The American Hockey League announced that Rochester Americans forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has been named the AHL Player of the Month for March. Ruotsalainen scored eight goals and added 10 assists for 18 points in 13 games for Rochester during March.
Ruotsalainen began the month with back-to-back two-goal efforts, on March 2 vs. Syracuse and as part of a three-point night in a 3-2 overtime victory on March 4 at Belleville. He tallied two assists on March 9 vs. Laval, and then authored a seven-game scoring streak that began with an assist on the game-winning goal in a 3-2 decision at Utica on March 12. Ruotsalainen notched a goal and an assist in the Amerks’ 6-5 overtime win vs. Cleveland on March 19, and posted his fifth multi-point game of the month with a goal and two assists against Bridgeport on March 27.
Ruotsalainen has registered 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in 44 games for Rochester this season, while adding two goals and two assists in 18 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres. A 24-year-old native of Oulu, Finland, Ruotsalainen signed as a free agent with Buffalo on May 8, 2019, and joined the organization last season after having played with Assat Pori and Ilves Tampere in Finland’s SM-liiga. Over two North American seasons, he has 21 goals and 34 assists in 57 games with the Amerks, along with seven goals and three assists in 35 contests with the Sabres.