Sean Easton has been confirmed as head coach of Great Britain’s Under-20 men, Ice Hockey UK announced on 9 October, with Corey Neilson and Matthew Myers appointed as assistant coaches and Davey Lawrence taking the goalie and video-coach role. The new group brings together coaches with long experience of the GB pathway, domestic senior hockey and junior international competition.
Easton takes charge after working in the GB programme since 2016. Ice Hockey UK said he has coached at Under-20, Under-18 and Under-16 level for more than a decade, making the appointment a continuation of his involvement in the national junior set-up rather than a first entry into it.
Jonathan Phillips, Ice Hockey UK’s national teams programme director, said the appointments were intended to provide the strongest coaching available to every GB side. He said the organisation believed there was now genuine coaching alignment across the programme, with staff who understood the culture of representing Great Britain.
Easton’s junior record gives GB continuity
Ice Hockey UK said Easton had been involved in one gold-medal campaign, three silver-medal campaigns and five bronze-medal campaigns across 10 junior World Championship tournaments. Those results amount to nine medal finishes from the 10 tournaments cited by the governing body, although the announcement did not identify the specific events for each medal.
Phillips described Easton as one of Great Britain’s most successful junior coaches and said he had played an important role in the early stages of many GB careers.
Easton’s domestic coaching career has also included title success. Ice Hockey UK said his first major head-coach post came with Chelmsford Chieftains in 2015-16, where he led the club to consecutive NIHL 1 South championship titles. He then spent seven seasons with Raiders IHC before returning to work in the Chelmsford organisation.
He returned to the NIHL with Romford midway through last season and agreed a new deal for 2026-27 in March. Romford had said Easton improved routes for younger players and enhanced the club’s standing across the NIHL, according to Ice Hockey UK.
Neilson links the Under-18 and Under-20 groups
Neilson’s appointment creates a direct staffing link between two key stages of the men’s junior pathway. He will assist Easton with the Under-20s while remaining head coach of the Under-18 men.
Phillips said that overlap was particularly important because of Neilson’s record of developing GB players. Neilson has been a GB assistant coach since 2017 and, according to Ice Hockey UK, has helped the senior national team win four gold medals and spend five seasons in the World Championship’s top pool.
The former defenceman also won 10 caps for Great Britain as a player. His coaching career has included Nottingham Panthers, where Ice Hockey UK said he won the Elite League title in 2013, four play-off championships, six Challenge Cups and the Continental Cup in 2017. He later coached in Germany, Norway and Slovakia, as well as with Glasgow Clan in the UK.
That overlap could provide greater continuity between the Under-18 and Under-20 groups.
Myers and Lawrence add playing and specialist experience
Myers returns to the GB programme as a coach after a playing career in which Ice Hockey UK said he appeared in 19 World Championship tournaments and five Olympic Qualifiers. The Cardiff-born forward played 114 games for Great Britain, recording 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points.
He was part of GB gold-medal campaigns in Belfast in 2017, Hungary in 2018 and Nottingham in 2023, while also winning three silver medals and a bronze. At club level, he won major honours with both Cardiff Devils and Nottingham Panthers before moving into coaching.
Ice Hockey UK said Myers was appointed assistant coach of Cardiff Devils in 2024-25 and was named head coach of CSM Corona Brasov last season, leading the club to the Romanian Supercup. Phillips said Myers’s international experience and leadership qualities made him a strong fit for the Under-20 role.
Lawrence completes the staff as goalie and video coach. A former GB junior international at both Under-18 and Under-20 level, he has been part of the national programme for several years and has worked on the development of the next generation of GB goaltenders. Phillips also pointed to Lawrence’s contribution to Leeds Knights and described him as highly regarded within the UK game.
The appointments give Easton a staff with distinct responsibilities but overlapping GB experience. Ice Hockey UK said the appointments were intended to strengthen coaching alignment across the programme.