Steve Rucchin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 215 lb (98 kg/15 st 5 lb) |
| NHL Team F. teams |
Atlanta Thrashers New York Rangers Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | July 4, 1971 , Thunder Bay, ON |
| NHL Draft | Undrafted |
| Pro career | 1994 – present |
Steve Andrew Rucchin (born July 4, 1971 Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a centre who currently plays for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League.
Rucchin played high school hockey for Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, Ontario. His coach happened to also be an assistant with the University of Western Ontario and recruited him. He was an Ontario University All-Star in three of his four seasons there, and was named Player of the Year and First-team All-Canadian in his senior season.
He was drafted 2nd overall in the 1994 NHL Supplemental Draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He soon centered Anaheim's top line with Paul Kariya and Teemu Selänne. Rucchin was an alternate captain from 2000–2003, and captain 2003–05.
In the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Rucchin earned his spot in Mighty Ducks immortality when he helped the Ducks upset the Detroit Red Wings in a sweep of four games by scoring the game-winning and series-clinching overtime goal in Game 4.
At the World Championship 1998 in Switzerland he and his older brother Larry made history when they face each other when Steve used to play for Canada while Larry playing for Italy.
In August 2005, he was traded to the New York Rangers for minor-league enforcer Travis Gillies and a conditional 2007 draft pick in a move to dump salary. He ranks third in Ducks history in assists (279), goals (153), points (432), and game-winning goals (23). Known as a great locker-room teammate, he provided veteran leadership in 2005–06, as an alternate captain (along with Jaromir Jagr and Darius Kasparaitis) on a young Rangers team.
On July 3rd, 2006, Rucchin signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers. on March 6, 2007, he suffered a concussion on a hit by Ben Guite of the Colorado Avalanche. This injury ended his season, and caused him to miss the start of the following season in 2007.
| Preceded by Paul Kariya |
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim captains 2003–04 |
Succeeded by Scott Niedermayer |
[edit] External links
- Steve Rucchin's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Ducks aren't quite as tough as Mustangs (uwo.ca)
- Veterans Rucchin and Leclerc are traded to free cap room (ocregister.com)
