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| 1983 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
Christian Ruuttu
Selected in
seventh round
No. 134 overall by Buffalo Sabres
Born
February 20, 1964
 | Position:
Center
Height: 5-11 Weight: 180
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Pori (Finland)
Birthplace:
Lappeenranta, Finland
Hometown: Lappeenranta, Finland |
 |
 |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1980-81 |
Pori | Finland Jr. |
4 | 1 |
1 | 2 |
2 | | 1981-82 |
Belmont Hill | Mass. H.S. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1982-83 |
Pori | Finland Jr. |
5 | 2 |
6 | 8 |
12 | | |
Pori | Finland |
36 | 15 |
18 | 33 |
34 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Junior Championships:
1983 (sixth place)
Miscellaneous: Not selected in 1982 NHL draft despite being eligible. ...
Left his native Finland at age 17 to spend one year as an exchange student at Belmont Hill School
in Belmont, Mass. ... Father was a prominent official in the International
Field Hockey Federation. ... Grew up idolizing former Finnish hockey star
Veli-Pekka Ketola. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 9, 1986 (Buffalo at Winnipeg)
Numbers: 21 (Buffalo); 22
(Chicago); 20 (Vancouver)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired 1999 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | |
1986-1995 | Buffalo, Chicago, Van. |
621 | 134 |
298 | 432 |
714 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1988-1995 |
Buffalo, Chicago, Van. |
42 | 4 | 9 |
13 | 49 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
All-Star Game: 1988 (Buffalo)
Buffalo Hunt Trophy (Rookie of Year): 1986-87
Chicago Records: Most games played in one season (84 in 1992-93,
shares record)
Buffalo Playoffs Assists
Leader: 1988 (5)
Miscellaneous: Scored goal in his first NHL game. The goal beat Winnipeg
goaltender Eldon "Pokey" Reddick at 1:59 of the third period, tying the game at
2-2. Winnipeg went on to win 3-2. ... Led all NHL rookies with 43
assists in 1986-87. ... Finished third among NHL rookies in points (65) and
shots on goal (167) in 1986-87. ... Finished fourth among NHL rookies with
22 goals in 1986-87. ... Attempted Buffalo's only penalty shot of 1987-88
season, failing to score vs. Ken Wregget during Buffalo's Nov. 15, 1987,
game vs. Toronto. ... Named Buffalo Player of Month for December 1987. ...
Missed part of 1987-88 season with knee injury, suffered during Buffalo's
Feb. 25, 1988, game vs. St. Louis. He did not return to action until
Buffalo's March 13, 1988, game at Vancouver. He scored a goal and had one
assist in that game. ... Missed part of Buffalo's 1988 training camp with
sprained knee, an injury suffered in September 1988. ... Missed part of
1988-89 season with torn pectoral muscle, an injury suffered during
Buffalo's Oct. 22, 1988, game at Montreal. He did not return until Buffalo's
Nov. 12, 1988, game at N.Y. Islanders. ... Played on line with Dave
Andreychuk and John Tucker for Buffalo in 1988-89. ... Suspended by NHL for
five games during 1988-89 season for slashing Larry Melnyk across the nose
at 1:51 of the first period during
Buffalo's Feb. 10, 1989, game vs. Vancouver. Ruuttu got a major penalty and
game misconduct on the play, necessitating a review by the league office
since it was a stick-related offense. The suspension was announced on Feb.
24, 1989, and he sat out Buffalo's games from Feb. 25, 1989, through March
8, 1989. ... Led Buffalo with plus-13
rating in 1988-89. ... Missed remainder of 1989 playoffs with separated left
shoulder, an injury suffered when he was checked by Bobby Carpenter during
Game 2 of Buffalo's first-round series at Boston on April 6, 1989. ...
Missed part of 1989-90 season with unspecified injury, suffered during
Buffalo's Oct. 8, 1989, game vs. Minnesota. ... Missed parts of 1991-92
season with leg injury, suffered during Buffalo's Jan. 21, 1992, game at St.
Louis, and with the flu, an illness contracted in March 1992. ... Tied for
Chicago lead with six game-winning goals in 1992-93. ... Missed start of
1993-94 season with broken right ankle, an injury suffered during Chicago's
training camp in September 1993. He did not make his 1993-94 season debut until Chicago's Dec.
18, 1993, game at Philadelphia. ... Missed part of 1995 season with
unspecified injury, suffered during Vancouver's April 22, 1995, game vs.
Edmonton. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Pori, Helsinki IFK (Finland); Goteborg (Sweden); Zurich (Switzerland); Espoo
(Finland)
World Cup of Hockey: 1996 (fifth
place)
Canada Cup: 1987
(sixth place), 1991 (third place)
World Championships: 1985
(fifth), 1986 (fourth), 1987 (fifth),
1990 (sixth), 1991 (fifth), 1992 (silver), 1994 (silver), 1996 (fifth)
World Junior Championships: 1984
(silver medal)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame:
Inducted 2003
Finland Championship: 1998
(Helsinki IFK)
Finland All-Star First Team: 1985-86 (Helsinki IFK)
Management Career: Named Espoo (Finland) president on Sept. 1, 2003,
and remained in position through 2003-04 season.
Miscellaneous: Led Finland with two
goals and tied for team lead with three points in 1987 Canada Cup
tournament. ... Tied for Finland team lead with six points in 1991 Canada
Cup tournament. ... Played for Helsinki IFK (Finland) during 1994-95 NHL lockout.
Personal:
Nicknamed "Krisu." |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
Buffalo traded Ruuttu and future considerations to Winnipeg for Stephane Beauregard on June 15, 1992. Less than two months later, before the opening of 1992 NHL training camps, Winnipeg traded Ruuttu
to Chicago in exchange for Stephane Beauregard on August 10, 1992. Three
days earlier, Beauregard had been traded by Buffalo with 1993 fourth-round
pick (Eric Daze) to Chicago for Dominik Hasek. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '83 | | Total Selected: |
242 | | Forwards: |
134 | | Defense: |
86 | | Goaltenders: |
22 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
19/5 | | College Players: |
15 | | High School: |
47 |
| Canadian: |
148 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
60 | | U.S.-Born: |
60 |
| European: |
34 |
| Reached NHL: |
113 |
| Stanley Cup: |
21 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
20 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
34 |
| Picks Traded: |
41 |
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