbia.
Capps then bagged braces in wins over Romania (9-2) and the Netherlands (9-1) to top the charts, much to his surprise.
"With some very strong teams and players in the tournament, it was very unexpected for me to finish top of the scorer’s table and with a final push from the Poland team on the last day it was looking unlikely that I would do so," he added.
"But in the end I finished top points scorer and was also awarded forward of the tournament, which could have gone to a number of players on our team, as well as several others on other teams.
"To be given this award was the best feeling and something I will always remember."
The GB squad was led by Raiders head coach Sean Easton, which Capps admitted helped him to settle into the competition.
And the youngster said it was the perfect ending to his first full season in senior hockey at the Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre.
"Having Sean with us there as head coach meant I was well aware from playing at Romford and being coached by Sean for the last six years of what systems he wanted us to use and how he wanted us to play and compete," he said.
"I feel like I couldn’t have had a better season to start my senior hockey career. Being given the opportunity to play for the Buccaneers team at NIHL 1 and to again find myself as the league’s top scorer was not expected.
"And then being able to step up to the Raiders when available and picking up some points along the way has been amazing.
"I’d like to thank Sean and Bucky [Jason Buckman] for all their training, opportunity and encouragement throughout the season."
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