‘Living in the present’ guided Rebels’ Brent Sutter along road to 500 WHL coaching wins

 

To hockey historians, the accomplishments of Red Deer Rebels head coach Brent Sutter represent significant moments of one of hockey’s most-recognizable names. To Sutter, those milestones are proof of a good day’s work, raising the bar for future days to come.

On Saturday, March 9, Brent celebrated another milestone as the Rebels delivered him an 8-4 victory, making him the ninth head coach in Western Hockey League history to reach 500 wins. Though he had known the milestone moment was coming, it had slipped his mind in the present as he picked up a pair of wins on the weekend, one against the Brandon Wheat Kings and the aforementioned win over the Kootenay ICE.

After all, taking precedence over the milestone moment was the four points his team picked up as they were working to earn one of the two remaining spots in the 2019 WHL Playoffs for Eastern Conference teams.

“I’d hadn’t really given it much thought,” said Sutter. “Looking back on it, it’s been a long time coaching. It’s a credit to all the players that I’ve coached. It’s a credit to all my staff I’ve worked with. At the end of the day, it’s kind of what it’s all about.”

The Sutter name has become synonymous with success at all levels of hockey, but Brent has created a special aura around himself and the Rebels’ organization. With the team beginning play in the 1992-93 WHL Regular Season, the Sutter family would take over ownership of the organization for the 1999-00 WHL Regular Season. The rest, as they say, is history.

“I’ve thought back about when I first started coaching,” said Sutter. “We couldn’t afford to hire a coach, couldn’t afford to hire a general manager.

“At the time and what it cost me to own the hockey team, I did it and I’ve been successful. At the time you don’t know how it’s going to turn out.”

Following a third-place finish in the Central Division during his inaugural season, Sutter and the Rebels enjoyed three-straight years of unparalleled success. Going 150-47-13-6 in their next 216 regular season games, they captured three-straight division titles and made three-straight appearances in the WHL Championship Series, winning in 2001. They’d head one province over to Regina’s Agridome as it was called then, winning the Memorial Cup and bringing the trophy back to Alberta for the first time since 1988.

“Topping all that is just all the people you get to work with, all the players you get to coach; see them move on and fulfill their dreams,” continued Sutter. “It all kind of goes hand-in-hand.”

Internationally, Sutter has represented Canada as both a player and a coach, noting there’s no shortage of pride in either role.

“When you have an opportunity to represent your country, it’s an awesome experience, but it’s something you take and hold with a lot of pride,” said the three-time Canada Cup Champion and two-time World Junior Champion. “You’re certainly honoured to do it. Whether you’re a player or part of a staff, it’s all the same.”

Sutter’s keen hockey sense has afforded the Rebels the ability to boast a long list of talented alumni. Last names like Nugent-Hopkins, Dumba, Phaneuf, Armstrong, Kuemper, Reimer, Ward, Vandermeer, DeBrusk, and Philp are just a few of those who have made their mark on the organization and in the hockey world beyond their time with the Rebels. Currently, the likes of Johnson, Hagel, Alexeyev, Barteaux, Davis, Zaytsev, and Anders stand as the next generation of players looking to take their game to the professional ranks through the tutelage of Sutter and others within the organization.

For rival coaches, it’s an honour and a challenge to compete against him.

“He’s a passionate person, coach, and individual,” said Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio. “You can see that in his players; they always work hard, they’re always passionate. You can tell there’s a lot of pride when you wear that Red Deer Rebel jersey.”

Kisio and Sutter have sparked a rivalry in recent years, influenced by them being in the same division and facing each other in the 2017 & 2018 WHL Playoffs. With just days left in the regular season, there’s still a possibility the two could face each other in the first round of the 2019 WHL Playoffs.

Whatever competitive nature exists when both get behind the bench or meet away from the rink, there’s a deep level of respect.

“He’s a very honest, generous, he’s a nice individual,” noted Kisio. “When you meet Brent away from the rink, he’s one of the most generous and honest people you’ll meet.

“There are two different sides of him and both you have to respect very much so.”

A veteran of 107 WHL regular season games and 1,111 NHL regular season games, Sutter credits the growth of his hockey résumé due to those around him.

When it comes to his coaching inspirations, Sutter credits those who were behind the bench when he played. The likes of Al Arbour, Terry Simpson, Craig Hartsburg, and even his brother Darryl provided the three-time Stanley Cup Champion with good learning experiences.

“When I played, I was a student of the game,” said Brent. “I was wondering what coaches were doing on certain things or certain parts of games, matchups and all that stuff.

“How they prepared their teams, how they motivate their hockey teams. As you go, you learn certain things too, good and bad. The way the game has changed now, it’s certainly different how you work with your players now than it was 10-15 years ago.”

Reflecting on his career to date, the 56-year-old is proudest of the people around him who have committed to making the Rebels succeed and thrive in Red Deer, becoming a model organization in the WHL and throughout the Canadian Hockey League.

“We certainly built the franchise as one that in hockey circles is looked up to, but one that I’ve thought of in the sense of you’re trying to do things right,” said Sutter.

“Treat players the right way and there’s certainly a lot of time you have to put into that. There’s certainly a huge cost factor you have to put into that. At the end of the day, it’s about allowing individuals to give you the best opportunity to succeed.”

For the stoic coach, the question of one day challenging Don Hay’s all-time coaching wins mark of 750 draws a chuckle. Even after 14 years as the general manager and head coach of the Rebels, Sutter’s approach remains to live in the present and to surround himself with good people.

“I envision myself trying to coach the next game,” said Sutter. “I don’t think about down the road. I’m just a guy that lives in the present, do the best you can at it at the time, wake up the next morning and go back to going at it.”

Sutter will go for win 501 Tuesday, March 12 (7:00 p.m. MT) when the Rebels play host to the division-leading Edmonton Oil Kings at The Centrium.