Jānis Kalniņš | Photo: KHL
The former goalkeeper of the Latvian national team, Jānis Kalniņš, in a conversation with the Russian media, explained the reasons for his transfer to the occupying league unit “Amur” of Khabarovsk.
It has already been announced that on Saturday the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) approved the transfer of Latvian goalkeeper Kalniņš to the “Amur” team, thus officially allowing the player to represent the Russian Far Eastern team. Later, the general secretary of the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF), Roberts Plūjejs, in a conversation with the LETA agency, confirmed that this transfer was registered by the IIHF, so the LHF will submit an appeal against the decision made by the IIHF, which will be considered by the Disciplinary Commission.
The goalkeeper expressed his opinion about the approval of the transfer to Amur given by the IIHF. “I knew everything would be fine, I just had to wait a little bit. There was no question of whether he would be able to play or not, but when he would be able to do so. Until then, I trained with the team with the idea that as it will be, it will be. I could not influence anything there,” admits Kalniņš.
“I wanted to play exclusively in the KHL,” explains the goalkeeper about his move from the Swedish top league (SHL) to the occupying league. “The Khabarovsk unit offered a contract and everything happened. Then there were some other options in Europe, but I wanted to play here.”
“I don’t think about the Latvian national team anymore, my page there is closed. I am 30 years old and have played two full games for the national team so far. If I don’t play there, I have to move on and spend more time with my family. Right now, the feeling is great because I’m playing hockey. The LHF appeal does not prevent me from doing so. No one from the federation has contacted me,” Kalniņš revealed.
In the previous season, Kalniņš played 17 SHL matches for the Vēkše Lakers, saving 88.7% of shots on average, allowing 2.84 innings per game on average. Also, he was the Latvian national team’s puck catcher at the Beijing Olympic Games, where he managed 90.4% shooting in three duels, capitulating 3.33 times on average. At the end of the season, Kalniņš moved to Finland, where together with the Tampere “Tappara” team, he became the Finnish champion.
