Kristiāns Rubīns

Kristiāns Rubīns (born 11 December 1997) is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for HC Plzeň of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). Playing with the Latvian national team, Rubīns played a central role in the country's first-ever medal at World Championships in 2023.

Playing career Rubīns played for Latvian junior hockey clubs before departing for Sweden at age 15, joining VIK Västerås HK's junior club. He made his professional debut in the HockeyAllsvenskan with VIK Västerås HK in the 2014–15 season, appearing in ten games, going scoreless. The following season he spent the majority of the season with the junior club, making only four appearances in HockeyAllsvenskan, going scoreless. He was selected by the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the first round, 16th overall, in the Canadian Hockey League's Import Draft. In the playoffs, Rubīns made eleven appearances, recording seven assists. In six playoff games, Rubīns tallied one goal and four points. He scored the first goal in franchise history in a 3–2 loss to the Florida Everblades. He made 15 appearances for the Marlies, recording three assists. In 17 playoff games, Rubīns added one goal and three points. During the 2019–20 season, Rubīns remained in the AHL 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. On 2 April 2020, Rubīns was signed as an undrafted free agent to a two-year, entry-level contract by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

While the AHL remained shut down, Rubīns returned to Europe and played for the Frederikshavn White Hawks of the Danish Metal Ligaen on loan. In 21 games with the White Hawks, he registered two goals and five points. He did not see any game time until 7 December when he made his NHL debut, a 5–4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He made three appearances for the Maple Leafs going scoreless. In 58 games with the Marlies, he scored one goal and 11 points. 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. Upon joining the Flames, Rubīns was immediately assigned to the Calgary Wranglers, the team's AHL affiliate for the remainder of the season. He made three regular season appearances with the Wranglers, marking two assists. In his lone season with Modo, he tallied four goals and ten points in 44 games. On 22 December, he signed a two-year extension with the club. In his first season in the Extraliga, he posted ten goals and 25 points. He added two assists in four playoff games. He made his debut in the opening game against Norway. Rubīns was selected to represent the Latvian national team in the 2022 Winter Olympics, but did not play for them when the NHL announced that its players would not be permitted to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs 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 2023–24 MoDo Hockey SHL 44 4 6 10 14 — — — — — NHL totals 3 0 0 0 4 — — — — — SHL totals 44 4 6 10 14 — — — — —

International

Awards and honours Award Year ECHL Kelly Cup champion 2019