Alexander Ruuttu may be 30 years old already, but he hasn’t let go of the “unlikely” NHL dream. In the autumn, he still had time to believe that his career would be over.
– Powerful.
That’s the word Alexander Ruuttu chooses to describe what it’s like to play with a spade on his chest.
That the club selection in the summer of 2021 fell on Ässät was in many ways logical. He has relatives in Pori, but perhaps mostly because father Christian became a club icon in Isomäki in the 80s.
Alexander Ruuttu chose to move “home”.
Image: Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
Alexander Ruuttu
– That was a big reason why I came here. Ässät is a club I have always followed closely, or at least more closely than many other league clubs. It’s fun, special and nice to wear the shirt. Especially since we have so much family here, Ruuttu explains to Yle Sporten after a training session.
Those who stand on the steel fence on the long side are reminded of how successful father Christian was during his career when they are greeted by his face on the wall of legends in the corridor outside.
Alexander Ruuttu certainly also knows that he is expected to live up to certain expectations just because of his name.
– But I’ve been quite used to that since I was 10 years old. Ruuttu is a name that has great significance for Finnish ice hockey and I can do nothing but try to wear it with pride. At the same time, I am my own person and pursue my own career, he says.
That career didn’t quite take off as expected.
Only one year abroad: “Still want to experience it”
Ruuttu went as a Jokerit junior in the second round of the NHL draft in 2011. Christian Ruuttu was then a scout for the Phoenix Coyotes who selected the young hockey player.
He was also a familiar face in the U20 national team. But the senior career never really took off – at least with a view to a career abroad.
In the spring of 2013, Ruuttu realized that he does not fit in Jokerit and moved to Ilves. There it was two years before the parties broke the contract and Ruuttu instead played out the season in TPS.
When Alexander Ruuttu played in TPS in the spring of 2015, expectations were still sky high for the then 23-year-old forward.
Image: Matti Raivio/All Over Press
Alexander Ruuttu
After that, there was certainly a season in Tingsryd’s AIF and the Hockeyallsvenskan, but Ruuttu quickly steered the kitty home towards the domestic league again. And this time the choice of club fell on KalPa.
The 2017/18 season was his best in terms of points in his career when he accounted for 17+12 in 54 games.
Last summer, in his contract, Ruuttu had the option to move abroad, but he chose to stay in Ässät for one more season.
– Right now I’m happy with where I am as a player. I’m still trying to get better every day and move forward in my career. Right now Ässät is the right place for me – what next season brings remains to be seen. My focus is still on us going to the playoffs and making it there, says Ruuttu.
– But of course, I would still like to experience playing abroad. Which country? I do not know. But I would like to play ice hockey in a different environment before my career is over, he continues.
“It was very difficult times”
That career was about to come to an abrupt end already in the autumn, Ruuttu now reveals.
Between September 16 and December 3, Ruuttu did not play a single match in the league. It is not unusual for ice hockey players to miss so many games due to injuries – but this time it was not an injury.
– I was just sick all the time. I was worried that my career would be over, says Ruuttu.
– Those were very difficult times. But luckily we found solutions and now I feel better than I have in over a year. It’s much more fun to play now that I feel like myself again. And can just enjoy playing ice hockey.
Alexander Ruuttu celebrates a goal against his former club in December.
Image: All Over Press
Alexander Ruuttu, Ace
The positive thing about coming from a hockey family is that the parents have always made sure that Alexander Ruuttu remembers that his career ends at some stage.
– Even if you didn’t believe it when you were 18, he says and laughs.
Now he has studied alongside the hockey venture and thus prepared himself for the fact that his career as a professional will one day be over. But, of course, that dream of impossible NHL still exists.
– You’d be lying if you said you didn’t still dream about it, Ruuttu says with a whimsical grin.
– The NHL has still been a dream ever since I was a child. Now I’m 30, it’s unlikely to happen … we can say it’s a 0.01 percent chance. But dreams are always good to have. Such help one during the most difficult days.
“Enjoying being back”
There were many difficult days in the autumn. But now he’s back.
In the twelve games he has played since his return, he has been noted for three complete hits.
– I think I played quite well. I have been able to produce in recent games and look forward to continuing to improve. It’s never fun to be away from the ice and now I’m enjoying being back, he says.
Right now, Ässät looks to go to the playoffs via the play-in round. The big goal is of course to squeeze a place in the top six.
And Ruuttu also chooses to focus on the possibilities, rather than focusing on the risk of missing the playoffs altogether.
– You don’t gain anything by focusing on what happened. It is important to see the possibilities. If you get worried or scared, things go badly. But with a positive attitude, things start to happen.
