Rambunctious Ruutu cracks Vancouver lineup

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2001

By Lucas Aykroyd

Maybe Jarkko Ruutu is just a bit of a slow starter. Two years in a row, Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke predicted the 25-year-old Helsinki native would crack Vancouver’s opening night lineup. But instead, Ruutu ended up in the minors. He’s made his best-ever impression in Vancouver since being recalled from Kansas City of the IHL on 10 January 2001. The feisty 6-2, 194-pound right wing has been throwing his weight around and chipping in on the scoreboard, as he did in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche with a team-leading six hits and the game-tying goal. The Vancouver media would love to anoint Ruutu as the successor to Esa Tikkanen. EuroReport’s Lucas Aykroyd recently caught up with this promising rookie.

EuroReport: You’ve been up with the Canucks for a month now. Do you see this as the time when you really have to grab an NHL job?

Jarkko Ruutu: I don’t put any pressure on myself. Whatever happens, I’ll just play and go day by day, practice by practice, game by game. I know everything I can do. I can’t think any further ahead. It’s not up to me. Somebody else makes the decisions about whether to keep me up or not.

EuroReport: Has the extra ice time given you the confidence to play aggressively out there?

Ruutu: That’s a big thing, compared to last year. My ice time is averaging 11 minutes or so, and I’m pretty happy with that. But also, we have the same system down in the minors as up here, so that helps a lot too.

EuroReport: Your abrasive style seems to fit well with a lot of guys, whether it’s Donald Brashear or Peter Schaefer.

Ruutu: I like to play with a lot of guys. I play a simple game and I don’t try to do nothing fancy myself.

EuroReport: How much pride do you take in maintaining an excellent plus-minus?

Ruutu: Every time I get scored on, it ticks me off! That’s been my game. I have to play great defensively, not give up any scoring chances. That’s the biggest stat for me right now, because I’m not the type of guy who scores a lot, at least in the NHL. As long as I can chip in a point every now and then, I think that’s good.

EuroReport: Is there a special kind of energy playing with one of the NHL’s youngest teams?

Ruutu: You know what? I never thought about it that way, but I guess if the guys are pretty much the same age as you are, it’s a good thing.

EuroReport: What’s the latest on your brothers Mikko and Tuomo?

Ruutu: They’re both playing for the same team back home, Jokerit. They have their own careers. We’ll see. I’m happy to watch them every time I get a chance. They’re doing pretty good.

EuroReport: Looking ahead to next year’s Olympics, what’s your take on the coaching controversy involving Hannu Aravirta and Alpo Suhonen?

Ruutu: It’s a tough call. I don’t think anybody can make a decision about it except those two guys. Whatever happens, happens. I think the biggest thing is whoever plays for the team. The players score the goals. It doesn’t matter who’s standing behind the bench a lot of times. Aravirta and Suhonen probably talk to each other, and if Hannu wants Suhonen to come, I guess that’ll be fine. But I don’t think Suhonen just wants to jump in without Hannu’s permission.

EuroReport: Who do you think is going to be Finland’s starting goalie?

Ruutu: That’s another tough call. We’ve got a lot of good goalies: couple of good ones in the minors, Jani Hurme with Ottawa, and some others. That’s probably the hardest part about coaching, choosing the players for the team.

EuroReport: How do you like your own chances of participating?

Ruutu: Of course I’d like to go. It depends what they think about me. I might fit into a role with the team. If not, it’s not up to me. I’ll just try to show what I can.

EuroReport: Here in Vancouver, do you get some inspiration from the great careers Jyrki Lumme and Petri Skriko had with the Canucks?

Ruutu: I don’t really think too much about it that way. Every player in the NHL is worthy. Everybody’s got their own careers. Of course, you hear things, like when Jyrki played his first year in North America, he played the first year in the minors and then the next year nobody expected him to come back. He just came back and made the team. Things like that can inspire me. But I’m just trying to do my own job. Those guys kind of opened the road up for other Finns.

EuroReport: Did you follow some of the playoff runs the Canucks had in the 1990’s?

Ruutu: Actually, I watched the Stanley Cup finals in 1994. I went to college over here the year before, so I saw all that stuff. I guess the city’s been missing the playoffs for quite a few years. Every year, whoever the players are, their biggest goal is to make the playoffs, and from there, the biggest thing is to win the Stanley Cup. It doesn’t matter if you get in but then go out in the first round, you’re still kind of bitter. Everybody’s playing for the Cup. That’s the only reason I play this game.