Brian Sutter: Forged in Lethbridge (1974–1976) By Mark Weninger

When Brian Sutter arrived in Lethbridge in the fall of 1974, he came chasing a promise. There was a new rink in town, a new coach behind the bench, and—most tantalizing of all—the chance to play alongside a young centre already spoken of in reverent tones: Bryan Trottier. For Sutter, a hard-nosed left winger from a small Alberta farm, the move felt like a door opening. He could not have known then that it would also become a proving ground—one that would shape his hockey life and help define a name that would soon be inseparable from the city itself.

Brian would be the first of six Sutter brothers to wear a Lethbridge Broncos sweater. Over the next nine seasons, the Sutter name would become synonymous with the franchise—etched into its history by goals, penalty minutes, leadership, and a brand of hockey that mirrored prairie winters: unforgiving, relentless, and honest. But it began with Brian, and it began in Lethbridge.

The story starts on a small farm outside Viking, Alta., where Louis and Grace Sutter raised seven boys. The family had little time for indulgence. Work came first—feeding cattle, fixing fences, helping with harvest. Hockey fit where it could, often on frozen sloughs that hardened early under central Alberta cold. When the ice was thick enough, the boys were out there for hours, sticks worn thin, skates dulled by rough ice.

Louis Sutter loved hockey but never learned to skate. He would sometimes stand at the edge of the ice in boots, watching, occasionally stepping out to pass a puck. The lessons he taught weren’t about systems or skill development; they were about responsibility, effort, and finishing what you started. Those lessons never left Brian.

Of the seven brothers, Gary—the eldest—was the first to stand out. Only a year older, Gary set the pace, and Brian chased it. If Gary stayed late, Brian stayed later. If Gary went harder into the corner, Brian followed. It was an unspoken competition, one that sharpened both.

Their minor hockey years began in Viking before both ventured north to Vegreville to play Junior B. Brian was only 14, undersized by league standards but already marked by an edge that scouts would come to recognize. Toughness. Intensity. A refusal to be outworked.

Scouts noticed. The Regina Pats listed Brian, but the interest felt distant—geographically and emotionally. Regina was 650 kilometres from home. Brian had no appetite for being that far from the farm and the family that anchored him.

Then came the summer of 1972 and a letter addressed to “Gary and Brian Shooter,” inviting them to Red Deer Rustlers training camp. Brian was thrilled. When late August arrived, Louis was in the middle of harvest, but he put down his work long enough to drive Brian south to Red Deer. Gary stayed home, conflicted about leaving the farm.

The Rustlers were a powerhouse in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, winners of four league titles in five years. They were coached by Cec Swanson, a Champion, Alta., native whose influence on Brian would prove lasting. Swanson had a reputation for discipline and an eye for character. More than 125 players attended camp that fall. Brian survived cut after cut until the list was trimmed to 30.

Called in for a meeting, Brian sensed trouble. Swanson later admitted he wasn’t impressed at first. “He wasn’t a very good skater,” Swanson wrote in Six Shooters. “But he turned out to be the only boy I called in that day who didn’t get cut. I don’t know why I didn’t cut him, but there was something I liked.”

Still, when final decisions were made, Brian was sent to a Junior B affiliate. The rejection stung. Worse, he didn’t know how to tell his father, still working the fields. Brian stayed at the rink until it closed and then spent the night outside. When the doors opened in the morning, concession workers let him in. Swanson arrived, gave him money for food, and told him the next ice time was at 8:30.

Within a week, Brian was back with the Rustlers.

At 16, he scored 27 goals in 51 games. Red Deer finished second and lost the AJHL final to Calgary in seven games. Swanson became more than a coach—he became a role model. Brian returned the next season brimming with confidence.

The 1973–74 Rustlers were dominant, winning the AJHL championship. Brian scored 42 goals in 59 games, his tenacity drawing the attention of Western Canadian Hockey League scouts. Though Regina dropped him after he failed to report, Swift Current quickly listed him. When Brian learned the Broncos were relocating to Lethbridge, closer to home, the decision felt right.

In September 1974, Brian checked into the Marquis Hotel with the Broncos during training camp. “I was there to make the team,” he said simply—and he did. Coach Earl Ingarfield, a former NHL veteran with 13 seasons behind him, took immediate notice of the winger’s intensity.

Brian recognized many faces at camp. Doug Gillespie, his Red Deer teammate, joined him. Jerry Bancks, a rival from Calgary, arrived later and would score 38 goals. Darcy Regier, a rookie defenceman, became Brian’s roommate. They lived with the Paskuski family before moving in with Marg and Stub Ross, who would later house all six Sutter brothers at various times.

