Christian Ruuttu

Christian Ruuttu
Born	(1964-02-20) 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 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

Awards

• Finnish First All-Star Team (1986)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1988)

External links

• Christian Ruuttu at nhlfinns.com
• Christian Ruuttu career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Christian Ruuttu biography at Legends of Hockey (archived)