What's wrong with Ruutu ???
- Thread starter benbouch
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benbouch said:
If you look at BH games, you will see that he gets decent ice time, some PP time and that he's use, most of the time with Scott Nichol and Mark Bell, decent linemates. (Hawks fan, correct me if I'm wrong)
I think there is no particular reason why he's not producing.
He his as energic as we saw him in the WJC, as gritty, as pest, but he is jus not as skilled as we thought. IMO...
He could turn in a better version of Mike Ricci (20-30-50).... That was expected to become a better scorer than he is now too...
BJ21
Vlad The Impaler
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Mizral
Registered User
Jeffrey
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Mizral said:
He was 18 and playing 11 minutes a game and no PP time. He was also playing with horible linemates... (cant remember who, so dont take this in consideration
) Tuomo is 20, having some PP time (stealing it to Bell) and playing with Bell. He should score a little more.
That said, I dont think he will bust, but he wont be the player we expected to see.
BJ21
Ruutu only gets like 12 minutes a game. Hes adjustings. He is on one of the worst teams in the nhl, might I add. So give him a break, it may just take a year for him to get used to the NA style.
Now they're judging 20yo rookies!!! OMG! What's next, they hit their prime at 17yo? And by the time they're 26 they retire. Give me a break and let those guys develop. It takes years and years. Look and Naslund, Bertuzzi, Murray, etc etc....
Alexei Kovalev said:
I think it's more like 15-16 minutes ( the games I watched)...
Nobody is saying that he is a bust, but like a lot of poeple said before, like Vlad, he may not be a Super Star potential.
I saw him play at least 5-6 times this year, and no doubt he wil be a very valuable NHLer, but not as good as we tought....
BJ21
Mizral said:
Yeah, you could say a lot more. Ruutu is not even close to Joe Thornton and never will be.
Let me preface this by saying that I really like Ruutu as a prospect. But the fact is, he might be the most over-rated prospect of the last few years.
Ruutu has always been a well-rounded, physical player, etc, etc. But, IMO, he never projected to be an elite point producer. However, somewhere along the way he became one of the most over-hyped prospects I've ever seen: The Hockey News rated him as the best prospect in the world (also nonsense, IMO), and his agent saying he was the best player not in the NHL, and all the press about the Blackhawks not being able to sign him, and him being their saviour,etc. Then people though he was the second coming of __________ (insert name of choice here).
Ruutu may be the next Peca or Ricci, and we all know how valuable that can be, but it should not surprise anyone that he is not putting up big numbers, especially in his first season. Ruutu will NEVER put up 100 point seasons like Thornton and will never lead the league in scoring, IMO.
althogh its his freshman year in the nhl i am kinda disappointed in him.
in finland he played against grown men for nearly 2 years so he should know what to do to overcome the obstacles he currently faces.
in finland he played against grown men for nearly 2 years so he should know what to do to overcome the obstacles he currently faces.
n00dles said:
He's not playing center, he's playing wing most of the time. That may be a reason he's not producing And it wouldn't hurt to be playing with some more productive players.
As the season progresses, and he gets used to the NHL game, I think his point totals will rise.
Worst. Coach. Ever.
That's whats wrong with T Ruutu. He is the most physical hawk, and absolutely destroys guys on the boards, and in open ice.
A little history.
His first three games, he started centering Steve Sullivan, and a broken down Eric Daze(who couldn't skate). He centered that line until Daze went down- then he went to the 4th line.
In home game #2, vs the Los Angeles Kings, he drilled Ziggy Palfy in open ice. He was dogged in the papers, by the wunder koach for leaving his check.
His punishment after the Atlanta game- centering the fouth line. He still gets PP time---- on the worst PP in NHL history(or close to it).
After the first month of the season, Sutter would say in the papers every day that Tuomo Ruutu is not a scorer, and *SHOULD NOT BE TRYING TO SCORE*. Yes, that's right, thats our head coach talking down one of the few positive things on this team.
You people crack me up, Scott Nichol- career 4th liner, and Mark Bell- a great heart and soul guy without playmakers hands are great linemates? Then consider he's played on that line for 2 games...... During those two games its been the best line.
Ruutu has been reluctant to shoot, which is too bad because he has a cannon for a shot(anyone watching the Detroit game could see that when he nearly beat Cujo from 40ft). He also has the burden of going into the doghouse for ANY blown coverages.
