Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Various sayings in life aim to simplify the decision-making process. The circumstances of any of us can and will vary.
In one: Run to something, rather than run away from something.
Brett Sutter had one of those important life – and career decisions – to make this summer. As a free agent, he can pursue another contract and play 18 professional seasons. Tenacity has always been one of Sutter’s best strengths. His 1,090 AHL regular season games rank him fourth in league history. And of course you can still play. Even in the face of injuries this past season, he provided leadership and reliability for the Calgary Wranglers.
Maybe he can start another year.
“He’s been wired for a long time,” Sutter explained. “You know, he wants to be a hockey player. You want to be in that locker room fighting the guys. For me, mentally, I was probably a mind that I could play forever.”
However, the body does not heal as quickly as a 17-year-old professional. Aging had begun to take its toll on Sutter, whose grind, his physical style defined much of his work. Sutter began to take those aches, pains, and injuries as a sign.
“Maybe it was time to move on.”
Calgary is home to Sutter, 37, who comes from one of hockey’s storied families. The family farm is located about four hours away. Selected by the Flames in the 2005 NHL Draft, he played his first three seasons in Calgary’s program before returning in 2022 with the Wranglers. Eighteen of his 60 NHL games came in Flames colors.
When a vacancy opened up on the Wranglers’ coaching staff next season, Sutter saw an opportunity to run in search of his next challenge.
On July 15, Sutter officially resigned and joined Trent Cullstaff as an assistant coach. Having something organized is not common in any industry, but this was good for both parties. Sutter can make a big life change while not having to improve his family’s health. And for the Flames, they added someone who captained AHL teams for 10 seasons and took home the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award in 2018-19 as the AHL player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey.
“He’s going to miss everything,” Sutter said of the change in play. “You will miss all the fun, the good times, the laughs after winning, playing cards on the bus, and the dinners on the road. Competition during games. You’re going to miss all those things, but I think you’re going to miss the hard stuff, too. Being scolded by the coach as a team. Losing so much and sitting together in that quiet hallway, looking into each other’s eyes, and just knowing that everything is going to be okay.
“You miss the team part, having your teammates and your best friends hanging out with you.”
That ability to build relationships is what the Flames are looking for. Sutter entered the pro game as a 20-year-old, late draft pick who had to carve out a spot for himself. He blossomed into an NHL recall option, a reliable veteran and team captain. There were winning years and losing years. There were trades and there were withdrawals from new contracts, especially as his career progressed.
“I think maybe those are the same experiences that I will try to use in coaching, to understand the players and how their emotions work and how they feel on any given night.”
There will be a lot of learning to come for Sutter. But he has plenty of role models to look up to — even more so than his father, a longtime NHL coach Darryl Sutter.
“I had a lot of good coaches along the way,” Sutter said. “(Former Ontario coach) Mike Stothers the guy I look up to is almost like a father to me. Chris Hajt there was an assistant there. I was with those guys for a long time and I keep in touch with them all the time.
“You know, Ryan McGill again Scott Allen when I was young. They worked hard with me to get me up to speed, how to be a good professional, which took day by day. Jeff Daniels again Geordie Kinnear (to Charlotte) they were probably the first to give me a lot of confidence playing. I was coming from being a young player and I was ready to take the next step, and they gave me that opportunity and made me captain for the first time.
“I could go on forever. There are too many.”
Sutter may be the kind of mentor the coaches have had in him.
“Coaching is probably the next closest thing to being a player,” Sutter said, “and being in that battle with those guys every night.”
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has covered the American Hockey League for nearly two decades at outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM ! Sports, and most recently was the host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
