Offseason departures left Tampere with a void at its top center position at the outset of the season. Having seen growth in Ruotsalainen's practice habits, coach Karri Kivi decided to give the young forward a look on the top line.
Ruotsalainen took the job and never looked back.
"He was almost one of the best centers in the whole league," Kivi said. "We didn't know in August how he was going to play. We put him on the first line and he was excellent there. He played a lot. He was first power play, first penalty kill, first line, everything."
Ruotsalainen led Liiga forwards in average ice time (21:05) and faceoffs (1,216). His 21 goals ranked ninth in the league.
Although he's listed at just 5-foot-8, 179-pounds, he displayed a willingness to go to the net and an ability to score there. Here he is during a three-point outing in December, posting up in the slot and redirecting a pass into the net:
He passes to the point before cutting across the net on this play from later that month, setting a well-timed screen and then burying a rebound (watch for the gold helmet):
One more play from January, which finds Ruotsalainen planting himself in front of the goaltender and then battling to corral a rebound:
Kivi said that after each game, he and his staff would track each player's actions with and without the puck. More often than not, Ruotsalainen was in the right place at the right time.
"Ruotsalainen is number one in every game, meaning he's where the first center should be," he said. "He's not skating around the rink. He goes there when it's happening."
