Man of the Week: Robin Press
KHL.ru continues its ‘Man of the Week’ column with Robin Press. The Swedish blueliner has started very well in the Gagarin Cup playoffs, scoring points in all first-round games as he was crowned the best defenseman of the first stage of the elimination phase. It’s the third year in the league for Press, who first came to the KHL with Severstal Cherepovets.
Magnitka had a strong showing in its first-round clash with Amur. The Tigers were a fierce rival, yet Metallurg managed to win the series in six games, escaping a potentially dangerous seventh match, enjoying an excellent play on the blue line by its leading defenseman, Robin Press. The d-man led the league with a plus-6 differential (tied with Spartak’s Michal Cajkovsky), and posted a fantastic performance in game five, when he had two helpers, including for Roman Kantserov’s decisive tally. He will be key in Metallurg’s second round showing against Spartak.
Early years
Robin Press was born on December 21, 1994, in Uppsala, Sweden, the fourth largest city in the country and also home to World Championship gold medalist and five-season KHL veteran Magnus Hellberg. Press started his path to pro hockey competing for his native Almtuna IS and Sodertalje SK in the Swedish second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan before making his debut in the Swedish Hockey League with Djurgardens IF. His impressive performances at home attracted attention from scouts worldwide, leading to his selection by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 7th round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Move to North America
Following his successful stint in Sweden, Press ventured to North America. He played a handful of games in 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks affiliates, the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League following a league-leading performance as he netted the most tallies from the blueline in the entire Allsvenskan. After a further season and a half with Djurgarden, he crossed the Atlantic again, playing for the IceHogs and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. His time in North America provided invaluable experience and further honed his skills.
Return to Sweden and strong performance in Finland
Press, however, returned to Sweden in 2018, signing a one-year contract with Farjestad BK. During the 2018-2019 season, he contributed 2 goals and 10 points in 40 games. Subsequently, Press continued his career in Finland, signing a two-year contract with Lukko of the Liiga.
During his tenure with Lukko, Press elevated his offensive game and established himself as the team’s premier defenseman. In the 2020-2021 season, he led the Lukko blueline and topped the Liiga in scoring among defensemen with 17 goals and 48 points in 58 regular-season games. Press was honored as the league’s best defenseman and regular-season player, receiving the Pekka Rautakallio trophy and the Lasse Oksanen trophy. In what emerged as his best season in the Liiga in his career, Press also was included in the post-tournament All-Star team.
Move to the KHL
As a free agent to Lukko, Press decided to test his skills in the KHL, signing a one-year contract with Severstal Cherepovets in 2021. He had an impact right away, helping the Steelers reaching the postseason and scoring an encouraging loot of 18 (5+13) points in 48 games. After renewing ties with Severstal, Press’ production exploded in the following season, with 42 (11+31) points in 64 games, and another postseason qualification for the Andrei Razin’s team. However, in both cases, Severstal failed to make it through the first round in the elimination stage, and this led the bench boss Razin to find himself a new, more ambitious team.
On May 2, 2023, Press extended his KHL journey by joining Metallurg Magnitogorsk on a one-year contract. Not surprisingly, it was indeed the same team that Razin moved to. The d-man kept his scoring pace in Magnitogorsk, enjoying Razin’s trust and accumulating 39 (7+32) points in 64 games throughout the 2023-2024 season. And now, as he has a great chance to make a deep run in the playoffs, things will be even more interesting, for both Press and the Foxes. Without forgetting about Andrei Razin.
