Ryan Suter, left, jokes with Cole Hults during the fourth Bob Suter Memorial Classic in Middleton in 2024. His father, Bob Suter, was a member of the USA Olympic team that won the 1980 gold medal after the famous “Miracle on Ice” game against the Soviet Union.
Surviving members of the 1980 U.S. ice hockey team watch as the number of deceased teammate Bob Suter is raised to the rafters during a 2015 “Relive the Miracle” reunion at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.
In this February 1986 file photo, Calgary Flames’ Gary Suter, left, controls the puck during an NHL hockey game in Chicago. Suter was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Flowers and memorabilia for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew lie on the grass outside the Saddledome in 2024 in Calgary, Alberta.
Ryan Suter, left, jokes with Cole Hults during the fourth Bob Suter Memorial Classic in Middleton in 2024. His father, Bob Suter, was a member of the USA Olympic team that won the 1980 gold medal after the famous “Miracle on Ice” game against the Soviet Union.
As a spectator, Ryan Suter had a great seat for the Olympic gold medal men’s hockey game between the U.S. and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Arena in Milan, Italy.
The only better vantage point for the Feb. 22 clash would have been on the ice in a USA uniform, which Suter wore as a player for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games.
“Obviously, the result was what we wanted,” Suter said after Team USA’s exhilarating 2-1 overtime victory against Canada. “It was great to see.
“After 46 years to now win a gold medal in the Olympics for hockey is pretty unbelievable. It sunk in a little bit. But not really at the time.”
Suter was in Milan as a selected member of a 10-person U.S. presidential delegation to attend the closing ceremony. He was the only athlete in the group.
The U.S. Olympic Committee weighed in on the selections of athletes for two delegations for opening and closing ceremonies, which were announced in January and February by President Donald Trump.
Beyond Suter’s personal achievements — his Olympic appearances and two decades in the National Hockey League as a defenseman — his family connection was recognized.
Suter is the son of the late Bob Suter, who was on the 1980 Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal and became famous for the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, New York.
Yes, it had been 46 years since the U.S. last won the gold.
In January, Suter represented his father with the ’80 team at the White House when Trump signed into law the Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act.
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award given by the U.S. Congress. It’s awarded to those who have impacted history and culture.
Surviving members of the 1980 U.S. ice hockey team watch as the number of deceased teammate Bob Suter is raised to the rafters during a 2015 “Relive the Miracle” reunion at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.
When did the Milan gold rush finally sink in for Ryan Suter?
“When they’re getting the gold medal put on,” he said. “I tried that two times. My uncle (Gary Suter) tried it a couple of times and we were never able to get it.
“To see those guys finally achieve that, it was kind of rewarding for me, being an American, and just going through that battle my whole career trying to help us win one.”
Gary Suter was a defenseman in the NHL for 17 years from 1985 to 2002 and saw action for Team USA in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics. He got the silver medal in ’02.
Ryan Suter also took home silver from the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Team USA lost, 3-2, in overtime to Team Canada in the gold medal game.
“It was probably the fastest, most exciting thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Suter remembered. “I was young. And to come close and fail … kind of sucks.
“In the big picture, it was a really good game and unfortunate that we lost. But to win a silver medal is special, too.”
In 2014, Suter and the Americans lost 1-0 to the Canadians in the semifinals and were then blanked 5-0 by Finland in the bronze medal game at Sochi, Russia.
Win or lose, Suter always took pride in wearing USA across his chest.
“It was everything,” he said. “There’s no feeling that can describe it. Just knowing my dad wore it. My uncle wore it. And then I had the chance to wear it. So surreal.
“When you’re in the battle at the time, it’s about, ‘I don’t want to let my country down, I want to do everything I can to help us win and be a part of something special.’”
Many point to the “Miracle on Ice” team being a critical foundational building block for hockey in the United States. Suter agrees.
“USA Hockey has been growing every year since the ’80 Olympic team,” he said. “USA Hockey is in a really good place. We’ve won World Juniors. We’ve won under 18s.
