MTV Sports: Niklas Rubin explained the reasons for his transfer - spoke with the Kärpät championship forward

The Swedish goalkeeper Niklas Rubin, 29, who has represented Ässät for the last three seasons, has been one of the top goalies in the league in recent years. In the upcoming season, he will represent Oulun Kärpät, to which he transferred with a 1+1 year contract.

Rubin was named the best goalie in the league last season. Due to an injury, he only played 24 games in the regular season with a save percentage of 91.5. In the playoffs, he recorded a save percentage of 93.1 in ten games as Ässät advanced to the seventh game of the quarter-finals.

– Those have been the best seasons of my career so far. I got a lot of responsibility at Ässät and played a lot. It helped develop my game and my confidence, Rubin tells MTV Urheilulle.

Now Rubin’s games continue in Oulu. He opened up to MTV about why he decided to join Kärpät.

– There are a few reasons. They approached me early last season when I was still injured. Kärpät was really interested, Rubin says.

Rubin mentions that discussions with former teammate Nicklas Lasu also influenced his transfer. Rubin and Lasu played together in Frölunda for three seasons. The Swedish forward Lasu represented Kärpät during the 2017-19 seasons, winning the Finnish championship with the club.

– I talked to him a lot about this. He had only good things to say about the organization and the people here, Rubin reveals.

Rubin also states that the transfers of familiar faces Eemil Erholtz and Tuomas Salmela to Kärpät positively influenced his choice of team.

At Kärpät, Rubin will be coached by Petri Karjalainen, who led KalPa to the Finnish championship. Ässät lost to Karjalainen’s KalPa in the seventh game of the quarter-finals last spring.

– I hated playing against KalPa. They played in a difficult way from a goalie’s perspective. When I found out that he was coming here to coach, I was happy because I know how hard it is to play against his team. He is a good guy and cares about the players as individuals, Rubin says about his new coach.