Claimed:Teuvo Ruutu Bio [Final: 10/10]

[iRockstar 307]

Teuvo Ruutu: yksinkertaisesti suurin

 

Player Name: Teuvo Ruutu

Born In: Helsinki, Finland

Height: Six feet Four inches

Weight: Two Hundred and Twenty-Four pounds

Handedness: Right

Position: Defender

Jersey Number: 11

Current Team: Minot Gladiators

NHL Comparison: Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins)

 

THE BEGINNING OF A LEGACY

 

Teuvo Ruutu comes from a long line of nothing, his family wasn’t famous nor are any of his friends, he’s just an average Joe, or at least he was. Born in Helsinki, Finland, Teuvo had grown up in a small home with not too many worries. His family had a good business, his father a successful businessman and his mother a nurse at the local hospital. His knack for hockey came early, Ruutu was an early bloomer, and he walked far before his time, talked far before his time and managed to put on a pair of skates before most kids could even fathom the thought of it. Because of this, his father and mother always pushed him to take lessons on how to skate, he knew that one day even as young as he was, that he wanted to play hockey for all of his life. But you know kids, the dreams of a young mind wander, they want to be whatever influences them at the time, and that’s exactly what happened with Ruutu. His mother and father, while pushing him to continue skating, always allowed him to keep an open mind. He’d see the police cars and the fire trucks on the road and suddenly his mind would change about what he wanted to be, everything was a little blurry, until he went to see his first hockey game, even better, it was a Finnish Olympic game.

 

 

It was in 2006, when Finland managed to place silver which was a great honor for the team, and after seeing something so spectacular, Teuvo wanted it more than anything. After completing multiple skating classes, Ruutu moved on to learning how to handle a hockey stick, shoot the puck and all the basics from a trainer and coach his family knew through connections, over the next four years, Teuvo was slowly becoming a young star. At the age of six, Ruutu was a little larger than the rest of the peewees in Finland, this gave his coach the idea that he could try playing defense. After explaining it, Ruutu was sold and this was the position he’d focus on religiously until he got it one hundred percent. It didn’t take long for him to adjust, he was able to use his body effectively to keep himself balanced and on the puck, he was also able to pass properly, keep his eyes on his team and even score with his massive slapshot. Overall, this seemed like a success story in the making, but this was only the beginning. All through elementary school, Ruutu was the prime student, someone the teacher was proud to have in their class. Don’t get it mistaken, he wasn’t a kiss ass nor was he a teacher’s pet, he just enjoyed knowing how to do work properly and was clearly smarter than the average person. So by the time it came time for him to graduate, Ruutu had a lot of decisions. Some high schools had been informed that Ruutu was growing, playing strong and had a very mature sense of how to play the game of hockey, they wanted him to go to their schools, only issue was ninety percent of them were out of the country, most in Canada and the United States. Eventually, with the blessing of both his parents, they found a place for him to live with a relative in the U.S, and he took himself to a high school that would help him continue to excel at the position he was playing.

 

 THE LEGACY FINDS A NEW HOME

 

Ruutu had never flown out of the country, in fact, he’d never even seen a plane in person, so this was a huge step and risk he was taking to hopefully see rewards later in life. As he arrived to Virginia, he noticed that he stood out. His looks were different, his accent was thick and he didn’t know much if any English. Things were going to be rough for the first little while, but it wasn’t about his speech or his looks, it was about his ability to play hockey and the passion he had to play. The first day of school didn’t take long to come, it was exciting yet nerve wracking, and every fourteen year olds worst nightmare and most anticipated moment all bundled into one. His teachers knew him right away, he was talked about amongst the staff as being a foreign transfer and how he would need some time to adjust to all the teaching methods and most importantly the language everything is in. While some didn’t see his potential to excel in school, it did not take Ruutu long to catch on and begin to speak fluent English, it was actually a lot sooner than even he thought it would take. The coach had gotten him a tutor in three subjects, and while Ruutu didn’t need them, it was a chance for him to socialize, eventually the two became friends. Every night at practice, the two always managed to play on a line with each other, they had instant chemistry, this looked like the making of a long-term friendship, hopefully for Ruutu’s sake, and it lasts. Ruutu played all four years of high school on the team, with a lot of really great overall statistics through those four years, this is what we’re looking at.

 

GP: 160 | G: 60 | A: 122 | P: 182 | +40 | HIT: 400 | SB: 218

 

In the four years he played, he managed to obtain close to two hundred points, something unspoken by such a young kid, but as time went on, he only continued to get better. What showed the most in this statistic line was his plus/minus and his ability to hit. With an average of forty games per year, he managed one hundred hits each year for four years consecutively, the scouts were astonished. On top of all of this, Ruutu was able to block shots, something everyone looks for in a good defender, and something Ruutu wasn’t afraid to do. Overall, this kid was something all the OHL, QMJHL and WHL teams wanted, another hard decision would have to be made, because until he could make it pro, someone needed to take him so he could continue to exceed. But there was one league that would be able to contain his ability to wreck, that would end up being where he currently is now, can you guess?

 

 VHLM HERE I COME!

