Maven's Memories: The Sutter Brothers Road to the Islanders
Maven's Memories: The Sutter Brothers Road to the Islanders
From farm to Islanders, Duane and Brent Sutter's path from Alberta to Long Island
A pair of hockey words are synonymous -- Sutter and hustle.
Three words at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum also were synonymous: Duane, Brent and Hustle.
That's Duane and Brent Sutter, of course.
Without fear of contradiction, I called them The Hustle Brothers. That's based on their collective contributions to four Stanley Cups and 19 consecutive playoff series victories.
Not to mention the oodles of thrills they delivered, over and over again.
"We were lucky to have not one but two guys from the Sutter family," said Jim Devellano, Bill Torrey's chief scout; now executive vice president of the Detroit Red Wings.
What's interesting to note is how Duane and Brent developed their heroic NHL images which originated in the tiny Alberta town called Viking, 90 miles east of Edmonton on Highway 14.
As Canadian families go, the Sutter clan could be called over-hockeyed.
A pair of hockey words are synonymous -- Sutter and hustle.
Three words at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum also were synonymous: Duane, Brent and Hustle.
That's Duane and Brent Sutter, of course.
Without fear of contradiction, I called them The Hustle Brothers. That's based on their collective contributions to four Stanley Cups and 19 consecutive playoff series victories.
Not to mention the oodles of thrills they delivered, over and over again.
"We were lucky to have not one but two guys from the Sutter family," said Jim Devellano, Bill Torrey's chief scout; now executive vice president of the Detroit Red Wings.
What's interesting to note is how Duane and Brent developed their heroic NHL images which originated in the tiny Alberta town called Viking, 90 miles east of Edmonton on Highway 14.
As Canadian families go, the Sutter clan could be called over-hockeyed.
It wasn't just Duane and Brent; they were aided, inspired and abetted by brothers Gary, Brian, Darryl, Rich and Ron. But, in this case, we're focusing only on the Islanders branch of bros.
Their home town, Viking, was a typical hamlet on the Canadian prairie. It's traceable to the original route of the Canadian National Railway. In time that same CNR delivered wheat farmed by Louis and Grace Sutter.
"Farming always was a family endeavor for the Sutters," wrote Dean Spiros, author of Six Shooters -- Hockey's Sutter Brothers.
"When the Sutter boys weren't hard at work on the farm, they played just as hard. Baseball in the summer, football in the fall, and hockey whenever and wherever possible."
There was absolutely nothing easy about farm life but Louis and Grace Sutter had a "grin-and-bear it" philosophy which they successfully passed on to their kids. It wasn't just Duane and Brent; they were aided, inspired and abetted by brothers Gary, Brian, Darryl, Rich and Ron. But, in this case, we're focusing only on the Islanders branch of bros.