Ruotsalainen started his career in Kärpät. Nicknamed "Reksa" or "Rexi", he was recognized as a talented defenseman while playing for Kärpät junior teams. Kärpät was promoted to SM-liiga from 1. Divisioona for the 1977–78 season, and Ruotsalainen played 30 games and posted 23 points in his first SM-liiga season. During the 1979–80 season, Ruotsalainen and Kärpät played in the SM-liiga Playoffs, but were eliminated from the Finals by HIFK. Kärpät, however, won the bronze medal series, 2–0, against TPS. The 1980–81 season proved to be a breakthrough for Ruotsalainen. Kärpät made the finals against Tappara, coming from behind in the fifth and decisive game, winning the game 5–2. After his first Championship in SM-liiga, Ruotsalainen headed to National Hockey League (NHL).
Ruotsalainen was signed by the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1981. During his debut season, he scored 56 points in 78 games. Initially paired on defense with Barry Beck, Ruotsalainen was eventually moved to forward. Coach Herb Brooks said Ruotsalainen was the best skater in NHL.[citation needed] Ruotsalainen's fluid skating helped him compensate for his lack of size. Ruotsalainen had his NHL-career high in points during the 1984–85 NHL season, leading the Rangers in scoring with 73 points in 80 games. Ruotsalainen played in the 1986 NHL All-Star game.
Ruotsalainen's contract expired after the conclusion of the 1985–86 NHL season, and he accepted an offer from SC Bern of the Swiss Nationalliga A. Ruotsalainen played in 35 games and scored 53 points for SC Bern before returning to the NHL.
Ruotsalainen was signed by the Edmonton Oilers for the remainder of the 1986–87 NHL season and was given a spot on Defense. The Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup at the end of the season, and Ruotsalainen's name was added to the Cup for the first time.
Ruotsalainen next signed with HV71 in Sweden, with whom Ruotsalainen scored 32 points in 40 games.
After his single season in Sweden, Ruotsalainen was again contracted by SC Bern, playing a single season for them, scoring 46 points in 36 games.
Ruotsalainen returned to the NHL after a two-season absence, starting the 1989–90 NHL season with the New Jersey Devils. He was traded to Edmonton after 31 games, leading to winning his second Stanley Cup, as the Oilers won the Cup for the fifth time, the first without Wayne Gretzky.
Ruotsalainen returned to Europe and played for SC Bern, yet again, in a tenure that lasted for three seasons. Ruotsalainen scored 38 points during his first season back in Bern.
Ruotsalainen returned to his "home team" when he was contracted by Kärpät in 1993, by which time had been relegated back to 1. Divisioona. Ruotsalainen played four games for Kärpät, scoring 6 points. Ruotsalainen was acquired by SM-liiga team Tappara for reminder of the 1993–94 season. Ruotsalainen played six regular season games with Tappara and scored 6 points, and 3 points in 9 playoff games, as Tappara was eliminated by TPS in the semifinals.
After his season in Finland, Ruotsalainen accepted a contract offer from SC Bern for the 1994–95 season, and played 19 games and had 10 points.
Ruotsalainen returned to Finland for the 1995–96 season and played for KalPa with 8 points in 16 games. He was contracted mid-season to Swiss team ZSC Lions, where he played 18 games with 15 points.
After his season in Zürich, Ruotsalainen ended his career in Finland, playing for Kärpät in the Finnish 1. Divisioona for two more seasons, scoring 31 points in 44 games during his Final season.
Ruotsalainen ended his career in 1998. His jersey #10 is currently retired by Kärpät.[1]
Ruotsalainen became a coach after his playing career. He was an assistant coach with the Miami Matadors of the ECHL during their only season in 1998–99.
He is a member of the Finnish Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.
In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, was ranked no. 82 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons[4]
Related Research Articles
Jari Pekka Kurri is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1980, he played right wing for five National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Edmonton Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and the Colorado Avalanche. Kurri played 17 seasons in the NHL and was the first Finnish player to be enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in 2001. He was a member of a Stanley Cup–winning team five times, all with the Oilers. In 2017, Kurri was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1985, and was the NHL goal scoring leader in the 1984–85 season.
The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
Josef Sami Boumedienne is a Swedish former professional hockey defenceman and hockey scout. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. He is currently serving as the Head of Pro Scouting for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Oulun Kärpät is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have won the Finnish championship title eight times, and is the most successful Finnish ice hockey team in the 21st century.
Ville Juhani Nieminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League.
Toni Petteri Lydman is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He first played competitively in his native Finland with Tappara, and HIFK of the SM-liiga before enjoying a lengthy career in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and the Anaheim Ducks.
Esa Pirnes is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre. He played most of his career, which lasted from 1995 to 2016, in the Finnish Liiga. He also played 57 games in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2003–04 season, after the Kings selected him in the 6th round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally Pirnes played for the Finnish national team at four World Championships, winning two bronze medals.
Pekka Olavi "Rocky" Rautakallio is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played 14 seasons in Finland's SM-sarja and SM-liiga between 1968 and 1987 for Ässät and HIFK Helsinki, during which he was a five-time Finnish All-Star. Rautakallio was a member of Ässät's championship team that won the Kanada-malja in 1978. He was named the best defenceman of the SM-liiga in 1978, 1979 and 1986; the league later named the award the Pekka Rautakallio trophy in his honour. Internationally, Rautakallio played with the Finnish national team in seven World Championships and two Canada Cup tournaments.
Timo Juhani "Juti" Jutila is a retired Finnish ice hockey defenceman. Jutila was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He played internationally for the Finland men's national ice hockey team and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2003.
Kari Jalonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. Currently he is the head coach of Czech national team. He is not related to Finnish ice hockey coach Jukka Jalonen.
Janne Juhani Ojanen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who is the all-time leading scorer in Finland's SM-liiga with 799 points. He spent the majority of his career playing for SM-liiga team Tappara.
Erkki Juhani Laine was a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. A two time Olympian, he won a silver medal with the Finnish national team at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. He is the Lahti Pelicans franchise top all-time career point earner and goal scorer.
David Rundblad is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with Kärpät in the Liiga. Rundblad was drafted 17th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He began his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators before being traded to the Phoenix Coyotes. On March 4, 2014, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2015.
The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga, Finland. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi Nurminen and Formula One racecar driver Valtteri Bottas.
Patrik Laine is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. Laine formerly played in his native Finland with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga before he was taken with the second overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.
Arttu Ruotsalainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for HC Lugano of the National League (NL).
Miro Heiskanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ranked in the top ten eligible European skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, Heiskanen was picked third overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Stars.
Anttoni Honka is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays with the JYP Jyväskylä in the SM-liiga as a prospect to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Honka was selected by the Hurricanes in the 3rd round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Joona Luoto is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently under contract with SC Bern in the National League (NL).
The history of the Porin Ässät starts in 1925, when Porin Palloilijat was established, even though PoPa is often considered as a separate club from Ässät.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Finland 