 

Yes, if you guessed the VHLM you’d indeed be correct. The minor league to the VHL would be the new home of the Finnish defender who needed somewhere new to continue his legacy. Ruutu was not very well known, but his agent was, and this put him as a prime target to compete on a great team. Unfortunately, Ruutu didn’t really come in a great time, placing him on a team with barely any time left in the regular season. Because it was so late, on top of the fact that he had barely done any training with his new team, he was very far behind with the club. The Ottawa Lynx were a dominant team, the top team in the league at the time of the waiver pickup, and Ruutu was slotted on a low defensive pairing just to give him some playing minutes, while he didn’t do much, he did something.

 

Teuvo Ruutu ® (OTT) 29 3 17 20 19 14 0 25 15 26

 

 

In the twenty-nine games played with the Lynx, we see he tallied twenty points, most of which came from assists (17). This was something a lot of people had wanted to see coming from Ruutu as he continued to develop, he was one of the few defenders who actually knew what passing was, and it was a skill not many people seen in good defenders. On top of his good amount of points, he also managed to stay positive with his plus/minus of +19 and also had twenty-five hits which is almost a hit per game. This was impressive enough to get Ruutu scouted really high for the actual VHLM draft he’d be in. Teuvo would end up going in the first round to the Minot Gladiators, and while the season is not done, he’s certainly showing up big for the team once again. The stats are as shown below.

 

 

Teuvo Ruutu ® (MIN) 51 11 57 68 -8 44 0 161 126 129

 

This season, we can see the difference a year makes, and what being caught up to others really does for you. Now fifty-one games into the season, Ruutu has already achieved beyond a point per game with sixty-eight total. If this wasn’t impressive, we also see he’s got one hundred and sixty-one hits, if you don’t remember that’s almost ten times the amount of what he had last season in the short amount of time he played. Everything this season is continuing to seem positive for the young defender, those looking towards possibly drafting Ruutu will only have to continue being positive that his development can excel expectations. A lot of people thought Ruutu was a bust after going MIA from practice for a couple of weeks, but it looks like he’s back now, which is exactly what the scouts want to hear.

 

PROS

 

Passing Ability – As if it wasn’t talked about enough, we’re going to talk about it again. Teuvo is extremely talented in making passes that benefit his team, and lead to scoring chances without causing turnovers. Ruutu is easily able to identify when someone is open, and successfully pass to them. Ruutu is also able to make clever passes while focusing on other things to make a trick play against his opponents, this is extremely useful in setting up major plays.

 

Awareness – These two come hand-in-hand with working together. As a defender, Ruutu is easily able to spot when a pass is going to be made, and does his absolute best to shut down the opportunity before it is presented. Because of this extremely good awareness, Ruutu is able to stay in position and play where he is needed at both ends of the ice, whether its keeping the puck in the zone, or keeping the opposition out of it.

 

Hitting – With the offensive ability out of the way, we talk about another major asset to being such a big bodied defender. Ruutu likes to throw the body, he likes being physical and he shows it in his style of play. With the amount of hits he’s accumulated this recent season alone, this is no surprise. Ruutu is in position for the big hits and knows how to do it cleanly, showing he’s been properly trained through the years of hockey.

 

CONS

 

Work Ethic – While some see this as a major concern, it shouldn’t turn you off to the ability this kid presents and brings to the table. A lot of people assumed he was down and out after he mysteriously disappeared for a few weeks, but be rest assured it doesn’t happen often, if at all, and it was just one big fluke. Ruutu does make his voice heard, and would make any general manager aware of his struggles if and when they present themselves. Needless to say, this is not a huge issue, but something that certainly can and will be improved on as the seasons go by.

 

Skating – With such a big body comes big responsibility. Ruutu is almost six foot five and has a lot of weight to him, because of this, he is lugging around almost twice the weight of some people in the VHL and VHLM. Ruutu has continued to work on exercises that allow him to skate and learn how to properly maneuver around the ice without being gassed and winded easily. Because he’s working on this and trying hard to effectively improve, it shouldn’t be an issue when transitioning to the major league, but until then it could be an issue for the remainder of the season.

 

Leadership – This one, should be obvious. Ruutu is very young with a lot to learn, and while he’s eager to step up and eager to learn the ropes, it’s just not his time. While Ruutu can step up if needed to fill an assistant captain role on a major league team, right now he’s just not ready for the responsibility of having to lead a whole team in an environment he really doesn’t understand right now. Later in his career when he gets used to it, this could be a major asset, but for now he’s just not the leader some teams may need, which could be somewhat of a turnoff. 

Edited November 1, 2014 by InstantRockstar

[Da Trifecta 1,899]

Overview: 3/3 This piece was really well written. His fathers persistence at getting his son to learn to skate really paid off. Teuvo has been really solid this year and is a huge reason for the success of the Gladiators.

Grammar: 2/2 Didn't really see anything to get rid of points

Presentation: 1/1 Well organized, pics and colors

Pros: 2/2 Yup over

Cons: 2/2 Way over

 

FINAL: 10/10

Edited November 4, 2014 by Da Trifecta

[James 77]

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