SWINDON Wildcats Ollie Stone and Jordan Kelsall return to the Link Centre for the first time since claiming a bronze medal from their World U20 Championship in Scotland just under 10 days ago.

The Cats returned to action on Saturday when they suffered a 6-2 defeat to the Peterborough Phantoms away from home, Sam Bullas and Luc Johnson notched.

Cats coach Aaron Nell returned to the bench for that trip after making the trip to Scotland with the dup, as an assistant coach for Great Britain in what he thought was a great week for the club, and the two youngsters.

However, the trio can be excused for feeling a little bitter, as they lost out on a gold medal to Japan, before going on to claim third-place in the championships, which took place in Dumfries, Scotland. Despite the obvious disappointment, Nell says it was a useful experience for both him and the players alike.

“Scotland was a good trip. We were disappointed that we couldn’t win the last game while we were up there,” said the Wildcats coach. “The players were fantastic, they put in everything that they could and we just came up short towards the end.

“It was a great experience for myself and the players, it was a very positive week for everyone involved.”

Teenage duo Stone and Kelsall represented the Cats, and the former says it was a great to compare themselves to other players of their age group.

Despite their delight at taking part, Stone and Kelsall will head into the Cat’s NIHL Fixture with Basingstoke Bison as one of the few who didn’t have a break due to the gap in fixtures.

However Stone refuses to see it as a negative thing, as he believes it gave him and Kelsall a chance to further prove their talents to Nell.

“Scotland was absolutely amazing. Obviously, it was disappointing to go into a gold medal game and come out with a bronze medal,” he added. “It shows you the bench mark of talent at my age. You do wonder how other countries compare to yourself and you compare yourself to other countries and their players.

“You get to match up against the best players in the world who are your age, which can only be a good thing.

“It was nice to go with people from your own team in Jordan (Kelsall) and to have a coach on the bench.

“But that works both ways. Hopefully Aaron saw how I played for Great Britain and hopefully that has shown him I can play at a higher level.”