Russell Cowley Explained

Russell Cowley
Played For:
Position:Forward/Defence
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:172
Ntl Team:Great Britain
Birth Date:August 12, 1983
Birth Place:Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Career Start:2000

Russell Cowley (born August 12, 1983) is a Canadian-born British professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Swindon Wildcats. He plays either as a forward or more recently as a defenceman.

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

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 defenceman for the 2011/12 season.[1]

In March 2017, Cowley announced his intention to retire.[2]

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.[3]

Career statistics

Regular season & playoffs

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2000–01Swindon PhoenixEngL17 6 10 16 62 1 1 2 0
2001–02Swindon LynxEngL9 8 13 21 2
2001–02Coventry BlazeBNL20 2 0 2 24 0 1 1 2
2002–03Coventry BlazeBNL29 5 5 10 610 0 2 2 4
2003–04Coventry BlazeEIHL42 3 6 9 144 0 2 2 0
2004–05Coventry BlazeEIHL45 8 14 22 1610 3 3 6 4
2005–06Coventry BlazeEIHL37 6 16 22 346 1 3 4 2
2006–07Cardiff DevilsEIHL40 5 10 15 284 1 2 3 2
2007–08Coventry BlazeEIHL53 15 35 50 414 0 0 0 2
2008–09Coventry BlazeEIHL52 15 30 45 263 0 0 0 0
2009–10Coventry BlazeEIHL56 10 31 41 403 0 0 0 8
2010–11Coventry BlazeEIHL51 10 21 31 442 1 0 1 0
2011–12Coventry BlazeEIHL54 3 15 18 362 0 0 0 0
2012–13Coventry BlazeEIHL35 6 10 16 553 0 0 0 0
2013–14Coventry BlazeEIHL47 4 12 16 282 1 0 1 0
2014–15Coventry BlazeEIHL52 5 12 17 334 0 4 4 0
2015–16Coventry BlazeEIHL49 8 11 19 344 2 2 4 2
2016–17Coventry BlazeEIHL47 0 9 9 22
2018–19Basingstoke BisonNIHL38 17 32 49 124 0 5 5 0
EIHL totals64196227323449519162520

International

Year Team Comp GP G A Pts PIM
2001Great Britain U18WJC18–D2422414
2001Great Britain U20WJC20–D240002
2002Great Britain U20WJC20–D241346
2003Great Britain U20WJC20–D2577142
2003Great BritainWC–D150000
2004Great BritainWC–D150004
2005Great BritainWC–D150112
2006Great BritainWC–D151342
2007Great BritainWC–D150112
2008Great BritainWC–D150112
2009Great BritainWC–D150440
2010Great BritainWC–D150112
2011Great BritainWC–D151122
2015Great BritainWC–D1B51122
2016Great BritainWC–D1B53362
2017Great BritainWC–D1B51002
Junior international totals1710122224
Senior international totals607172424

Notes and References

  1. News: Russ Cowley on the blue line . Coventry Telegraph . 2011-05-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120925090419/http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-warwickshire-sport/coventry-blaze-ice-hockey/coventry-blaze-news/2011/05/31/russ-cowley-on-the-blue-line-92746-28791696/ . 2012-09-25 .
  2. Web site: Cowley announces retirement. 14 December 2023.
  3. Web site: Russell Cowley at eliteprospects.com. www.eliteprospects.com. 14 December 2023.