Hurricanes’ Brett Sutter saw flooding of a different sort

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

RALEIGH, N.C. – For Carolina Hurricanes center Brett Sutter and many hockey players from Canada, ‘flooding’ the ice means to resurface it.

Catching up with the captain of the Charlotte Checkers, Carolina’s affiliate American Hockey League (AHL) club, just before training camp began, it turned out that Sutter experienced more flooding than he could have ever imagined during the offseason.

Living in Calgary, Alberta and taking a few months off before returning to the ice to prepare for the upcoming season, Sutter went about the same training routine he had used the previous summer – one that saw him finish a successful year with both the Checkers and Hurricanes.

Playing in 70 AHL games with Charlotte, Sutter finished the season with 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists) and 62 penalty minutes which earned him the opportunity to also skate in three NHL games with Carolina.

“I had a pretty good season and had some pretty good reviews that way, so I continued to work on a lot of explosiveness – not so much weight – but strength,” Sutter said.

“You can always work on getting bigger and stronger, but just my first few steps.”

However, his training was interrupted in late June as a result of torrential rains that created severe flooding throughout the downtown core of Calgary.

The extent of flooding damage even extended into the Scotiabank Saddledome, the Calgary Flames’ home arena, as water engulfed the ice surface and rose to as high as the first nine rows of seats.

“It was crazy,” Sutter said.

“We just got settled in for the summer and then that happened and we got evacuated. We had to leave for a few weeks.”

Sutter went back to his hometown, Viking, Alberta and stayed with his parents for a few weeks while the flood waters subsided and he could return to Calgary.

“I got lucky – our house was fine,” Sutter said.

“A lot of neighbors were flooded out though.”

Sutter started to skate at an arena just outside Calgary in July and worked out with a number of area NHL players including Jay Bowmeister, Mason Raymond and Justin Shultz, to name a few.

While doing so, Sutter and his friends also put their names in to volunteer and help those affected by the flooding in Calgary, but they were placed so far down on a list of thousands that they were never called in to help on large-scale cleanups.

Instead, he helped his neighbors to clear their flooded basements of damaged furniture and other debris.

Sutter continued to work out in Calgary before returning to Raleigh for training camp.

He came back ready to fight for a spot on the roster using his solid 200-pound frame to exhibit the speed and strength he has while playing his grinding style of game.

“To stay fast, you don’t want to go too much over that (weight),” Sutter said.

During the Hurricanes’ Red-White game which took place on Sunday, Sutter played on a regular line with veteran Kevin Westgarth and rookie Brock McGinn.

It seems that the coaching staff has a purpose in aligning the three players together, as they’ve skated together for the last three days and gotten a feel for each other’s games early on.

“I like the way Sutsy plays,” Westgarth said.

“He’s a good grinding player. He brings that grit and some good hockey smarts.”

Even while living through a natural disaster that displaced him and disrupted his training, Sutter still found time to help others.

The experience didn’t seem to have slowed him down any in his training, nor with his play on the ice.

He has consistently made his presence known at both ends of the rink during each day of training camp.

It all speaks volumes of the hard-working character and playing ability that he possesses and is something that the Hurricanes are in need of for the upcoming season.