Jarmo Ruutu - Scouting Report

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Name: Jarmo Ruutu

Age: 19

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 213 lb

Position: Center

 

Jarmo Ruutu was born in Turku, Finland. In Turku, he also started playing hockey for the local team TPS before eventually making the jump to VHLM before S90. Ruutu is a power-forward center, who can do a little bit of everything.

 

Pros: Faceoffs, Physicality, Positioning

 

You can throw Jarmo Ruutu into most situations and he can perform. What separates him from a lot of centers is his ability to play physically, Ruutu is not afraid to hit and throw his body around. Combined with his size, it is not unusual to see Ruutu in front of the net screening the goalie and fighting with the defenders. So Ruutu is not a traditional playmaking center, but his offensive skillset is still above average, especially his shot is hard and heavy. What makes Ruutu an efficient center is his ability to be in the right place, he reads the flow of the game well and he is not afraid to get into the dirty areas to make a difference. Ruutu has active stick and feet, which makes him a tough opponent to play against.

 

Like most young players, Jarmo Ruutu also has work to do if he hopes to play in VHL.

 

Cons: Skating, Puck Handling, Professionalism

 

Ruutu has so far been able to rely on his hockey IQ and positioning. Back in Finland at the junior level and in VHLM his skating was not much of an issue, but in VHL the players are faster and situations come faster. If Ruutu is not able to get his feet moving faster he is not able to be as efficient. In a short period of time Ruutu has shown signs of improvement, while playing for Team Asia in the WJC he looked a lot better than in the early stages of the S90 regular season, so by the looks of Ruutu has been working on his skating. Perhaps due to his direct approach to the game of hockey, Ruutu is not the best puck handler, he can pass and shoot with the best of them, but skating with the puck on his stick is not his strong area by any means. If he can work on that side of his game, it will open a lot more options for Ruutu himself to be a difference-maker in VHL the players are also bigger and stronger than at the junior level, Ruutu's size will not be as big of an asset. Therefore, Ruutu needs to be able to hold on to the puck at times and skate with it to get out of the zone. Finally, in the past, there have been rumors that Ruutu has not been the most active to train and workout. For example, back in Turku, Ruutu reportedly took the whole summer off to go on a family vacation. He came back to Finland in poor shape, which led to him having to miss multiple weeks of the regular season.

 

Overall, Ruutu is an interesting prospect with a lot of potential. Picked 8th overall in the VHL draft shows that potential, he had a decent season in VHLM and he was picked to represent Team Asia. It will be interesting to see how the upcoming season in VHLE and Vasteras goes for Ruutu. The upcoming season will be the first time he will play against grown men at a professional level.
 

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Edited August 19, 2023 by jRuutu