“We’ve been winning over the last 20 years, and to kind of cap it off with the gold medal, it shows how special USA Hockey has become with their development.
“That was a pretty highly viewed game,” Suter said of the Milan gold medal match, which attracted 26 million live viewers at its peak on NBC and Peacock.
“Like the ’80 team did for so many kids, hopefully in 20 years, kids are talking about ‘I watched this game (in Italy) and, man, I got into hockey because of it.’”
The Suter brothers — Bob, John and Gary — got into hockey at an early age thanks to their father, Marlowe, who made a legendary commitment to the sport.
The boys all played at Wisconsin. Bob and John played on the 1977 national championship team. Bob and Gary are in the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
Both are also in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Ryan will be.
In this February 1986 file photo, Calgary Flames’ Gary Suter, left, controls the puck during an NHL hockey game in Chicago. Suter was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Ryan Suter skated one season (2003-2004) for the Badgers before turning pro and went on to play 1,526 games in the NHL for Nashville, Minnesota, Dallas and St. Louis.
During that time, he crossed paths with many of the players who won the gold medal in Milan, including Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winner in overtime against Canada.
“Played with Jack on a World Championship team,” Suter said. “He was a young guy; I was one of the older guys. I got to know him. Good kid. All those guys are great.
“They’re just proud to represent the USA. Just like I was. They’re proud to wear the jersey. They grew up wearing it. Just like I did.”
Suter was on two World Championship teams with the late Johnny Gaudreau, 31, who along with his brother, Matthew, 29, was killed by an SUV while cycling in 2024.
Johnny Gaudreau, an 11-year NHL veteran, was the all-time U.S. leading scorer in international play and projected to be on the 2026 Olympic team.
Flowers and memorabilia for former Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew lie on the grass outside the Saddledome in 2024 in Calgary, Alberta.
After the win against Canada, several Team USA players — Auston Matthews, Zach Werenzki and Matthew Tkachuk — skated around the ice with Gaudreau’s No. 13 jersey.
Gaudreau’s wife and parents were in the crowd. So were two of the Gaudreau children: Noa, 3, and Johnny Jr., 2. They were included in the team picture. It was touching.
“Johnny was an unbelievable kid,” Suter said. “It was pretty cool to see those guys with his jersey and to see USA Hockey honor his family like they have been.
“That just shows you how close everybody is. … All these guys grew up playing with Johnny.”
Suter hadn’t given much thought to the possibility of playing himself in the 2026 Olympics. “It was ready for the next generation to take over,” he conceded.
His final NHL season was 2024-25. He played in all 82 regular season games in each of his last four years. And seven times in the last 10 years. His durability was elite.
On whether he considered returning to play last year, he said, “I had some options and I weighed the options and it was more important for me to spend time with my kids.”
Ryan and Becky Suter have four children. The oldest is Brooks, 15, a freshman at Edina (Minnesota) High School. He’s about to begin his hockey journey in earnest.
Some have watched him play and have compared him to the old man, who scoffs and says, “He’s way more skilled than I was at that age.”
He just wants Brooks to focus on the right things and keep getting better. It’s how he grew up. It’s how he was taught by his dad and grandpa and uncle.
Every two weeks, Ryan Suter travels from Edina to Madison, where he oversees the Capitols junior hockey organization in his role as the LEGACY20 owner and chairman.
The Madison Capitols are relocating to a state-of-the art facility in DeForest for the 2026-27 season. The project features an entire entertainment district, DeForest Yards.
He spends four days here.
It keeps Suter busy.
Not that anything would compare to his hectic schedule recently. That resulted in a whirlwind trip to Milan and an Olympic experience that was packed into a couple of days.
One gold medal game, one closing ceremony.
Not that he was complaining.
Nor was anyone else after 46 years.
Mike Lucas is a freelance sports columnist for the Cap Times, where he previously spent 39 years as a sports journalist. He also had been a radio color commentator for UW football and men’s basketball since 1994 and wrote for UWBadgers.com and Varsity magazine.
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