Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference ...

for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). He has previously played for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

and

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. Suter's father,

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. He was the brother of former National Hocke ...

, was a member of the historic gold medal-winning

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

hockey team that defeated the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the famous "

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tournam ...

" game. Suter's uncle

Gary Suter Gary Lee Suter (born June 24, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1985 and 2002. He was a ninth round selection of the Calgary Flames, 180th overa ...

was also a longtime standout in the NHL. Suter was

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for the U.S. national team at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy Greene Wayne G ...

, earning a silver medal.

Playing career

Nashville Predators (2005–2012)

Suter played for the Madison Capitols,

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...

and then went on to the USA Hockey's National Development Team in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all ...

, before he was drafted seventh overall by the

in the

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This wa ...

. He then played one year with the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

(

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

) before joining the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(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 The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation (91st season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the sea ...

Minnesota Wild (2012–2021)

On July 4, 2012, Suter signed a 13-year, $98 million contract with the

. He and fellow free agent signee

Zach Parise Zachary Justin Parise (born July 28, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild. Parise captained ...

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 Jonas Brodin (born 12 July 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted tenth overall by the Wild in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Born in Karlstad, he was raised in ...

, Suter began playing to expectations and was among three finalists for the

James Norris Memorial Trophy The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Ja ...

, 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 The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

in the first round. Suter scored his first NHL hat-trick on January 4, 2014, against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

; 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 Clayton Stoner (born February 19, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the third round, 79th overall, by the Minnesota Wild at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Stoner played his entire career with the Wild ...

. 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

, 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–present)

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.

International play

Suter has represented the

in eleven tournaments, and has won three gold medals. On January 1, 2010, Suter was named to the United States' roster for the

. 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 The 2016 World Cup of Hockey (abbreviated WCH2016) was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the third installment of the National Hockey League (NHL)-sanctioned competition, 12 years after the second World Cup of Hockey in 2004. It was ...

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 The 2019 IIHF World Championship was hosted from 10 to 26 May 2019 by Slovakia. It was the second time that Slovakia has hosted the event as an independent country, as was the case in 2011. The host cities were Bratislava and Košice, as annou ...

, held in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

and Kosice,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. In 2020, Suter was introduced into the IIHF All-Time USA Team.

Personal life

Suter resides in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, 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. His uncle is

. Ryan's father,

, member of the

U.S. hockey team in the 1980 Winter Olympics, died September 9, 2014.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Suter, Ryan 1985 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Culver Academies alumni Dallas Stars players Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Ice hockey players from Wisconsin Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Milwaukee Admirals players Minnesota Wild players Nashville Predators draft picks Nashville Predators players National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first-round draft picks Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players