Liam Kirk has become the first ice hockey player born and trained in England to be selected in the National Hockey League draft ©Liam Kirk/Twitter

Liam Kirk has become the first ice hockey player born and trained in England to be selected in the National Hockey League (NHL) draft.

The 18-year-old forward was picked in the seventh round by Arizona Coyotes, as the 189th selection in all.

Kirk has represented Sheffield Steelers in Britain's Elite League for the past three seasons and is a member of the Great Britain squad.

He registered 16 points - nine goals and seven assists - for the Steelers last season, the most by an under-18 player in the league's history.

Arizona were the first of 10 teams to interview Kirk at the NHL's Scouting Combine.

He will likely now be picked in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) import draft tomorrow to begin his development in North America.

Colin Shields and Tony Hand are other British players to have been drafted to the NHL, the world's premier league, but both are Scottish.

"I don't have any words for it," Kirk told the NHL website.

"I'm just very excited and really emotional. 

"It's been a long day, but I've been waiting for it. 

"We've been watching on a livestream as every pick is made, and I was getting a little more nervous every time.

"Then finally, I got the message saying it's happened, and my phone has been blowing up nonstop. 

"It's amazing." 

Kirk's drafting continues a purple patch for British ice hockey after the senior men's side re-gained their place in the top tier of the World Championships for the first time since 1994.

"We are so proud of Liam, a young Englishman with a dream," said Sheffield coach Paul Thompson. 

"It's the first rung of the ladder, but why not start to climb it? 

"The British hockey nation is also very proud and many good people from Sheffield have had an input into the story so far."