Consider the case of Mikhail Yakubov if you don't believe me. He puts up 4 pts in 5 games, plays solid defensively and is the best faceoff guy on the team. He is scratched last night over f'n Igor Korolev because he blew coverage on Billy Guerin in Fri nights 1-0 loss to Dallas(a game in which the hawks had 18 SOG).
Ruutu has to do a couple of things. He has to get into better shape, he's not in NHL shape because of the knee, I think that's pretty clear. He also has to get stronger on the puck(which is something that will happen because his biggest asset is his work ethic and he'll get stronger as he gets a lil older).
He has tremendous hands, and is w/o a doubt the best passer up front that we have.
If you don't watch the train wreck that is the Brian Sutter Chicago Blackhawks- you simply aren't qualified for this discussion. No player has put up points consistantly because WE DON'T TRY TO SCORE.
If Ruutu was allowed to Cherry pick- allowed to leave his check at all, he would be putting up better numbers. The sad fact is, Brian Sutter will not let him get comfortable on any line(he hasn't played on 1 line longer than 2 games), and if he goes out of his way to hit someone or get a head start- he gets smacked down to the 4th line.
Brian Sutter is the problem. Until the last few games, Travis Moen gets more ice time that Ruutu, Radulov, or Yakubov.
So please, keep discounting T. Ruutu. This kid will put up points one day- not kovalchuk type points, but not mike peca/ricci points either. He'll be a 60 pt guy that plays tough in all zones, and will absolutely rock someone with their head down.
We just need a coach that doesn't have his head stuffed deep into his own ass.
-fullmetalninja
That's whats wrong with T Ruutu. He is the most physical hawk, and absolutely destroys guys on the boards, and in open ice.
A little history.
His first three games, he started centering Steve Sullivan, and a broken down Eric Daze(who couldn't skate). He centered that line until Daze went down- then he went to the 4th line.
In home game #2, vs the Los Angeles Kings, he drilled Ziggy Palfy in open ice. He was dogged in the papers, by the wunder koach for leaving his check.
His punishment after the Atlanta game- centering the fouth line. He still gets PP time---- on the worst PP in NHL history(or close to it).
After the first month of the season, Sutter would say in the papers every day that Tuomo Ruutu is not a scorer, and *SHOULD NOT BE TRYING TO SCORE*. Yes, that's right, thats our head coach talking down one of the few positive things on this team.
You people crack me up, Scott Nichol- career 4th liner, and Mark Bell- a great heart and soul guy without playmakers hands are great linemates? Then consider he's played on that line for 2 games...... During those two games its been the best line.
Ruutu has been reluctant to shoot, which is too bad because he has a cannon for a shot(anyone watching the Detroit game could see that when he nearly beat Cujo from 40ft). He also has the burden of going into the doghouse for ANY blown coverages.
Consider the case of Mikhail Yakubov if you don't believe me. He puts up 4 pts in 5 games, plays solid defensively and is the best faceoff guy on the team. He is scratched last night over f'n Igor Korolev because he blew coverage on Billy Guerin in Fri nights 1-0 loss to Dallas(a game in which the hawks had 18 SOG).
Ruutu has to do a couple of things. He has to get into better shape, he's not in NHL shape because of the knee, I think that's pretty clear. He also has to get stronger on the puck(which is something that will happen because his biggest asset is his work ethic and he'll get stronger as he gets a lil older).
He has tremendous hands, and is w/o a doubt the best passer up front that we have.
If you don't watch the train wreck that is the Brian Sutter Chicago Blackhawks- you simply aren't qualified for this discussion. No player has put up points consistantly because WE DON'T TRY TO SCORE.
If Ruutu was allowed to Cherry pick- allowed to leave his check at all, he would be putting up better numbers. The sad fact is, Brian Sutter will not let him get comfortable on any line(he hasn't played on 1 line longer than 2 games), and if he goes out of his way to hit someone or get a head start- he gets smacked down to the 4th line.
Brian Sutter is the problem. Until the last few games, Travis Moen gets more ice time that Ruutu, Radulov, or Yakubov.
So please, keep discounting T. Ruutu. This kid will put up points one day- not kovalchuk type points, but not mike peca/ricci points either. He'll be a 60 pt guy that plays tough in all zones, and will absolutely rock someone with their head down.
