This Day in Hockey History – June 24, 1964 – Sconnie Suter

Jun 24, 2019

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The Suter family of Madison, Wisconsin is all about winter sports, though Gary Suter was born at the beginning of summer, on June 24, 1964. The youngest of five, he followed his figure-skating sister and hockey-playing brothers onto the ice. Their father, Marlow, also played and then coached the minor hockey team that he helped found, the Madison Capitols. The family tradition has continued into the next generation as Suter’s sons and nephews (especially Ryan Suter) have suited up.

For two seasons, 1981-82 and 1982-83, Suter played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL), who just had begun play in 1980. As captain, he led Dubuque to the Anderson Cup and the Clark Cup Championship. Passed over for the NHL draft in both 1982 and 1983, Suter took a full scholarship to play for the Badgers at his brothers’ alma mater, the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He played there for the next two seasons and worked at a Madison brewery during the summer.

The Calgary Flames’ scouting coordinator, Ian McKenzie, saw Suter play for the Badgers and realized that Central Scouting had never updated his height record since 1982. Thus, at the 1984 Entry Draft, a couple weeks before Suter’s 20th birthday, Calgary drafted him in the 9th round (180th overall).

In his rookie season, 1985-86, Suter proved himself a wise investment. With 68 points, he became the first American-born defenseman (third overall American) to earn the Calder Trophy. Although he tallied another 10 points during playoffs, he only made it through ten games before suffering a knee injury (after a hit by Mark Messier). The Flames carried on without him to ultimately lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens. During the 1987-88 season, Suter set a career high of 91 points (with 70 assists), which made him a runner-up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. In the opening round of the 1988-89 playoffs, Suter broke his jaw. Calgary again had to play in the Stanley Cup Finals without No. 20. In a rematch against Montreal, Calgary prevailed to take home its only Stanley Cup.

Suter played for Calgary for over eight seasons. He scored his 100th goal and played his 500th game in early 1992. During that time, he spent four seasons ranked fourth among defensemen and scoring 60 plus points. However, after failing to renegotiate his contract, in March 1994, Suter was traded twice. On March 10 Calgary traded him to Hartford, who turned around the very next day and traded him to Chicago. Suter was surprised saying, “Calgary’s meant a great deal to me. You always hear how trades are part of the game and that you don’t have any control over them. When it happens, it’s a shock. It just blows me away.”

After finishing out the 1993-94 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Suter played for them through four more seasons. During the 1995-96 season, he became the team’s first defenseman in six years to score 20 goals. However, as Suter was about to become an unrestricted free agent, it became obvious that Chicago was going to cut ties. The San Jose Sharks traded their ninth-round draft pick for the rights to speak to him.

The 1st of July 1998, Suter signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately, injuries continued to interrupt Suter’s career. Still, he made it through the three years and signed on for one final season after that. He played his 1,000th game on October 25, 2000 and scored his 200th goal on January 2, 2002. He announced his retirement that September, having played 1,145 NHL games. His 844 points (203G, 641A), ranked fourth among American defensemen.

In addition to his NHL career, Suter carried on another family tradition, that of representing the U.S. in international competition. Before beginning his NHL career, Suter participated in the 1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the 1985 World Championship (in which he was named the team’s co-MVP). At the 1987 Canada Cup, he swung his stick at Andrei Lomakin of the Soviet Union in retaliation for getting speared in the neck and received a six-game suspension (compounded with an NHL four-game suspension). The 1991 Canada Cup also marred Suter’s reputation when he injured Wayne Gretzky, checking from behind, and then had two turnovers result in a 4-2 win for Canada. Suter then played at the 1992 World Championship and helped the U.S. team win the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Suter was also a two-time Olympian. He played in the first Olympics in which the NHL participated, the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Unfortunately, before leaving for the Games, Suter cross-checked Paul Kariya in the head, preventing him from joining the Canadian team. The NHL’s four-game suspension was meant to carry into the Olympics, but the IIHF allowed him to play. Neither the U.S. nor Canada medaled. Suter and the U.S. turned things around in 2002 at Salt Lake City. Just as Suter approached retirement, he had a last hurrah, and 22 years after his older brother Bob won goal in the 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” he helped the U.S. win silver.

For his eight international events and his NHL career, Suter was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.