Bob Suter
Robert Allen Suter (May 16, 1957 – September 9, 2014) was an American professional ice hockey defenseman and member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team who won the gold medal.
| Bob Suter | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
May 16, 1957 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Died |
September 9, 2014 (aged 57) Middleton, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defense | ||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | ||||||||||||||||
| Played for |
Tulsa Oilers Nashville South Stars | ||||||||||||||||
| National team |
 United States | ||||||||||||||||
| NHL Draft |
120th overall, 1977 Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||||||||||
| WHA Draft |
58th overall, 1977 Birmingham Bulls | ||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1978–1982 | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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He was the brother of former National Hockey League (NHL) player Gary Suter and father of current NHL player Ryan Suter currently playing for the Dallas Stars. Another son, Garrett, played for the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. His nephew Jeremy Dehner is a defenseman with most of his career spent in European professional leagues.
Amateur career
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Suter attended Madison East High School. He played college hockey at University of Wisconsin–Madison and was a member of the 1977 NCAA hockey champion Wisconsin Badgers. He was mostly noted for his rough play, setting several Badger records for penalty minutes before leaving in 1979. He initially joined the Tulsa Oilers under a tryout contract for a few games in late 1979, but soon joined the 1980 US Olympic hockey team on a full-time basis, where he won the gold medal.[1]
Professional career
Suter was selected with the 120th pick in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL and also 58th overall in the 1977 World Hockey Association draft by the Birmingham Bulls. He rejected Los Angeles' contract offer following the 1980 Olympics, and instead sat out 1980–81 season to become an unrestricted free agent. He came out of retirement in the spring of 1981 to play for the United States team at the 1981 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Stockholm. Suter signed with the Minnesota North Stars as an unrestricted free agent in 1981, but spent the entire 1981–82 season in the Central Hockey League with the Nashville South Stars farm team. He retired in 1982 without playing a single game in the NHL.
Post playing career
Suter returned to Madison after his retirement and opened a sporting goods store called Gold Medal Sports. He also coached youth hockey in Madison after his retirement and became a part-owner and director of Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, Wisconsin. Ten months after Suter's death the Capitol Ice Arena was renamed in his honor and is now known as "Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena."[2]
Death
Suter died on September 9, 2014, of a heart attack suffered at Capitol Ice Arena.[1] He was the first player from the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to die. In July 2015, Capitol Ice Arena was renamed as Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena in his memory.[3]
In popular culture
Suter was not featured in a 1981 TV movie about the 1980 U.S. hockey team called Miracle on Ice, except in archival footage of the gold medal ceremony.
In the 2004 Disney film Miracle, he is portrayed by Pete Duffy.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1972–73 | Madison East High School | HS-WI | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Madison East High School | HS-WI | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Madison East High School | HS-WI | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 37 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 38 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 107 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 42 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 40 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | American National Team | Intl | 31 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Nashville South Stars | CHL | 79 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 160 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| WCHA totals | 157 | 27 | 76 | 103 | 377 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | United States | OLY | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Senior totals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||
References
- "NBC 26 Live at 10:00". Green Bay, Wisconsin. September 9, 2014. WGBA-TV.
{{cite episode}}: Missing or empty|series=(help) - "Capitol Ice Arena now known as "Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena" - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- "Capitol Ice Arena Renamed in Bob Suter's Honor". July 13, 2015.
- "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Bob Suter's hockeydraftcentral.com bio
- Bob Suter: #20, a brief history of Bob, Gary and Ryan Suter
- Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena