Chad Ruhwedel

Chad James Ruhwedel (born May 7, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman under contract for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Chad Ruhwedel
Ruhwedel with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018
Born (1990-05-07) May 7, 1990
San Diego, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Pittsburgh Penguins
Buffalo Sabres
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2013–present

Playing career

Ruhwedel started playing youth ice hockey at the San Diego Ice Arena while a resident of Scripps Ranch. He later played for the San Diego Junior Gulls and La Jolla Jaguars as a youth, before playing for the Los Angeles Kings U18 AAA team. After juniors, he played for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL, earning a Division I college hockey scholarship to UMass Lowell. Ruhwedel played at UMass Lowell from 2010 to 2013. He was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team in 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13.[1][2][3] In 2011–12 he was a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star,[4] and in 2012–13 he was a Hockey East First-Team All-Star,[5] and an AHCA East First-Team All-American.[6] He also won the Bob Monahan Award as the best defenseman in New England.[7]

On April 13, 2013, Ruhwedel signed a two-year entry-level contract as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Sabres.[8][9] On the same day, he made his NHL debut for the Sabres in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.[10][11]

On July 16, 2014 Ruhwedel signed a two-year contract to remain with the Sabres organization.[12]

At the conclusion of his contract with the Sabres, on July 1, 2016, Ruhwedel signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way deal with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.[13] He scored his first National Hockey League goal on December 23, 2016 in a 4–1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.[14] He split his time during 2016–17 season playing 28 games in minors for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and 34 games Pittsburgh in the NHL. He would play 6 playoff games. Ruhwedel suffered a concussion in game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Ottawa Senators, and missed the rest of the season.[15] The Penguins would go on to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season; since Ruhwedel spent 1/3 of the season in the American Hockey League (AHL), he did not get his name on the cup. Pittsburgh did give him a day with the Stanley Cup, and a Stanley Cup ring.[16]

On June 22, 2017, the Penguins re-signed Ruhwedel to a two-year, $1.3 million extension with an annual average of $650,000.[17]

Personal

Chad Ruhwedel was raised in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego and attended Scripps Ranch High School, where he starred on the roller hockey team.[18]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 55 0 11 11 30 4 0 1 1 4
2009–10 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 58 5 17 22 55 3 0 1 1 2
2010–11 UMass-Lowell HE 32 2 13 15 10 — — — — —
2011–12 UMass-Lowell HE 37 6 19 25 26 — — — — —
2012–13 UMass-Lowell HE 41 7 16 23 20 — — — — —
2012–13 Buffalo Sabres NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Rochester Americans AHL 47 4 24 28 22 5 2 3 5 4
2013–14 Buffalo Sabres NHL 21 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Rochester Americans AHL 72 10 26 36 22 — — — — —
2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Rochester Americans AHL 59 10 16 26 26 — — — — —
2015–16 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2016–17 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 28 4 12 16 12 — — — — —
2016–17 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 34 2 8 10 8 6 0 0 0 4
2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 44 2 3 5 16 12 0 0 0 2
2018–19 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 18 1 1 2 4 — — — — —
2018–19 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 5 1 4 5 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 41 2 4 6 12 — — — — —
NHL totals 170 7 18 25 44 18 0 0 0 6

Awards and honors
Award Year
USHL
All-Star Game 2010
College
Hockey East First Team 2013
AHCA East First-Team All-American 2013
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 2013 [19]
NHL
Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh Penguins) 2017 [20]

References
  1. "San Diego product shining on ice for UMass Lowell". December 27, 2011.
  2. "HockeyEastOnline.com – 100 STUDENT-ATHLETES HONORED ON LEAGUE ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM". www.hockeyeastonline.com.
  3. "HockeyEastOnline.com – 100 STUDENT-ATHLETES HONORED ON LEAGUE ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM". www.hockeyeastonline.com.
  4. "HockeyEastOnline.com – HOCKEY EAST ANNOUNCES 2011–2012 ALL-STAR TEAMS". www.hockeyeastonline.com.
  5. "HockeyEastOnline.com – Press Releases". www.hockeyeastonline.com.
  6. "UMass Lowell's Ruhwedel Named to AHCA/CCM All-America First Team". University of Massachusetts Lowell.
  7. "New England Hockey Writers honor best men, women of '12–13 at all levels". April 2, 2013.
  8. "Ruhwedel's long path leads to Lowell then Buffalo". hockeysfuture.com. April 13, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  9. "Sabres sign defenseman Chad Ruhwedel". Buffalo Sabres. NHL.com. April 13, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  10. "Sabres deliver on promise to give more in win over Flyers". April 13, 2013.
  11. "Enroth stops 29 shots, Ehrhoff scores in Sabres' 1–0 win over slumping Flyers". April 13, 2013.
  12. "Chad Ruhwedel re-signs with Buffalo Sabres". Mill City Sports. MillCitySports.com. July 16, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  13. "Penguins sign defenseman Chad Ruhwedel". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  14. McDermott, Bryanna (December 23, 2016). "Snap Shots: Penguins 4, Devils 1". NHL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  15. "Penguins' Ruhwedel suffers concussion after controversial hit". sportsnet.ca. May 20, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  16. "Chad Ruhwedel starts Penguins' Cup tour in San Diego". NHL.com. June 30, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  17. "Penguins Re-Sign Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to a Two-Year Contract". NHL.com. June 22, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  18. Powers, DJ (April 13, 2013). "2013 Frozen Four: Ruhwedel's long hockey path leads to Lowell, then Buffalo". hockeysfuture.com. Retrieved March 11, 2018. , which can be traced back to his roller hockey days at Scripps Ranch High School, his alma mater.
  19. "2013–14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  20. "Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 11, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
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