Roope Taponen found a new club – career continues in the League!

The goalkeeper Roope Taponen, who left Ilves, has found a new club in the Liiga. Ässät announced on Wednesday that they have signed the 25-year-old goalkeeper to a one-year contract.

A year ago, Taponen moved from HIFK to Ilves, but his past season was disrupted. The man, who fell to the role of third goalkeeper in Tampere, played only six games for Ilves. Throughout the season, he also played games for Kiekko-Espoo, Mestis’ Ketterä, and in the Swiss league in Davos, although the total number of games played for the entire season ended up being only nine.

Despite this, Ässät’s sports director Jarno Kultanen has confidence in his new goalkeeper.

– Taponen has several seasons of experience in the Liiga and has shown that he can perform at a high level. We can offer Roope a good and stable environment where he can focus on developing and challenging for playing time in Ässät’s goal, Kultanen commented in Ässät’s press release.

Taponen also briefly joined Ässät on loan last season, but the goalkeeper did not play any games there. However, the experience from Pori convinced him.

– I had a good feeling last season when I was with the team for a week. It felt immediately welcoming, and I got a professional impression of the whole organization. This is a good place for me to take the next step in my career.

– Additionally, I especially remember the away games played on Saturdays from Pori. The atmosphere has been amazing, and it has always been easy to get excited for the games here, as the long standing section makes noise from the very beginning, Roope Taponen reminisced in the press release.