We just need a coach that doesn't have his head stuffed deep into his own ass.
-fullmetalninja
I never had him projected to be a dominant offensive force from the start. Ruutu is a Nolan type player and I don't think he will ever get to Nolan's offensive level. Those types of guys are hit an miss ala Pat Falloon.
Ruutu and fat palloon in the same sentence. Never thought i would see it. Ridiculous.An out of shape, heartless floater against a heart and soul player with an abundance of skills. Lots of room to grow do not give up on his offensive potential yet.
I am not comparing styles but moreso the fact that both where PF to be. In other words PF are risky players to draft.
True but Ruutu is more of a tweener. he is tough like a powerforward but not the size of Bertuzzi, isbister, and those types. he is a closer to forsberg in build and similar in style. He will not score in Forsberg's range but he is gutsy, responsible and fun to watch. He will be a damn good player in this league.
fullmetalninja said:
Hopping your right and Sutter is the problem in that case.
The fact is, that I saw him plays with Nichol and Bell almost evry game I watched. (5-6) (I never qualified them as great linemates BTW)
I assumed they were his regular linemates.
I think we are pretty argree in fact when you say he will be 60pts player, I said 50 (ore a little more)... but it's just not what was expected... In my first tought.
BJ21
Alexei Kovalev said:
According to Sportsline, he is almost playing 15 minutes a game:
http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/players/playerpage/435259
Mess
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The Messenger said:
I never meant that. What I meant was that he still has to adapt to the flow and physical aspects of the nhl.
Even though his style is NA, it takes to to adjust to playing in the NHL.Tuomo is still not 100% from the knee injury that kept him from training as hard as he would have liked to during the summer.. There are very few players in the league who could produce big numbers playing with Moen and Nicol (both have good grit, no hands or hockey sense).Playing on maybe the worst offensive team in the league doesn't help either.True, Tuomo will never lead the league in scoring, but he could develop into a 30 goal and 60-70 point player in time.He's only 20, so comments like "he's not as good as we thought he was" are at the very least premature.I think a lot of people making these comments haven't seen him play, and are just judging him based on his stats..
Why he's not playing center is anyones guess. Tuomo is a sold center-men, not a winger. If Suter would just let the kid play and STOP trying to teach him, he'll be OK. Let's face it, The Hawks suck. They are all playing for jobs period. The coach should just let his talented rookies play, make mistakes and play some more. The teams has Yakubov, Radulov, Vorobiev. Kukkonen and Babchuk (not to mention Ruutu) all wasting time on 3rd/4th lines, the minors and sometimes the press box. Sutter is the wrong coach for this team - I do like Sutter with a group of veterans or a team full of lunch pale kids, but this team is stacked with young emerging talent that need to make mistakes and just play there game... really, what does Chicago have to play for; a playoff spot? a stanley cup? NO. They're playing for the right to draft another great youngster - and hopefully Mr. Pulford will understand that and step down right after he fires Sutter. C'mon, how long does the man have to be an interim GM, it's not like he wont have a nice cushy job in the head office for as long as he wants. If he was truly trying to make the team better in the long run, he would've stepped down and fired Sutter along time ago.... i feel sorry for Blackhawk fans - they have a great young team and a bunch of dinosaurs running the team.
As for Ruutu's potential. IMO I think the kid will be OK. Not a 100 point scorer, but a good all round player that can be used in all situations (PP, PK, last minute of the game, etc) he will probably be like a Forsberg minus all the injuries and about 20-25 points a season.
As for Ruutu's potential. IMO I think the kid will be OK. Not a 100 point scorer, but a good all round player that can be used in all situations (PP, PK, last minute of the game, etc) he will probably be like a Forsberg minus all the injuries and about 20-25 points a season.
Vlad The Impaler
Registered User
TK79 said:
Sounds like you have no problem with people who thought Ruutu was the second coming of Christ because they believe a crappy publication like THN. That wasn't premature.
But saying he might not be all that great afterall, now that we're seeing him in the NHL, that's premature.
Hmmm... ok :p
I love Ruutu, love the potential of what he can bring to a team. I suspect the knee injury has been a factor and all. But the guy was still overrated before coming over. There's no way around that.
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