(left) The Toronto Maple Leafs plan on finding an AHL roster spot for Tyler RuegseggerFrom: Toronto Sun
by John Hornby
With six John Ferguson-era draft picks traded the past couple of years, Tyler Ruegsegger might think he is an endangered species in Toronto.
Not getting a contract upon graduation from the University of Denver also seemed to point to the same exit sign as Jiri Tlusty, Viktor Stalberg, Justin Pogge, Robbie Earl, Anton Stralman and Chris DiDomenico.
But there will be a home for him somewhere with the Brian Burke Leafs, based on the centre’s good closing push with Denver (41 points in 41 games) and his enthusiasm through Toronto’s prospect evaluation this week in Etobicoke.
“They wanted me to have a good camp and see where we go after this,” said Ruegsegger after Thursday’s sessions at the MasterCard Centre. “To be honest, I don’t want to look into any of that (contract) stuff. I’m just out here to compete. It’s still a pleasure to be a part of the organization.”
Ruegsegger was picked 166th overall in 2006 from the NHL incubator at
Shattuck-St. Mary’s high school in Minnesota, five spots back of Stalberg.
At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Ruegsegger doesn’t strike you as having the size Burke wants to see up front the next couple of years, but he’s impressed the brass in other ways.
“Everyone’s going to have their own special qualities,” said Jim Hughes, the Leafs’ player development director. “If they’re not big, they will be packing heavy muscle mass. Some are bigger in height, but some are more strong and fit.
“He’s a high-end character and a very special person. He’s been four years at Denver and played in the world juniors for the U.S. (Denver-born, but half Canadian).
“We’ll probably find a spot for him somewhere in our organization, because of the quality he brings every day, because of his practice habits. You want him around. He’s not an NHL player right now, we’re hoping he’ll be an AHLer. We’ll probably put him into some kind of contract form and see where he fits into the mix.”
Ruegsegger also has a business administration degree he can fall back on.
Not getting a contract upon graduation from the University of Denver also seemed to point to the same exit sign as Jiri Tlusty, Viktor Stalberg, Justin Pogge, Robbie Earl, Anton Stralman and Chris DiDomenico.
But there will be a home for him somewhere with the Brian Burke Leafs, based on the centre’s good closing push with Denver (41 points in 41 games) and his enthusiasm through Toronto’s prospect evaluation this week in Etobicoke.
“They wanted me to have a good camp and see where we go after this,” said Ruegsegger after Thursday’s sessions at the MasterCard Centre. “To be honest, I don’t want to look into any of that (contract) stuff. I’m just out here to compete. It’s still a pleasure to be a part of the organization.”
Ruegsegger was picked 166th overall in 2006 from the NHL incubator at
Shattuck-St. Mary’s high school in Minnesota, five spots back of Stalberg.
At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Ruegsegger doesn’t strike you as having the size Burke wants to see up front the next couple of years, but he’s impressed the brass in other ways.
“Everyone’s going to have their own special qualities,” said Jim Hughes, the Leafs’ player development director. “If they’re not big, they will be packing heavy muscle mass. Some are bigger in height, but some are more strong and fit.
“He’s a high-end character and a very special person. He’s been four years at Denver and played in the world juniors for the U.S. (Denver-born, but half Canadian).
“We’ll probably find a spot for him somewhere in our organization, because of the quality he brings every day, because of his practice habits. You want him around. He’s not an NHL player right now, we’re hoping he’ll be an AHLer. We’ll probably put him into some kind of contract form and see where he fits into the mix.”
Ruegsegger also has a business administration degree he can fall back on.
15 comments:
Wow, what a shock!
Ruegsegger had a 3.95 GPA in a tough major, and gave his all on every shift at DU, playing through all kinds of injuries. He was a point-per-game player in the best league in the country and was a leader on the ice by force of his will. He played in a world junior tournament, and he's by far the greatest Coloradoan to play for DU, as well.
More importantly, he wore the Crimson and Gold as well as any Pioneer ever wore it in terms of his character. He epitomizes the student-athlete concept.
That he's getting a chance to play some professional hockey is icing on the cake.
I agree with everything you said puck swami except for the part about a "tough major". I graduated from DU in 2009 and a degree in Business Administration is a joke.
9:52, it's easy enough that you can coast through your degree and graduate without a tremendous amount of effort. However, your education is largely what you make it. You get out what you put in. I'm positive that Tyler put in way more than the average student and his degree isn't a joke. Your's might be though.
9:52. I'm sorry that you're probably one of the only people out there that doesn't take pride in their degree, sure its easy to pass through Daniels with mediocre grades, but to be at the top of your class takes an effort. Judging by your bitterness, I'm assuming you weren't at the top of the class when you graduated last year. I take pride in going to my school, maybe you should too or understand how important a college degree from a good school is. Just to refresh your mind here's some fun facts about that "joke" of a degree you earned.
Daniels College of Business is in the top 15 percent of undergraduate programs and the top five percent of graduate programs among the approximately 550 business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Daniels is the only business school in Colorado to receive high rankings from BusinessWeek, the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.
I got an accounting degree with a 3.4 GPA and minored in economics. I am very proud of my degree from there. I was just saying it is very easy to get good grades in the classes that he took. I don't care how much work you do in a class; there will always be harder classed than others. Both of you need to relax a little. The guys on the team even admit the degrees are easy.
Try an Engineering degree. Check on how "easy" that one is!!
I do have a lot of respect for engineering. My roomate completed the electrical engineering program and that was really hard
Let me tell you, Rugsy is a great guy. He will be fine, no matter where life takes him. His faith in God is his true strength. Say a naughty word in his presence and he will be in your face. Love the guy though. My hope is to someday be as close to God as Tyler is.
great shot, good guy, can't skate a lick.
9:52, I'm 11:51. I almost thought that you were me for a second. I graduated from DU with a major and masters in accounting and a minor in economics too.
I know when I went there we used to joke that finance and business majors were accounting drop-outs. I completely agree that the general business and finance classes we took were way easier than the accounting classes (not even comparable).
I still think there's a lot of truth to my original post though.
Only a 3.4 GPA, you should be ashamed ;-)
to the thy who said Tyler can't skate - He sure as hell can put the puck in the net or get it to a linemate who will score. Ive heard the Magnus Arena announcer call out "Ruegsegger!" in that deep and booming voice on many an occasion for a goal or an assist. I do believe you win games by scoring.
Ruggy was very good prep and college player but his lack of skating ability will hinder him from reaching the NHL. I remember when Mike Commodore was at UND and his skating was very average. He worked hard on improving his skating, was successful and has had himself a nice career. Ruggy has a lot of grit and works harder than anyone out there and if he can continue to improve on his skating (work on your crossovers) he has a shot to make it to the show.
He skates like he has an untapped keg strapped to his back. Heck of a player and leader, however...
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