Steve Rucchin
| Steve Rucchin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
July 4, 1973 Thunder Bay, ON | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Atlanta Thrashers New York Rangers Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1994–present | ||
Steve 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.
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.