Kristiāns Rubīns (born 11 December 1997) is a Latvian professional ice hockey defenceman for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing with the Latvian national team, Rubīns played a central role in the country's first-ever medal at Ice Hockey World Championships in 2023.

Kristiāns Rubīns
Kristiāns Rubīns, 2023
Born (1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 26)
Riga, Latvia
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams
Modo Hockey
Frederikshavn White Hawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
National team  Latvia
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Playing career

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Rubīns played for Latvian and Swedish junior clubs, making his professional debut with VIK Västerås HK in the HockeyAllsvenskan before moving to Canada to play for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). On 3 August 2018, he left junior hockey, signing a professional contract with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL, an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1]

During the 2019–20 season, Rubīns, having signed an American Hockey League (AHL) contract extension with the Toronto Marlies, remained with the club for the duration of the campaign, posting two goals and 14 points in 47 games before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

On 2 April 2020, Rubīns was signed as an undrafted free agent to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[3] Rubīns made his NHL debut on 7 December 2021, a 5–4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.[4]

At the conclusion of his NHL debut season, Rubīns was not extended a qualifying offer by the Maple Leafs to retain his exclusive playing rights, and he was subsequently released to unrestricted free agency. On 13 July 2022, the opening day of free agency, Rubīns signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators to a one-year, $750,000 contract.[5] In the 2022–23 season, Rubīns contributed with two goals and six points through 42 games with Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.

On 10 March 2023, Rubīns was traded by Ottawa to the Calgary Flames in exchange for future considerations.[6] Upon joining the Flames, Rubīns was immediately assigned to the Calgary Wranglers, the team's AHL affiliate for the remainder of the season.

On 6 June 2023, as a pending free agent from the Flames, Rubīns opted to halt his North American career by signing a one-year contract with the newly-promoted Swedish club, Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).[7]

International play

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Medal record
Representing   Latvia
Ice hockey
World Championships
  2023 Finland/Latvia

Rubīns represented Latvia through the junior level. He was selected by Bob Hartley for Latvia's roster in the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[8] He made his debut in the opening game against Norway.[9] Rubīns was selected to represent the Latvian national team in the 2022 Winter Olympics,[10] but did not play for them when the NHL announced that its players would not be permitted to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics.[11]

He represented Latvia at the 2023 IIHF World Championship where he recorded two goals, including the game-winning overtime goal to defeat the United States and won a bronze medal, Latvia's first ever IIHF World Championship medal.[12][13]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Prizma/Pārdaugava LAT U16 24 6 12 18 20
2012–13 Prizma/Pārdaugava LAT U16 14 13 27
2012–13 Prizma/Pārdaugava LAT U18 20 11 7 18 22
2013–14 VIK Västerås HK J18 22 5 10 15 22
2013–14 VIK Västerås HK J18 Allsv 18 5 3 8 50 5 0 1 1 4
2014–15 VIK Västerås HK J18 2 0 1 1 0
2014–15 VIK Västerås HK J18 Allsv 2 0 1 1 2
2014–15 VIK Västerås HK J20 31 4 3 7 14 2 0 0 0 0
2014–15 VIK Västerås HK Allsv 10 0 0 0 4
2015–16 VIK Västerås HK J20 21 3 8 11 14
2015–16 VIK Västerås HK Allsv 4 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 49 3 21 24 14 11 0 7 7 8
2017–18 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 60 7 20 27 36 6 1 3 4 2
2018–19 Newfoundland Growlers ECHL 56 2 16 18 28 17 1 2 3 23
2018–19 Toronto Marlies AHL 15 0 3 3 4 1 0 0 0 0
2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 47 2 12 14 6
2020–21 Frederikshavn White Hawks DEN 21 2 3 5 2
2020–21 Toronto Marlies AHL 22 1 2 3 8
2021–22 Toronto Marlies AHL 58 1 10 11 24
2021–22 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 4
2022–23 Belleville Senators AHL 42 2 4 6 25
2022–23 Calgary Wranglers AHL 3 0 2 2 0 6 1 2 3 0
NHL totals 3 0 0 0 4

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Latvia U18 D1A 11th 5 0 0 0 25
2015 Latvia WJC D1A 13th 5 0 4 4 2
2015 Latvia U18 9th 6 0 2 2 2
2016 Latvia WJC D1A 11th 5 0 1 1 0
2017 Latvia WJC 10th 6 0 0 0 2
2018 Latvia WC 8th 8 1 1 2 2
2021 Latvia WC 11th 6 1 1 2 2
2021 Latvia OGQ Q 3 1 1 2 2
2022 Latvia WC 10th 4 0 0 0 0
2023 Latvia WC   4 2 0 2 2
Junior totals 27 0 7 7 31
Senior totals 25 5 3 8 8

Awards and honours

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Award Year
ECHL
Kelly Cup champion 2019 [14]

References

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  1. ^ "Growlers sign rookie defenseman Rubins". ECHL. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  2. ^ "AHL suspends play". theahl.com. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Maple Leafs sign Filip Kral and Kristians Rubins". Toronto Maple Leafs. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Rubins makes NHL debut". 8 December 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Senators sign Kristians Rubins to one-year, two-way deal". Sportsnet. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Flames acquire Kristians Rubins". NHL.com. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Kristians Rubins ny back i MoDo Hockey!" [Kristians Rubins new defenseman with Modo] (in Swedish). Modo Hockey. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  8. ^ DELFI sports (2 May 2018). "Paziņots Latvijas hokeja izlases kaujas sastāvs pasaules čempionātam" (in Latvian). delfi.lv. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  9. ^ iihf (5 May 2018). "Team LAT match stats". iihf. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Latvia adds Balcers, Girgensons and Rubins to Beijing 2022 roster". TSN. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. ^ Gulitti, Tom (22 December 2021). "NHL players will not participate in 2022 Beijing Olympics". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Latvia wins historic bronze in OT". IIHF.com. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  13. ^ Nnamdi, Eberechi (28 May 2023). "Latvia's Kristians Rubins Scores Game-Winning Goal in Overtime to Give Latvia Bronze at 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship". nnn.ng. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Kelly Cup win is like 'a dream' for Newfoundland Growlers". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
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