Ruutu is not great defensively, but if you are from the school that good defense is experience and hard work..... Ruutu will end up great defensively.
His problem is that he has been playing out of position for 90% of the season. Sutter has had him on a wing, and its against his nature not to chase........
The first or second game of the season, Ruutu was playing center and as the play developed Palfy got the puck in the slot. Ruutu drilled him before he could get a shot off(and rightly had the whole LA team after him). That is Ruutu's natural defensive inclination- or so it seems. Find guy with puck- make guy get rid of puck by any means necessary.
Now, in sutter's non system system... the Center plays high. That doesn't take advantage of Ruutu's best asset(or most developed asset from day 1) his forechecking ability. I think that's why Sutter put him on the wing, because then he could tell him- go get em.
And when Ruutu has had a burr up his ass- he has played like few players I have ever seen. Watching it live does it much more justice, but when a player see's that he is on the ice, and skating towards them- he just gets rid of it- he doesn't care where......
Its the same kind of thing the Tootoo has brought to the NHL- that wrecking ball style, except Ruutu does it differently. Tootoo is literally a wrecking ball- skating from across the ice to cream guys. Ruutu does that, but more often than not he surprises guys because it doesn't even look like he is skating.
Troy Murray on the hawks broadcast last night, said that Tkachuk(who murray roomed with) told him after the first St Louis game this last weekend that he had Ruutu lined up- and hit him with everything that he had.... and that Ruutu didn't even budge. Yea its a homer broadcast..... but Murray isn't smart enough to make up that story.
-fullmetalninja
big ups to Ruutu, he's been getting alot better, I really like the youth on this Chicago team, just wait for Yak too, that guy can play, no doubt, but they have some solid young players.
