Jarkko Ruutu

Jarkko Ruutu
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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, currently plays for the New Jersey Devils in NHL - 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

File:Ruutu Jarkko.jpg

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).

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.

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.

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.

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
	2007	Russia
	2006	Latvia
	2001	Germany
	1998	Switzerland

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

• Signed as a free agent by HIFK Helsinki (Finland), September 23, 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh Penguins, July 4, 2006.
• Signed as a free agent by Ottawa Senators, July 2, 2008.
• Traded by the Ottawa Senators to the Anaheim Ducks, February 17, 2011
• Signed as a free agent by Jokerit, September 9, 2011

See also

• Notable families in the NHL

Personal life

Ruutu is married to Sofia Ruutu (née Morelius), a Finnish model & blogger. The couple has one child, daughter named Greta, born in 2013 and live in Töölö, Helsinki.

External links

• Jarkko Ruutu's player profile at NHL.com
• Jarkko Ruutu on nhlfinns.com
• Jarkko Ruutu's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Ruutu retires