Robert Allen Suter (May 16, 1957 – September 9, 2014) was an American professional ice hockey defenseman and member of the

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 tourna ...

1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team who won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. 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.

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 Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. 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."

Death

Suter died on September 9, 2014, of a heart attack suffered at Capitol Ice Arena. 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.

In popular culture

Suter was not featured in a

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

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 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Disney film '' Miracle'', he is portrayed by Pete Duffy.

Awards and achievements

* 1980 Olympics Gold Medal

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Bob Suter's hockeydraftcentral.com bio

Bob Suter: #20, a brief history of Bob, Gary and Ryan Suter

Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suter, Bob 1957 births 2014 deaths 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team American men's ice hockey defensemen Birmingham Bulls draft picks Ice hockey players from Wisconsin Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings draft picks Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Minnesota Wild scouts Nashville South Stars players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players People from Middleton, Wisconsin Madison East High School alumni NCAA men's ice hockey national champions