Jarkko Ruutu

Jarkko Ruutu
Born (1975-08-23) August 23, 1975
Vantaa, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Left
Played for HIFK
Vancouver Canucks
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ottawa Senators
Anaheim Ducks
Jokerit
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 68th overall, 1998
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1996–2014

Jarkko Samuli Ruutu (pronounced Yar-ko Roo-to (IPA: /ˈjʌrk.kɔ ˈruː.tu/); born August 23, 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. His younger brother, Tuomo Ruutu, is a member of HC Davos in the National League A (NLA) - his other brother, retired player Mikko Ruutu, currently scouts for NHL team Ottawa Senators. He is also a second cousin of Hanno Möttölä, who became the first Finnish basketball player to play in the NBA. Ruutu's cousin, Raul Ruutu, plays bass in Finnish pop rock band Sunrise Avenue.

Playing career

Ruutu playing for the Ottawa Senators

Ruutu initially moved to North America to play college hockey with Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). After his first year, however, he returned to Finland and turned professional with HIFK of SM-liiga in 1996–97. In his draft year, he recorded 20 points in 37 games and was then drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round, 68th overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He played one more season with HIFK before moving back to North America to play for the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Ruutu played his first full season with the Canucks in 2001–02 and earned himself a reputation as one of the league's most effective "pests" or "agitators". During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ruutu played once more for HIFK and set a SM-liiga record for penalty minutes in a single season with 215 (since broken by Matt Nickerson).[1]

He had his best NHL season to date statistically in the 2005–2006 season, scoring 10 goals and 7 assists for 17 points in 82 games, while amassing 142 penalty minutes with the Canucks. In the off-season, Ruutu became a free agent on July 1, 2006 and signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He recorded his first three-point game in NHL during his second season with the Penguins on March 27, 2008, against the New York Islanders.[2]

In July 2008, Ruutu signed with the Ottawa Senators to a 3-year, $3.9 million contract. On November 13, 2008, Ruutu was suspended for 2 games for elbowing Maxim Lapierre in the head two days earlier in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.[3]

In a game on January 6, 2009, Ruutu allegedly bit the gloved thumb of Buffalo Sabres' enforcer Andrew Peters during a first-period altercation, although he denied this in a post-game interview and claimed that Peters had actually gouged his eye and stuck his fingers into Ruutu's mouth. The next day, he was suspended for two games and fined $31,700 by the NHL for the incident.[4]

On February 17, 2011, Ruutu was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for a sixth-round 2011 draft pick.

After his NHL career, Ruutu went back to SM-Liiga to play for Jokerit on a three-year contract. His contract was not renewed after Jokerit left SM-Liiga to join KHL in 2014.

International play

Jarkko Ruutu
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
2006 Turin
2010 Vancouver
World Championships
1998 Switzerland
2001 Germany
2007 Russia
2006 Latvia

Ruutu has appeared in six World Championships with Finland and has won silver medals in 1998, 2001 and 2007 and a bronze medal in 2006.

At the 2004 World Cup, Ruutu helped Finland to a second-place finish, losing the championship game to Team Canada.

Ruutu also won a silver medal with Finland at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He gained notoriety during the tournament when he checked Czech winger Jaromir Jagr to the boards while Jagr was crouching.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 12 10 22 96 — — — — —
1996–97 HIFK SM-l 48 11 10 21 155 — — — — —
1997–98 HIFK SM-l 37 10 10 20 166 9 7 4 11 10
1998–99 HIFK SM-l 25 10 4 14 136 9 0 2 2 43
1999–00 Syracuse Crunch AHL 65 26 32 58 164 4 3 1 4 8
1999–00 Vancouver Canucks NHL 8 0 1 1 6 — — — — —
2000–01 Kansas City Blades IHL 46 11 18 29 111 — — — — —
2000–01 Vancouver Canucks NHL 21 3 3 6 32 4 0 1 1 8
2001–02 Vancouver Canucks NHL 49 2 7 9 74 1 0 0 0 0
2002–03 Vancouver Canucks NHL 36 2 2 4 66 13 0 2 2 14
2003–04 Vancouver Canucks NHL 71 6 8 14 133 6 1 0 1 41
2004–05 HIFK SM-l 50 10 18 28 215 3 0 0 0 41
2005–06 Vancouver Canucks NHL 82 10 7 17 142 — — — — —
2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 81 7 9 16 125 5 0 0 0 10
2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 71 6 10 16 138 20 2 1 3 26
2008–09 Ottawa Senators NHL 78 7 14 21 144 — — — — —
2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 12 14 26 121 6 2 1 3 34
2010–11 Ottawa Senators NHL 50 2 8 10 59 — — — — —
2010–11 Anaheim Ducks NHL 23 1 1 2 38 3 0 0 0 12
2011–12 Jokerit SM-l 59 14 21 35 192 10 1 2 3 33
2012–13 Jokerit SM-l 48 12 17 29 122 6 0 1 1 14
NHL totals 652 58 84 142 1078 58 5 5 10 114

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2001 Finland WC 9 1 0 1 10
2004 Finland WC 6 0 0 0 20
2004 Finland WCH 4 0 0 0 6
2005 Finland WC 7 1 0 1 4
2006 Finland Oly 8 0 0 0 31
Int'l totals 34 2 0 2 71

Transactions

See also

Personal life

Ruutu is married to Sofia Ruutu (née Morelius), a Finnish model & blogger. The couple has two children and live in Töölö, Helsinki.

References

  1. ↑ http://www2.satakunnankansa.fi/blogit/kiekkokansa/2007/10/kulttikuningasta_odotellessa.html(Finnish)
  2. ↑ "Crosby returns; Penguins handle Islanders, take over first in East". CBS Sports. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  3. ↑ "Elbow smash earns Ruutu two-game ban". Globe and Mail. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  4. ↑ "Peters backs NHL's punishment of Ruutu for biting incident". USA Today. 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
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