Steve Rucchin | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
July 4, 1971 ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim New York Rangers Atlanta Thrashers |
||
National team | Canada | ||
NHL Draft |
1994 NHL Supplemental Draft Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
||
Playing career | 1994–2007 |
Steve Andrew Rucchin (/ˈruːtʃᵻn/; born July 4, 1971 in Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey centre who played for three teams in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
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, a major feat for a former CIS player. Though there are numerous former NCAA players in the NHL, Canadian Interuniversity Sport alumni are few and far between in the NHL, let alone a top line center. Rucchin was an alternate captain from 2000–2003, and captain in 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 played for Italy.