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The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to minimize the expectations on Tuomo Ruutu. Too late.
It's hard for someone to slip into the league unnoticed when he's already been anointed the best player outside the NHL. The task is even more difficult in Chicago, where the Blackhawks played before sparse crowds down the stretch of a 2002-03 season that spiraled out of control.
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Still bristling from coverage of Theo Fleury's run-in at a Columbus, Ohio strip
club and his eventual suspension for recurring substance abuse problems, the
team is not on great terms with the media. Ticketmaster
The relationship is so chilly that when Ruutu was introduced at a news conference just before the start of training camp, general manager Mike Smith said, "Contrary to some predictions, we are actually here to introduce Tuomo Ruutu to our fans and media."
While Ruutu downplayed the lengthy negotiations that preceded his arrival in North America, it's been more than two years since he was selected with the ninth overall draft pick.
That delay, as much as any any other factor, explains the hype that surrounds the 20-year-old Finn. There's also the fact that Chicago has not won a playoff series since 1996. But Blackhawks officials are trying to curb their enthusiasm.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," coach Brian Sutter cautioned at the start of the preseason. "Let's just let him be himself. He's not the guy to come in here and lead our team in scoring. But don't be surprised if he gets a lot of points because he is a solid two-way guy. There are things he brings to the part you can't teach." Ticketmaster
Ruutu whet the Blackhawks' collective appetite last season when he averaged nearly a point per game for IFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League. But he missed 25 games after tearing knee ligaments last January, his second serious knee injury in three years.
"A long rehab, but I know when I go on the ice, I'm ready to go," he said. "I had to do everything from the beginning, like working in circles off the ice and more. But when you get to the ice, you appreciate it much more."
Ruutu's preseason numbers were anything but eye-popping - he scored just one goal. But his skills were obvious and, as Sutter noted, numbers are not necessarily an indication of his performance.
"He may be a rookie, but he looks like a 10-year veteran to me," Blackhawks goaltender Jocelyn Thibault said. "You hear things about people before you see them. You have to see them (to see if it's true), and what I've heard so far seems to be true." Ticketmaster
"His game is not about the points, it's an all-around game," added Jarkko Ruutu, Tuomo's older brother who is set to begin his fifth season with the Vancouver Canucks. "He goes hard, hits and bangs, and he wants to get dirty, too. He's entertaining to watch."
Jarkko Ruutu never has played more than 49 games nor scored more than three goals in a season. But he quickly pointed out he's the less talented of the brothers.
"He has tons more skills than I do," the elder Ruutu said. "I've never seen anybody put so much time into practice and create the skills he has."
That's music to the ears of fans in Chicago, where recent first-round picks have included Eric Lecompte, Dmitri Nabokov and Remi Royer. In fact, the last Blackhawks' first-rounder who lived up to expectations was Jeremy Roenick in 1988.
"He's unbelievable, a great player. That's all I know," Ruutu said of Roenick, whose eight seasons in Chicago included a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Oh, yeah, the Blackhawks' 42-year stretch without a Stanley Cup is the longest active drought in the NHL. Ruutu was born 22 years after Chicago's last championship. Ticketmaster
"It's his first year. You can't put too much pressure on him," brother Jarkko said. "I'm sure he'll have his ups and downs, just like everybody else coming into the league.
"He doesn't feel any pressure about it. There's been a lot of talk about him dominating the league, but you can't expect that from the get-go. I hope it happens, but you can't expect it."
Sutter doesn't. He just liked what he saw of the 6-1, 202-pound Ruutu as the preseason unfolded.
"Roots is a big, strong guy. And he's going to figure it out in the physical situations," said Sutter, who was expected to carry as many as six rookies on his opening night roster. "And it's nice to see him learning and getting better."
Ruutu agreed with his coach's assessment, adding, "I know I could be better, but it's going to take some time."
Asked for the most difficult aspect of his transition to the NHL, he said, "Doing this (with the media). This has been the hardest thing so far."
If he can say the same thing at the end of a long Chicago winter, Ruutu may have lived up to the lofty expectations.