Ryan Suter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ryan Suter |
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Suter with the Minnesota Wild in 2019
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| Born | January 21, 1985 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
St. Louis Blues Nashville Predators Minnesota Wild Dallas Stars |
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| National team |  United States |
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| NHL Draft | 7th overall, 2003 Nashville Predators |
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| Playing career | 2004–present | ||
Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars. Internationally, Suter has represented the U.S. national team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Suter was born into an athletic family as his father, Bob Suter, was a member of the historic gold medal-winning 1980 United States Olympic hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous "Miracle on Ice" game. Suter's uncle Gary Suter was also a longtime standout in the NHL.
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Early life
Suter was born on January 21, 1985, in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. to parents Bob and Diane. He grew up in Wisconsin alongside his younger brother Garrett while their father coached at the University of Wisconsin and their mother worked as an ice hockey administrator. Suter was born into an athletic family as his father was a member of the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games and his uncle Gary Suter was a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Amateur
Growing up, Suter played for the Madison Capitols and Culver Military Academy before joining the USA Hockey's National Development Team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Following a change to the NCAA legislature, Suter was able to enroll and play at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) while remaining eligible for the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He was eventually drafted seventh overall by the Nashville Predators in the NHL Entry Draft. Prior to returning to the Badgers, Suter participated in the Predators conditioning camp ahead of the 2003–04 season. As he signed a contract with the Badgers, Suter was required to pay for his own room and board while attending the camp. Upon rejoining the Badgers, Suter was selected as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) preseason Rookie of the Year. Although Suter began the season with one goal through six games, he was given an increase in defensive responsibilities on the Badger's rookie-dominated, power-play unit. Suter finished his rookie season with a selection for the All-WCHA Rookie Team and All-WCHA Third Team. While Suter re-enrolled at UW for his sophomore season, he signed a professional contract with the Predators on September 7. Due to the suddenness and inconvenience of the signing, as the season had already started, Predators general manager David Poile called the Badgers head coach to apologize.
Nashville Predators (2005–2012)
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Suter played for the Madison Capitols, Culver Military Academy and then went on to the USA Hockey's National Development Team in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before he was drafted seventh overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He then played one year with the Wisconsin Badgers (Western Collegiate Hockey Association in NCAA Division I) before joining the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2004–05 season. He played his rookie season in the NHL with the Predators in 2005–06.
On June 16, 2008, Suter signed a four-year, $14 million contract extension with the Predators which commenced for the 2008–09 NHL season.
Minnesota Wild (2012–2021)
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On July 4, 2012, Suter signed a 13-year, $98 million contract with the Minnesota Wild. He and fellow free agent signee Zach Parise were introduced to the media on July 10 and were announced as alternate captains under captain Mikko Koivu. Suter got off to a rough start with a –7 plus-minus rating in his first nine games. However, once he began pairing with rookie defenseman Jonas Brodin, Suter began playing to expectations and was among three finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded yearly to the NHL's top defenseman. For the season, Suter averaged an NHL-leading 27:17 minutes of ice time as Minnesota reached the playoffs, where the team fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
Suter scored his first NHL hat-trick on January 4, 2014, against the Washington Capitals; his first two goals came on the power play 38 seconds apart in the second period, and in the third period, right after his penalty expired, Suter scored his third goal on a two-on-one with defenseman Clayton Stoner. This goal sealed what would eventually be a 5–3 victory for the Wild.
During the 2015–16 season, Suter set a franchise record for the Minnesota Wild with the most points by a defenseman in a single season. With 43 assists and 51 points, he also set a personal best in both categories. Throughout his tenure with the Wild, he has continuously been relied upon to play a large number of minutes including on the power play and on the penalty kill.
On October 19, 2018, in a 3–1 win against the Dallas Stars, Suter recorded his 500th NHL point, becoming the 11th American-born defensemen to reach the milestone. Later that month, on October 25, Suter played in his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 109th defenseman to reach the milestone.
On July 13, 2021, the Wild bought out the remaining four years of Suter's contract.
Dallas Stars (2021–2024)
On July 28, 2021, the opening day of free agency, Suter agreed to sign a four-year, $14.6 million contract to join the Dallas Stars.
Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, Suter was bought out of the final year of his contract for the second time in his career, becoming only the second player in NHL history to be bought out twice (the other player being Tony DeAngelo).
St. Louis Blues (2024–present)
On July 10, 2024, Suter remained in the central division after was signed as a free agent to a one-year, $3 million incentive laden contract with the St. Louis Blues for the 2024–25 season.
International play
 Canada's Jonathan Toews guards the puck from Suter during the 2010 Winter Olympics |
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  United States |
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| Ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 2010 Vancouver | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2004 Helsinki | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships | ||
| Gold | 2002 Trnava | |
| World U-17 Hockey Challenge | ||
| Gold | 2002 Manitoba | |
Suter has represented the United States in eleven tournaments, and has won three gold medals.
On January 1, 2010, Suter was named to the United States' roster for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was one of the team's alternate captains.
In 2016, he was also selected to represent the United States at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey alongside Wild teammate, Zach Parise.
On April 19, 2019, Suter returned to the International stage for the first time in three years as he accepted an invitation to represent Team USA at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia.
In 2020, Suter was introduced into the IIHF All-Time USA Team.
Personal life
Suter resides in Madison, Wisconsin, during the NHL off-season. He is married to Becky Suter (née Palmer), who is from Bloomington, Minnesota. Ryan and Becky have four children together.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Culver Military Academy | HS-Prep | 26 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | U.S. NTDP U17 | USDP | 8 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 27 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | U.S. NTDP U18 | NAHL | 35 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 42 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 124 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | U.S. NTDP U18 | NAHL | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Wisconsin Badgers | WCHA | 39 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 63 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 70 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 71 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 54 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 76 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 71 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 7 | 38 | 45 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 4 | 33 | 37 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 70 | 4 | 35 | 39 | 54 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 79 | 7 | 39 | 46 | 30 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 48 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 82 | 8 | 35 | 43 | 34 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 77 | 2 | 36 | 38 | 48 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 82 | 8 | 43 | 51 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 82 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2017–18 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 78 | 6 | 45 | 51 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 82 | 7 | 40 | 47 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 69 | 8 | 40 | 48 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 56 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 2023–24 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 28 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,444 | 105 | 576 | 681 | 761 | 133 | 7 | 37 | 44 | 80 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | United States | U17 |  |
7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2002 | United States | WJC18 | |
8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 | |
| 2003 | United States | WJC | 4th | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2003 | United States | WJC18 | 4th | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 22 | |
| 2004 | United States | WJC | |
6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2005 | United States | WJC | 4th | 7 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 20 | |
| 2005 | United States | WC | 6th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | United States | WC | 7th | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 2007 | United States | WC | 5th | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2009 | United States | WC | 4th | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |
| 2010 | United States | OG |  |
6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2014 | United States | OG | 4th | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2016 | United States | WCH | 7th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | United States | WC | 7th | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 41 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 68 | ||||
| Senior totals | 47 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 40 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| College | |
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2004 |
| All-WCHA Third Team | 2004 |
| NHL | |
| All-Star Game | 2012, 2015, 2017 |
| First All-Star team | 2013 |
| International | |
| IIHF All-Time USA Team | 2020 |
See also
- Notable families in the NHL
