Devils sign Rutkis on dual contract
CARDIFF Devils have confirmed the signing of Toms Rutkis for the 202021 season.
Rutkis will be on a two-way contract with the Swindon Wildcats, where he has played regularly for the last six years.
Rutkis had 20 goals, 18 assists for 38 points in 42 games for Swindon in 2019/20, the most productive season of his professional career so far.
The 22-year-old forward played 20 games for Devils last season, including all six of the Champions League games.
Although he was born in Latvia, all of his hockey has been played in the UK, making him eligible for the Team GB programme. He has represented GB on three separate occasions, playing once for GB U18s and twice for GB U20s.
“Toms has been training with us most weeks for the last few seasons and he continues to get better every year,” said Devils’ managing director Todd Kelman.
“We believe that he will be a fulltime EIHL player soon, but the experience he is getting in Swindon is better for his development right now. He is playing in all situations for them and Swindon are a great organisation to be at.
“Toms is a great person. He fits right into the culture of Cardiff Devils. He works hard on the ice and in the gym and wants to get better every day. You can’t teach someone to have a great attitude, he came to us with that.
“We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with Wildcats. I feel lucky to be able to have the working relationship we have with such a solid club. Toms is benefiting from the coaching and ice time he is getting there as well as the training and game time he is getting with us.”