Former Rangers defenseman Chad Ruhwedel announces retirement from hockey

The Hartford Wolf Pack are officially down a veteran defenseman now that it has been announced that Chad Ruhwedel has retired from professional hockey.

Ruhwedel was a great story of perseverance and determination, and went from being undrafted to making a career in professional hockey for himself which culminated with a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He made appearances in NHL games across 13 seasons spending eight years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, four years with the Buffalo Sabres, and parts of two seasons with the New York Rangers.

He joined the Rangers' organization in March of 2024 when he was acquired from the Penguins for a fourth-round draft pick. President and General Manager Chris Drury signed him to a one-year deal that July, and this past season Ruhwedel skated in 50 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League, and 10 games with the varsity squad at the NHL level.

Ruhwedel made a name for himself in the NCAA playing for UMass-Lowell and had a sensational 2012-13 season which led to him getting an NHL offer. That year he made the NCAA East First All-American team, he was a Hockey East champion who made the all-tournament team, and he was best NCAA defenseman in New England.

With his career said and done, Ruhwedel retires having scored 13 goals while assisting on 37 others for 50 points in 369 games. He also appeared in 261 AHL games and posted a line of 32-97-129 while making apperances across six seasons.

In many ways he was an underappreciated player during his career, and he was typecast as a steady sixth or seventh defenseman. His underlying metrics suggest he could have been a little more than that, and at this point we will never know if that's the case. Going from undrafted to Stanley Cup champion and playing professional hockey for over a decade is quite the story, and Ruhwedel should be proud of what he accomplished.