Sutter honoured to coach Canada at worlds
Former worlds teammates join forces again
Brent Sutter is a 22-yearold rising star. And a 22-year-old nervous wreck.
New York Islanders teammate Bryan Trottier has bailed out on the Canadians, opting to skate for the U.S. at the 1984 Canada Cup. Meaning Sutter, eager but oh-so antsy, is on the scene.
(It’s worth noting that Sutter, only a few years before, had been unable to complete fitness testing with the Isles because, anxiety-ridden, he’d barfed himself empty.) So here is the trembling youngster, in the lobby of a Montreal hotel, waiting for a ride to the rink. By himself. Till Kevin Lowe, one of the dastardly Edmonton Oilers, wanders over, offers to share a cab.
“Kevin may not even remember this,” Sutter tells a horde of reporters at the Hockey Canada Hall of Champions at Winsport’s Athletic and Ice Complex.
At the back of the room, Lowe, grinning, pulls off his peekers and listens to the tale.
“Kevin asked me how I was doing,” Sutter continues. “I said, ‘Oh, I’m pretty nervous.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Hey, we’re all good players here. You’re a good player. Just go out and play your game. You wouldn’t have been asked to be here if you weren’t.’ And I really looked up to Kevin after that. He made me feel much more at ease, feeling, ‘He is right. I can go out and do this. And I can make this
Brent has history with some of the players we’ve chosen. KEVIN LOWE, TEAM GM
team.’
“I’ve never forgotten that. I never will.”
That is an early example of the mutual respect between two hockey lifers.
Now, more than a quartercentury later, comes another.
From Lowe to Sutter, an ideal palate-cleanser.
Sure, the offer to lead Canada into the upcoming world championship had arrived before the Calgary Flames and Sutter severed ties following three largely unsatisfactory seasons, but it is perfect. Among other things. “A complete honour,” Sutter says. “Having that opportunity with Kevin (general manager of Team Canada) . . . someone who has won a lot, understands what winning is. I’m excited about being part of that.”
Skip Sutter’s body of NHL work — two first-round ousters in New Jersey, three playoff-less campaigns in Calgary — and check out his international resume.
Championships at the 2005 and 2006 World Junior tourneys.
Plus, a 7-0-1 run at the 2007 Canada-russia Super Series. All of which makes Sutter 19-0-1 in international events.
“There’s a little bit of pressure because he’s undefeated coaching Canada—we-expect-the same kind of results,” says Lowe, teasing, sort of. “I really like the fact that Brent has history with some of the players we’ve chosen (such as Ryan Nugent-hopkins, Dion Phaneuf, Cam Ward). In fact, some of the players have already phoned him and were excited about the fact that he was coming.
“Having played with him, I know what type of person he represents. He was high on our list for this year’s team.”
Buffalo Sabres skipper Lindy Ruff, for personal reasons, had
declined.
But Sutter, short-listed to coach Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, sprung.
“I was thrilled,” he says. “We’re going to give it our best shot to come home with gold. We’re going there to win. That’s got to be our mindset.”
The world championship begins May 4 in Helsinki and Stockholm.
Canada’s c a mp opens April 27 in Zurich, Switzerland.
“You don’t have much time,” Sutter says. “Most of these guys have been through it before. They understand (the process of) getting together and playing with players from other teams.”
Of course, international puck had not been the topic du jour. Sutter spent the opening eight minutes of Monday morning’s scrum answering questions about his former employers.
First point — he was not fired by the Flames.
“At the end of the day, it becomes a mutual decision,” he says. “They weren’t going to renew me, and, even if they had, I wasn’t going to accept the deal.”
Sutter, throughout his term, made veiled references about issues plaguing the squad. General terms only.
The dam didn’t burst on this day, either. “You know what, you guys? It’s really hard to talk about, because there’s things you like to keep internally,” says Sutter.
“It’s just not on-ice. It begins inside your room . . . and works its way out onto the ice. Some of it is certainly stuff, that, as a coach, you can deal with . . . but some things are a lot deeper than the coach. And that’s when you need that support from above.”