Chad James Ruhwedel (born May 7, 1990) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

under contract for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Ruhwedel started playing youth ice hockey at the San Diego Ice Arena while a resident of

Scripps Ranch Scripps Ranch is a community of San Diego, California in the northeastern part of that city. Its ZIP code is 92131. It is located east of Interstate 15, north of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and south of Poway. Scripps Ranch is a coastal/i ...

. 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 The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premier ...

of the USHL, earning a Division I

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

scholarship to

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...

. Ruhwedel played at UMass Lowell from 2010 to 2013. He was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12, and

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. In 2011–12 he was a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star, and in 2012–13 he was a Hockey East First-Team All-Star, and an AHCA East First-Team All-American. He also won the Bob Monahan Award as the best defenseman in New England. On April 13, 2013, Ruhwedel signed a two-year entry-level contract as an undrafted free agent with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. On the same day, he made his NHL debut for the Sabres in a game against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. On July 16, 2014 Ruhwedel signed a two-year contract to remain with the Sabres organization. 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 The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored his first National Hockey League goal on December 23, 2016 in a 4–1 victory over the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. 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 The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, and missed the rest of the season. 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 The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(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. On June 22, 2017, the Penguins re-signed Ruhwedel to a two-year, $1.3 million extension with an annual average value of $650,000. On February 19, 2022, the Penguins re-signed Ruhwedel to a two-year, $1.6 million extension with an annual average value of $800,000.

Personal

Chad Ruhwedel was raised in the

area of San Diego and attended

Scripps Ranch High School Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) is a public school located in northeast San Diego, California, United States, that serves the Scripps Ranch community as well as students participating in the Voluntary Enrollment Exchange Program (VEEP) busing pro ...

, where he starred on the roller hockey team.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruhwedel, Chad 1990 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Buffalo Sabres players Ice hockey players from California Living people Pittsburgh Penguins players Rochester Americans players Sioux Falls Stampede players Sportspeople from San Diego Stanley Cup champions UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey players Undrafted National Hockey League players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans