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Ruegsegger Profiled In Hockey's Future

From: Hockey's Future

Tyler Ruegsegger (6th round, 2006)

Tyler Ruegsegger has exploded during his freshman season with his hometown University of Denver to make a run for the title of the Toronto Maple Leafs' best collegiate prospect.

The former top-ranked collegiate prospect in Minnesota combines on-ice prowess with off-ice book smarts. Once named the best all-around student for four consecutive years by his old Shattuck-St. Mary's squad, Ruegsegger has shown that he's certainly smart enough to find his way to the net as evidenced by a stunning rookie season that's seen him perform at almost a point-per-game clip.

Ruegsegger has 25 points in 28 games, paced by 11 goals. He's also been a force to be reckoned with on the Pioneers' power play, accounting for four goals with the man advantage. Most impressively Ruegsegger has excelled in even-strength situations, leading the club in plus/minus ratings with a +13 total that's almost double that of the next closest teammate.

And although Ruegsegger has performed admirably in the collegiate ranks, there were pre-season questions about his readiness. According to a report in the Denver Post, the Pioneers weren’t sure that he was ready to make the jump straight from the high school ranks to the collegiate game without the traditional sojourn in the USHL. He made the choice not to defer his scholarship and the results speak for themselves.

In essence, hockey is a simple game and as Howie Meeker used to preach, you can't score if you don't shoot. Ruegsegger has obviously taken those lessons to heart and is amongst the team leaders in shots, which has been a significant factor in much of his offensive exploits to date.

Of course, this offensive performance isn't exactly unprecedented - Ruegsegger's last two seasons with Shattuck-St. Mary's saw him net 80 and 89 points. The question was always how this would translate against stiffer competition. So far so good - and, while it's still early, the Leafs are hoping that they've found a diamond in the rough in Denver.