Russell Cowley

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.

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 Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 Swindon Phoenix EngL 17 6 10 16 6 2 1 1 2 0 2001–02 Swindon Lynx EngL 9 8 13 21 2 – – – – – 2001–02 Coventry Blaze BNL 20 2 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 2 2002–03 Coventry Blaze BNL 29 5 5 10 6 10 0 2 2 4 2003–04 Coventry Blaze EIHL 42 3 6 9 14 4 0 2 2 0 2004–05 Coventry Blaze EIHL 45 8 14 22 16 10 3 3 6 4 2005–06 Coventry Blaze EIHL 37 6 16 22 34 6 1 3 4 2 2006–07 Cardiff Devils EIHL 40 5 10 15 28 4 1 2 3 2 2007–08 Coventry Blaze EIHL 53 15 35 50 41 4 0 0 0 2 2008–09 Coventry Blaze EIHL 52 15 30 45 26 3 0 0 0 0 2009–10 Coventry Blaze EIHL 56 10 31 41 40 3 0 0 0 8 2010–11 Coventry Blaze EIHL 51 10 21 31 44 2 1 0 1 0 2011–12 Coventry Blaze EIHL 54 3 15 18 36 2 0 0 0 0 2012–13 Coventry Blaze EIHL 35 6 10 16 55 3 0 0 0 0 2013–14 Coventry Blaze EIHL 47 4 12 16 28 2 1 0 1 0 2014–15 Coventry Blaze EIHL 52 5 12 17 33 4 0 4 4 0 2015–16 Coventry Blaze EIHL 49 8 11 19 34 4 2 2 4 2 2016–17 Coventry Blaze EIHL 47 0 9 9 22 – – – – – 2018–19 Basingstoke Bison NIHL 38 17 32 49 12 4 0 5 5 0 EIHL totals 641 96 227 323 449 51 9 16 25 20

International