Hard-tackling Jarkko Ruutu keeps fellow ice hockey stars in check

Powerful Ottawa wing stirs up sentiments for and against

Jarkko Ruutu

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By Heikki Miettinen in Stockholm
     
      Just say the name Jarkko Ruutu and you will get some kind of an opinion from any person who knows anything about ice hockey.
     
Ruutu, 33, evokes emotions across the spectrum.
      In the NHL he enjoys the sort of popularity normally associated with established superstars, but back in Finland it often seems that the small-time critics merely settle for fulminating about his bullish antics.
      “All sorts of things have happened along the way”, Ruutu says in Stockholm’s Globen ice hockey arena, where his present team Ottawa Senators played two games in the NHL season-opening series against his former team-mates at the Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend.
      “At least I have provided the folks with circus entertainment; given them something to talk about.”
      In the Ottawa Senators dressing room Ruutu’s popularity becomes evident. American, Canadian, and Swedish reporters swarm about him. Dany Heatley and the rest of the team’s superstars are let off with less media hassle.
     
Ruutu, who was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins roster for the previous two seasons, switched to the Ottawa Senators for this winter.
      “Jarkko was not utilised to his full potential in Pittsburgh. I can therefore understand his decision to leave”, Rob Rossi says.
      Rossi follows the Penguins’ undertakings and writes about them for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review daily.
      “The fans loved him and chanted his name in the matches. The fans also loved Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin”, Rossi points out.
     
Ruutu spent his first NHL years with the Canucks in Vancouver. He played for them between 1999 and 2006, albeit with a break in the middle back home with his old club HIFK Helsinki while the NHL lockout was going on.
      The transition to Pittsburgh in July 2006 was a leap into the unknown.
      The difference between a beautiful coastal city in Western Canada and an inland steel industry centre in the United States was always going to be huge.
      “I have always made up my own mind as to where to go next”, Ruutu points out. “I figured it would be a drastic change of environment, but the move also had potential. Malkin was there, as were Crosby and Jordan Staal.”
     
The switch from Pittsburgh to Ottawa Ruutu describes as a return to home.
      “In the new package, this was the best alternative. In Canada ice hockey is still a religion.”
      Pittsburgh head coach Michel Therrien gave Ruutu only limited opportunities to show what he can do.
     
Ruutu trusts that Ottawa’s Craig Hartsburg will be slightly more generous when it comes to time on the ice.
      For a coach, hiring Ruutu is easy. What you see is what you get.
      If you think you have just acquired a star centre forward capable of scoring 40 times in a season, you may instead unwrap the package to find a 20-goal “primadonna”, whose failures eat into the team spirit.
      With Ruutu things are different. He tackles, checks, fouls, confuses, and messes up the opposing team’s play, but what is important he always gives at least 100 per cent.
      And he never complains.
     
Pittsburgh stars Crosby and Malkin will do well keeping their heads up in Stockholm and also later on in the season for Ruutu’s tackles.
      “Tackling them isn’t easy, as they are always alert”, Ruutu says of his former teammates.
      “Publicly many teams have announced that they would welcome me because of my character, and because of how I behave in and outside the rink.”
     
"I know only one way of doing this job and I do it full on. At times I may go somewhat over the top, as I try so hard”, Ruutu explains.
      Perhaps that tackle on Jaromin Jagr in the Torino Olympics in 2006 was one such over-the-top incident?
      “I can still watch it all on video. There is nothing to it. I tackle him head-on. He just isn’t awake”, Ruutu comments on the incident that once again nearly became the topic of a Parliamentary hearing in Finland.
      “It caused a stir because he is a star player”, Ruutu says of Jagr, who received a nasty cut to the forehead in the process, while Ruutu got 5+20, a game misconduct penalty, and an early shower.
     
"Who would have believed it? My ninth season in the NHL just getting started. So many times I have been told I'm washed up, but my faith has never wavered. And I have enjoyed some terrific times in the process.”
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 5.10.2008
     
     
Ruutu's first two games of the new NHL season did not go too badly. The two matches in Stockholm against Pittsburgh (last season's Stanley Cup finalists) ended in a 3-4 overtime defeat on Saturday and a 3-1 victory on Sunday, to give them three points out of a possible four. Dany Heatley was on fire, scoring once in the opening game and twice in Sunday's win. Jarkko Ruutu played around 15 minutes on the ice in each game, and picked up one minor penalty. Ottawa's next game will be a stiff test against the Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champions, who also have Finns Valtteri Filppula and Ville Leino on their roster. Leino signed a one-year contract with Detroit in May, and is one of the latest recruits of a total of nearly 40 Finnish players who will be suiting up for the NHL 2008/2009 season.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Detroit Red Wings and Valtteri Filppula celebrate Stanley Cup victory (5.6.2008)
  Ice takes centre-stage over Olympic weekend (20.2.2006)

Links:
  Ottawa Senators: Jarkko Ruutu Official Player Page

HEIKKI MIETTINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heikki.miettinen@hs.fi