Christian Ruuttu

Christian Ruuttu (born 20 February 1964) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, who is a scout.

Ruuttu is the father of Alexander Ruuttu, who was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes. His father Kalevi Ruuttu is a former Bandy World Championship referee.

Playing career Christian Ruuttu grew up in Pori, where he attended the Swedish-speaking Björneborgs svenska samskola comprehensive school while playing for the Ässät Finnish Elite League club. He was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League in the 1983 NHL entry draft, 7th round, 134th overall. He played six seasons in Buffalo from 1986–87 through 1991–92, attaining career highs in goals (26 in 1987–88), assists (46 in 1988–89), and points (71 in 1987–88). In Ruuttu's last season in Buffalo, his totals dropped to 4 goals and 21 assists.

Ruuttu began the 1992–93 season playing for the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded for goaltender Stephane Beauregard. He played there for the next two and one-half seasons before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1994–95 season.

After his career as a player, Ruuttu served as General Manager of the Espoo Blues of the Finnish Pro League and was a board member of the Finnish Elite League. He joined the Phoenix Coyotes organization as the Director of European Scouting. He is currently the Director of European Scouting for the Los Angeles Kings.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1980–81 Ässät FIN U20 4 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 1981–82 Belmont Hill School HS-Prep — — — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Ässät FIN U20 5 2 6 8 12 — — — — — 1982–83 Ässät SM-l 36 15 18 33 34 — — — — — 1983–84 Ässät FIN U20 2 0 2 2 12 — — — — — 1983–84 Ässät SM-l 37 18 42 60 72 9 2 5 7 12 1984–85 Ässät FIN U20 1 3 0 3 0 — — — — — 1984–85 Ässät SM-l 32 14 32 46 34 8 1 6 7 8 1985–86 HIFK SM-l 36 16 38 54 47 10 3 6 9 8 1986–87 Buffalo Sabres NHL 76 22 43 65 62 — — — — — 1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL 73 26 45 71 85 6 2 5 7 4 1988–89 Buffalo Sabres NHL 67 14 46 60 98 2 0 0 0 2 1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 75 19 41 60 66 6 0 0 0 4 1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 77 16 34 50 96 6 1 3 4 29 1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 70 4 21 25 76 3 0 0 0 6 1992–93 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 84 17 37 54 134 4 0 0 0 2 1993–94 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 54 9 20 29 68 6 0 0 0 2 1994–95 HIFK SM-l 20 4 8 12 24 — — — — — 1994–95 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 20 2 5 7 6 — — — — — 1994–95 Vancouver Canucks NHL 25 5 6 11 23 9 1 1 2 0 1995–96 Västra Frölunda HC SEL 32 13 25 38 98 12 4 7 11 34 1996–97 Grasshopper Club Zürich NDB 42 31 40 71 72 11 5 9 14 6 1997–98 HIFK SM-l 44 11 28 39 24 9 3 3 6 8 1998–99 Blues SM-l 45 14 22 36 40 4 0 1 1 0 SM-l totals 250 92 188 280 275 40 9 21 30 36 NHL totals 621 134 298 432 714 42 4 9 13 49

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1983 Finland WJC 7 2 2 4 14 1984 Finland WJC 7 0 4 4 6 1985 Finland WC 6 1 1 2 16 1986 Finland WC 10 2 5 7 12 1987 Finland CC 5 2 1 3 10 1987 Finland WC 10 0 0 0 18 1990 Finland WC 9 5 3 8 4 1991 Finland CC 6 1 5 6 4 1991 Finland WC 10 7 3 10 10 1992 Finland WC 5 0 1 1 6 1994 Finland WC 4 2 2 4 4 1996 Finland WCH 4 1 0 1 2 1996 Finland WC 6 0 2 2 2 Junior totals 14 2 6 8 20 Senior totals 75 21 23 44 88