Ryan Suter

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.

Personal 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).

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)
After playing one season with the Wisconsin Badgers, Suter joined the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the 2004–05 season due to the NHL lockout. In his only season with the Admirals, Suter tallied seven goals and 23 points to help the Admirals to 49 wins. Following his rookie season, Suter spent three days at the U.S. Olympic orientation camp before joining the Predators for their training camp. He subsequently made his NHL debut, and tallied his first NHL assist, on October 6, 2005, against the San Jose Sharks. Suter later scored his first career NHL goal on December 21, against the Chicago Blackhawks, becoming one of the youngest defenceman to score his first goal in NHL history. As the Predators made a push for the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, the team traded a first-round draft pick for veteran defenseman Brendan Witt. As such, Suter was limited to 71 games and 16 points during the regular season and saw no ice time during the playoffs.

Suter returned to the Predators for the 2006–07 season, where he improved significantly from his rookie season. He tallied eight goals and improved to 24 points while skating an average of 20:09 minutes per game. As the Predators qualified for the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, Suter appeared in all five playoff contests against the Sharks. He tallied his first career playoff goal in the Predators Game 3 loss on April 16, 2007. This would prove to be his only point as the Predators fell to the Sharks in five games.

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)
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 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 season.

International play
Suter has represented the United States in eleven tournaments, and has won three gold medals.

"I feel it's an honor to wear the Team USA Jersey and every time I'm on the ice I play my hardest and give everything I have. Playing for Team USA is one of those things you look forward to. When I got the call and was asked to play on this team, it was an easy answer. It didn't matter who was on the team or who the coach was. It's just an honor to wear the jersey and compete for your country.'"

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.