One December morning embassy interns Annikka Malkavaara and Sanna Hellsten interviewed Ottawa Senators player Jarkko Ruutu. After the team’s practice, a laid-back Ruutu sat down with us to discuss hockey, Christmas and life in the nation’s capital.
The hockey season 2009–2010 has been on for almost three months and Ruutu is feeling positive about how it has been going. “There is always something where you can do better, but all in all everything is fine.” Currently Ruutu is tenth in the Senators Player Stats and he says he is happy with the way he has been playing. He says his role is not necessarily to score, but to be an enforcer and a disturbing force to the opposing team.
This is Ruutu’s second season playing for the Ottawa Senators, but this is not his first stay in Canada. Ruutu’s NHL career started ten years ago when he played for the Vancouver Canucks. There was no major celebration for his tenth anniversary, but he considers himself very lucky to still be able to play and that he has not had any serious injuries.
Ruutu enjoys living in Canada very much. He thinks people here are genuine, and cities safe and clean. Vancouver is definitely his favorite city. “Of course Ottawa, Montréal and Toronto are nice places, but Vancouver just has that something. I cannot explain it really, but if you have been and lived there, you will understand it.”
Ruutu is eagerly waiting for the Olympic Games that are going to take place in his former hometown Vancouver in February. The players for the hockey team have not yet been chosen, but Ruutu would be more than willing to represent Finland in the Games. Ruutu is sure that the Vancouver Games will have extraordinary atmosphere and top class arrangements. When asked about any wild parties in the Olympic village Ruutu chuckles and confesses that the tight schedule prevents the athletes from partying hard during the games – there it is all about eating, sleeping well and concentrating on the upcoming battles.
When it comes to the Olympic hockey tournament, there is only one goal for Ruutu. “We absolutely go for the gold medal; there is no point in having any other target.” Ruutu thinks it is always a special case to play for the national hockey team because “the whole country of Finland is behind you”. Although the line-up varies slightly before every tournament, it is still easy to find one’s place in the group. “I know almost every Finnish hockey player, so there are normally no surprises along the way”, says Ruutu. According to him, the two biggest dreams for all hockey players in the world are winning the Stanley Cup and the gold medal at the Olympics. However, they are both hard to accomplish.
Jarkko Ruutu does not have much time to celebrate Christmas as his holiday break lasts only one and a half days. The game schedule is so tight that it is impossible to go to Finland while the hockey season is on, which means Jarkko has not been spending Christmas in his native country for years. Instead, he spends all summers in Finland where his parents and one of his brothers live. Ruutu says he gets homesick only rarely nowadays, but he is still missing something from Finland. “I can go to sauna even in Canada, but I would like to have some of my Finnish friends to be there with me.”
Ruutu hopes that his NHL career will continue as long as possible, but after that his plans are clear: he is going back to Finland for sure. “I could imagine myself living in Vancouver, for example, but it would not be the same. Home is always home.”
Text and photos Annikka Malkavaara ja Sanna Hellsten
