All of these really dumb expectations were placed on a lot of Canucks, but Pius Suter was definitely not one of them.
Along with podcaster and Canucks fan Ryan Schaap, Mike and Dan learn about Pius Suter, who attended a training camp with the Islanders before starting a productive NHL career for three other teams.
Suter came over from his native Switzerland to try the NHL on for size and attended camps for both the Senators and Islanders before finally signing a contract with the Red Wings. After two solid years in Detroit and one in Chicago, he settled in Vancouver, where he’s become a valued utility player. Ryan tells us how much Suter means to the team, other players he’s reminiscent of and what life is like for Canucks fans during a trying, drama-filled season like this one.
We also talk about other “Training Camp All Stars,” like Miks Indrasis and Jan Kovar who circled the Islanders but never quite landed. Along the way, we chat about other weird Islanders-Canucks connections and why Cliff Ronning remains awesome.
Thanks again to Ryan for coming on. Since recording the episode, his podcast Pucks on Net has decided to end its incredible 11-year run, but you can still check out episodes and follow him on Bluesky at @schaaptop.bsky.social. He has since started a new project about the music of The White Stripes called The Hardest Podcast to Podcast. Check it out here.
WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL!
- In 2017, Suter was invited to camp by the Ottawa Senators and played in their rookie tournament. He wasn’t offered a contract and returned to Zurich in Switzerland, where he won a championship that season.
- A year later, the Islanders brought him over for their training camp. Again, he returned to Zurich without an NHL contract. He explained in 2023 that the camp appearances were about getting a taste of the NHL before making a commitment to come over.
- Finally, Suter signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020 and joined the club in January of 2021. In his sixth NHL game, he scored the first three goals of his NHL career, becoming the first Blackhawks player to score his first three NHL goals in the same game since Bill Kendall in 1933 and the first since Art Somers in 1929 to record a hat trick within his first six career NHL games. Those dudes are old.
- Despite scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 55 games (some of them spent on the top line), Chicago let Suter go at the end of the season. He hooked up with the Red Wings the next season and had another 15 goals and 36 points in 82 games.
- Of course, you knew the guy who attended Islanders camp just had to score a goal against them. Here’s his shorthanded score against Ilya Sorokin in 2022, while Suter was with Detroit.
- After a second season in Detroit (and another 14 goals), the Red Wings also let him go. He signed a two-year deal with Vancouver and in his first season scored, you guessed it, 14 goals. But he also had a hat trick for Vancouver early in 2024.
- Miks Indrasis came over from the KHL to attend training camps with the Blackhawks (2012), Canucks (2013) and Islanders (2014). But he never signed in the NHL and played his career in the KHL, DEL, SHL and the Swiss NL. He’s currently with Brynäs IF of the SHL and won a bronze medal with Latvia at the 2023 WC. And he scored a Michigan! Maybe we should call it the “Miks.”
- After five productive seasons in the KHL, Jan Kovar signed a one-year $2M contract with the Islanders in 2018. But he didn’t make the team out of camp and didn’t seem keen on spending the season in Bridgeport. So the team waived him for termination purposes. He signed a PTO with Providence but two months later was back in the Czech Extraliga. He then went to Switzerland, where he’s currently Zug’s captain. He’s won championships in the Czech Extraliga, KHL and NL
What makes a “Weird Islander?”
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:
- Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
- Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.
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