SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Fourteen years after his exceptional 18-year NHL career ended, Gary Suter got to take a ride on the Wild's charter late Saturday.
By design, the uncle of Wild defenseman Ryan Suter was honored by the Sharks before their game against the Wild as part of San Jose's 25-year anniversary season. Gary and Ryan hung out Friday afternoon, then in a cool moment, Ryan Suter took the ceremonial pregame faceoff from Uncle Gary, not captain Mikko Koivu.
After the Wild's 4-3 loss, the 51-year-old Suter hitched a ride back to the Twin Cities.
"I was happy for him because he was always a guy that flew under the radar," Ryan Suter said of his uncle. "He was always quiet and didn't like the attention. That was a lot of fun."
Gary Suter, who enjoys the simple life like his nephew, lives in northern Wisconsin. He doesn't get to watch Ryan, the son of Gary's late brother, Bob, a lot in person "because I don't like going to big arenas. But I watch every game on Fox Sports North.
"We're very proud of Ryan and what he's done. He's become one of the best defensemen in the league with the amount of ice time he plays and how he makes it look so effortless, but what he's doing away from the game as far as developing youth hockey in Wisconsin. He's taken on his dad's legacy."
Bob Suter, a 1980 U.S. gold medalist, died Sept. 9, 2014, after suffering a heart attack at his rink in Middleton, Wisconsin.
"We're still coping," Gary Suter said. "It was tough on Ryan and his siblings, but you keep marching on and everybody's doing great."
