The ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers have signed a big defenceman with plenty of international experience.
Kristians Rubins from Riga, Latvia, a 6-4, 216-pound rearguard, played the past two years with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.
Prior to that, he toiled for Vasteras IK of the Swedish Elite league for two seasons.
Rubins, 20, has represented Latvia on the international stage on numerous occasions, including the 2017 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, and the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark, where he had a goal and an assist in eight games.
In 126 games for the Tigers, Rubins registered 11 goals and 51 assists to go with a plus-35 rating and 60 penalty minutes.
Rubins attended the Winnipeg Jets’ rookie camp as an 18-year-old undrafted free agent.
