Christian Ruuttu
| Christian Ruuttu | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
20 February 1964 Lappeenranta, FIN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Ässät HIFK Buffalo Sabres Chicago Blackhawks Vancouver Canucks Frölunda HC Grasshopper Espoo Blues | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft |
134th overall, 1983 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 1982–1999 | ||
Christian Ruuttu (born 20 February 1964 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is an ice hockey scout and a former professional player.
Ruuttu is the father of Alexander Ruuttu, who was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes. His father Kalevi Ruuttu is a former Bandy World Championship referee.
Playing career
Christian Ruuttu grew up in Pori, where he attended the Swedish-speaking Björneborgs svenska samskola comprehensive school[1] while playing for the Ässät Finnish Elite League club. He was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, 7th round, 134th overall. He played six seasons in Buffalo from 1986–87 through 1991–92, attaining career highs in goals (26 in 1987–88), assists (46 in 1988–89), and points (71 in 1987–88). In Ruuttu's last season in Buffalo, his totals dropped to 4 goals and 21 assists.
Ruuttu began the 1992–93 season playing for the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded for goaltender Stephane Beauregard. He played there for the next two and one-half seasons before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1994–95 season. After playing 25 games as a Canuck, he was officially traded to the Winnipeg Jets. During this transition to the Winnipeg Jets he was allegedly involved in an altercation outside a Winnipeg hotel. Due to negative publicity he received, he subsequently retired from the NHL. Instead, he headed to Europe to play.
After playing career Ruuttu served as General Manager of the Espoo Blues of the Finnish Pro League and was a Board Member of the Finnish Elite League. He joined the Phoenix Coyotes organization as the Director of European Scouting and he is currently the Director of European Scouting for the Los Angeles Kings.
NHL statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 76 | 22 | 43 | 65 | 62 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1987–88 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 26 | 45 | 71 | 85 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1988–89 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 67 | 14 | 46 | 60 | 98 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1989–90 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 75 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 66 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1990–91 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 96 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 29 | ||
| 1991–92 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 70 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 76 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1992–93 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 84 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 134 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 54 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 68 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 20 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1994–95 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 25 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 621 | 134 | 298 | 432 | 714 | 42 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 49 | ||||
References
Awards
- Finnish First All-Star Team (1986)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1988)
External links
- Christian Ruuttu at nhlfinns.com
- Christian Ruuttu's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Christian Ruuttu's biography at Legends of Hockey
| Preceded by Terho Koskela |
Frölunda HC captains 1995–1996 |
Succeeded by Henrik Nilsson |