Rubins making major strides in return from shoulder surgery

By Ryan McCracken on October 13, 2017.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Kristians Rubins missed the better part of five months while recovering from shoulder surgery, but the overage Latvian defenceman didn’t seem to miss a beat in his return to the Medicine Hat Tigers last weekend.

He may not have found the score sheet in his return, but Rubins provided the Tigers with a steady presence on the back end while demonstrating why he deserves to hold a spot on Medicine Hat’s roster as an import and an overager.

“He was spectacular. I thought he was maybe the best player on the ice,” Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said following Friday’s 4-2 win over the Regina Pats. “Rubins was way above where we maybe even hoped he could get at this early of a stage. He looked strong, he looked fast, he looked confident. He was really tough to play against and he really took charge of the puck.”

The nagging injury —which stemmed from a dislocated shoulder sustained in Latvia three years ago — held Rubins off the ice for the entire month of December last season — though he managed to return in time to compete with Latvia at the IIHF World Junior Championship. While he continued to play into early March, the shoulder pain resurfaced entering the home stretch of the regular season. Rubins made it back for playoffs, logging seven assists in 11 games, though he was forced to battle through the injury in the process.

Rubins added it was after injuring his shoulder again with the Tigers that he knew he would need to go under the knife again in order to completely fix the issue.

“It was a long time, to be honest. But I worked all summer to get back here so I wouldn’t have to go through that again,” said Rubins. “It’s a new shoulder, definitely. I’m trying not to think about it that much I’m just trying to play my game and stay out of trouble.”

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound lefty says he’s been working a lot on his footwork in recent weeks, and it showed last weekend. From a quick spin to shake off a defender in his own zone to joining the rush and creating scoring chances in front of the opposing net, Rubins seems to have brought a new level of his game into the season.

“Every day, every practice I’m just trying to move my feet as fast as I can with my head up,” said Rubins. “I’m trying to use that more in the games. I wasn’t really working on it that hard in the summer — it was shoulder first — but doing it every day helps a lot.”

It was barely a year ago that Rubins first made his way into the Canalta Centre hoping to find a full-time home for his budding hockey career. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound blueliner almost immediately found his place alongside former captain Clayton Kirichenko and says he quickly began to model his game after his defensive partner.

“The guy just played so consistently. I just want to play like him to be honest, I always looked up to him,” said Rubins, who posted three goals and 21 assists in 49 games last season. “Overall, my first year in Canada was, not scary but exciting and at the same time kind of nervous at about things. He just made me feel so welcome. I just want to do the same thing for the younger guys.”

While Rubins started his season with a new partner in Dylan MacPherson, he says it already feels like they’ve been paired up for a long time.

“We have really good chemistry, I feel,” he said. “We were roomies last year so we’re pretty close, we know each other pretty well.”

Rubins and the Tigers (4-3-0-0) welcome the Saskatoon Blades (2-4-0-0) to the Canalta Centre tonight at 7:30 p.m.