Mikko Ruutu is a retired Finnish ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 forward

Forward (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...

.

Ruutu played for HIFK

HIFK (ice hockey)

HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...

 and Jokerit

Jokerit

Jokerit is an ice-hockey team from Helsinki, Finland, playing in the Finnish Elite League, SM-liiga. The team has won 6 league championships...

 in the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. 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...

, earning a silver medal with HIFK and the SM-liiga championship with Jokerit in 2002. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 as their 7th round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft

1999 NHL Entry Draft

The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. According to Sports Illustrated and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talent in years, headed by Patrik Stefan and the Sedin twins. However, the...

, but his only season in North America was for Clarkson University

Clarkson University

-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...

 in the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 league. He has since retired from professional hockey because of his broken knee. He is currently a scout for the Ottawa Senators.

Mikko Ruutu has two brothers, Jarkko

Jarkko Ruutu

Jarkko Ruutu ; born August 23, 1975) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player. Ruutu is currently playing for SM-Liiga team Jokerit. He is the brother of Tuomo Ruutu, currently playing in the NHL on the Carolina Hurricanes, and retired player Mikko Ruutu....

, a former NHL player currently playing for Jokerit

Jokerit

Jokerit is an ice-hockey team from Helsinki, Finland, playing in the Finnish Elite League, SM-liiga. The team has won 6 league championships...

, and Tuomo

Tuomo Ruutu

Tuomo Iisakki Ruutu is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who plays for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League...

, who plays in the NHL for the Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...

.

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	HIFK	SM-liiga		31	3	1	4	12		4	0	0	0	2
1999–00	Clarkson University	NCAA		33	5	5	10	26		--	--	--	--	--
2000–01	Jokerit	SM-liiga		56	5	6	11	38		5	0	1	1	2
2001–02	Jokerit	SM-liiga		47	3	3	6	65		5	1	0	1	27
2002–03	Jokerit	SM-liiga		23	2	4	6	4		10	0	1	1	4
SM-liiga Totals				157	13	14	27	119		24	1	2	3	35