After staying quiet on the free-agent front for about a month and a half, the Vancouver Canucks signed former Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings pivot Pius Suter to a two-year contract worth $3.2 million ($1.6 million average annual value – AAV) on Aug. 11.
The undrafted Zurich native was a prolific scorer in both the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Swiss National League (NL) before he was signed by the Blackhawks in 2020. Since his impressive rookie season in 2020-21, he has developed into a solid two-way center that can play up and down the lineup and contribute on both the power play and penalty kill. Before he suits up for his third NHL team in Vancouver, here are five interesting facts about the Swiss forward that you may or may not know.
Suter’s First Three Goals in the NHL Were a Hat Trick
It didn’t take long for Suter to make an impression in Chicago. Five games into his pro career, he scored his first NHL goal against the Red Wings (ironically the team he would sign with a season later) on Jan. 21, 2021, at 4:42 of the first period. Assisted by Calvin de Haan and Patrick Kane, he opened the scoring and then scored his first power play goal a little over five minutes later. With two NHL goals under his belt, he took a break from the goal light until 12:28 of the third period when he recorded another first – his first hat trick in the NHL.
With it, Suter joined some rare company in Blackhawks history as only Art Somers (Nov. 21, 1929) had scored a hat trick within his first six career NHL games. Additionally, by scoring his first three in the same game, he became only the second player to do so since Bill Kendall in 1933. Talk about a historic night for the then-24-year-old.
Suter is One of Only 12 Active Swiss Players in the NHL
Switzerland doesn’t traditionally churn out NHLers, but when they do, they end up being solid – even star-caliber – players. Along with Suter, the league currently houses 12 active Swiss players with four of them residing with the New Jersey Devils (Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Jonas Siegenthaler and Akira Schmid). All of them (except newly-minted Tim Berni and goaltender Schmid) have at least 40 points and 100 games in the NHL with Roman Josi leading the way with 601 points and 827 games.
Suter falls in the middle of the pack with 87 points in 216 career games and is second only to former first-overall pick Hischier in shorthanded goals with three. He is also sixth in game-winning goals (seven).
Suter Played in the 2018 Winter Olympics
In 2018, Suter received a call from Team Switzerland to compete in the Winter Olympics. It’s always a great feeling to pull on the jersey of your home country at any international tournament, but the Olympics are extra special because not many players can put that on their resume. He didn’t take it for granted either as he stepped up and scored a hat trick and five points in four games. His team only walked away with one win (8-0 against South Korea), but it’s an experience that will live on in his mind for a lifetime.
Related: Meet the New Canucks: Pius Suter
In fact, Suter has a lot of experience on the international stage, suiting up for Switzerland at the 2013 U18 World Championship, the 2014 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Championships, the 2017 and 2022 Men’s World Championships, and finally the 2018 Spengler Cup. Across all international tournaments, he has amassed a total of 14 goals and 16 points in 45 games. His most recent came at the 2022 World Championship where he scored three goals and eight points in eight games.
Suter Has Won a Swiss Cup, OHL & NL Championship
Before becoming a star in the NL, Suter played for the Guelph Storm in the OHL where he scored 52 goals and 96 points in 127 games over two seasons. Included in that was a career-high 43 goals and 72 points (coincidentally, the same goal total he has in the NHL right now) and another six goals in the playoffs in 2013-14. That season saw the Storm “storm” – pun intended – their way to the OHL Final and win the OHL championship for the second time in their history. They also made it to the Memorial Cup Final but fell to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
That championship was the beginning of a trifecta of trophies for Suter. After going undrafted, he moved his talents to the NL and won the Swiss Cup in 2015-16 and then the NL Championship in 2017-18 – both with the ZSC Lions. Throughout his time in the NL, he was one of the league’s most prolific scorers. By the time he left Switzerland in 2021, he had accumulated 83 goals and 173 points in 216 games. His best season undoubtedly came in 2019-20 when he led the NL with 30 goals and 53 points in 50 games and won the NL Media Most Valuable Player and Best Forward awards along with being named to the All-Star Team.
Ultimately, that season was a big reason why the Blackhawks (along with many other NHL teams) decided to throw their hat in the ring when it came time to sign Suter as a free agent.
Suter Knows How To Play With Skilled Players
When Suter was signed by the Blackhawks in 2021, I don’t think anyone saw him as a top-line center. But that’s exactly what he became as he developed quick chemistry with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. According to Natural Stat Trick, the trio generated 151 scoring chances and 46 high-danger scoring chances along with 11 high-danger goals at even strength. He finished his rookie season with 14 goals and 27 points in 55 games and looked right at home alongside some established snipers.
With the Red Wings, Suter was again trusted to play with some offensive talent as he spent 110:13 with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on the top line last season. The trio was effective at controlling possession too, with a 53.33 Corsi For percentage.
In short, Suter can play with skilled players in the top-six and not be a liability in his own end or a black hole offensively. With the Canucks, he will likely play on the third line with a combination of Nils Hoglander, Vasily Podkolzin, Conor Garland, and Anthony Beauvillier, but the fact that he has shown that he can play higher in the lineup is good news for the Canucks this season. Since he can play every forward position, head coach Rick Tocchet can create different looks in the top-six when a spark is needed offensively, and he can also fill in when injuries strike.
The addition of a two-way threat like Suter to the Canucks’ lineup has created a new dynamic for the bottom-six. For the first time in a long time, the third line might actually provide some offence and take the pressure off Elias Pettersson, JT Miller, and Andrei Kuzmenko. Fans should be excited to see Suter in action because he might actually be the biggest (and most underrated) former Red Wing to sign with the Canucks since Tomas Vanek in 2017.
All stats were taken from Elite Prospects and Hockey Reference
