Robin Press.
Photo: ANNA-LENA BERGQVIST / BILDBYRÅN
When Russia invaded Ukraine, several Swedish hockey players chose to leave the Russian league and buy out of their contracts. Those who remained were in turn met with harsh criticism.
One of them was Robin Press, who last season changed teams in the KHL when he signed a new contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
On Wednesday night, he helped win the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg. Afterwards, Press was hailed in Russian newspapers as one of the team’s most important players during the season, and the KHL’s official account published a video on social media of the Swede lifting the trophy.
“Robin Press, you are the Gagarin Cup champion!”they write in the post with a Swedish flag.
The 29-year-old, who previously played for Färjestad and Djurgården in the SHL, now looks set to remain in Russia. Sports director Sergej Gomoljako confirms in an interview with Russian Tass that they want to extend the Swede’s contract by two years.
– There is an agreement to extend the contract. We want it for two years, but we’ll see how the negotiations go, says the sporting director for Metallurg.
https://twitter.com/khl_eng/status/1783212548977778691