“They were our third set of grandparents,” Brian said of the Ross family.

On the ice, Brian found his place beside Bryan Trottier, an 18-year-old centre drafted by the New York Islanders. Trottier would spend only one season in Lethbridge, but it was a special one. “Brian was scrappy and fearless,” Trottier recalled. “He could score, dig, and pass the puck.”

They clicked immediately—two prairie kids with similar values. Brian played left wing, Trottier drove the middle, and together they terrorized WCHL defences. Brian surged into the scoring race early. Trottier, already special, would soon become one of the greatest two-way centres the NHL ever saw.

Ingarfield’s influence loomed large. Brian called him “Mr. Ingarfield,” a mark of respect. “He expected a lot,” Brian said. “And he knew what he was talking about.”

Off the ice, Brian worked at Bert and Mac’s sporting goods store to fill his days. On it, he played with abandon. Teammates remember his pranks as vividly as his forechecking. He and Bancks tormented rookie Archie Henderson so relentlessly that Henderson broke a toe chasing them through a hotel in Flin Flon.

Midseason, Brian was selected to represent Canada at the 1975 World Junior Championship in Winnipeg. The honour came with regret—he felt teammate Ron Delorme deserved the spot—but he went.

Before leaving, Brian caught a rut and injured his groin. He played through it, unwilling to sit. By the time the tournament began, the pain was severe. The Winnipeg Jets’ trainer devised a brace that allowed him to play.

Canada finished second. Brian played all five games, scoring five points, skating alongside Trottier, who was named tournament MVP.

Back in Lethbridge, the injury worsened. Unable to practise, Brian’s effectiveness waned. Named to the all-star game in Victoria, he tore a hamstring and missed 19 games. Despite playing only 53 games, many while injured, he still scored 34 goals and 81 points.

The Broncos fell to Regina in six games, goaltender Ed Staniowski standing tall. Yet the season left an imprint. Nine players from the 1974–75 Broncos would reach the NHL. Darcy Regier would later become general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.

With Trottier graduating to the NHL, Brian entered 1975–76 determined to elevate his game. It was his draft year. Ingarfield named him captain, an honour Brian embraced. His mantra—“I and me makes us and we better”—captured his approach.

Rookie Steve Tambellini arrived, perhaps the best skater in the league. The Broncos started strong but faltered on a West Coast trip. Trades followed. After another slide, Ingarfield resigned, unhappy with management direction. The loss devastated the room.

Mike Sauter, 27, was hired. He preached aggression. “Take out the man and finish the play,” he told the Lethbridge Herald. Before coaching his first game, Lethbridge hosted the all-star game. Brian was named to the Eastern Division first team.

Then came Brandon. In one infamous night, Brian fought three times, earning a note from billet mom Marg Ross questioning his judgment. The Broncos won 7–3. Sauter quipped afterward that he hoped to have Sutter back at left wing soon.

Aggressive hockey defined the new-look Broncos. With additions like Ron Delorme and Doug Johnston, the team surged, winning 12 straight at home. They pushed powerhouse Saskatoon to seven games in the playoffs, led by Bernie Federko and Blair Chapman. The Broncos fell, but not quietly.

Brian finished with 36 goals, 92 points, and 233 penalty minutes, earning team MVP honours.

Draft day 1976 came quietly. Brian was working on a paving crew in Red Deer, weeks from his wedding. When New Westminster’s Harold Phillipoff went 10th overall, Brian knew his name would be called. St. Louis selected him 20th.

The initial contract offer was modest. Brian rejected it flatly. “I can make more money farming,” he told GM Emile Francis.

A week later, newly married, Brian flew to Montreal. The deal improved dramatically. He signed, returned west, and prepared for camp.

Sent to Kansas City with Bernie Federko, Brian dominated the CHL before earning an NHL call-up. On Feb. 26, 1977, he scored his first NHL goal on Bernie Parent.

The rest of his NHL story—41-goal seasons, captaincy, coaching honours—is well known. But it all traces back to Lethbridge.

Brian Sutter never forgot where he learned to be a pro. Lethbridge taught him accountability, leadership, and resilience. It introduced him to people—Earl Ingarfield, the Ross family—who shaped his life.

He opened doors for his brothers, not by name, but by example. The Sutter legacy wasn’t built on flash. It was built on work.

Determination. Tenacity. Perseverance.

Those qualities defined Brian Sutter long before he wore an NHL sweater. They were forged in Lethbridge—and they never left him.