Rob Zettler’s seen the NHL from all sides during 30-plus years as a depth D-man and assistant coach. Along the way, he won the Stanley Cup but lost a brother.

Rob Zettler has enjoyed an action-packed, resolute ride through three-plus decades working in the NHL – first as a defenseman, then behind the bench. The ultimate high came in the spring of 2021 when, as an assistant coach, he helped guide the Tampa Bay Lightning to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

Nine years earlier, when Jon Cooper was promoted to run the Lightning, Zettler took over the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and advanced to the Calder Cup final. He also has had other NHL stops, specializing in running the defensive end of the bench in San Jose (twice) and Toronto.

There’s only one thing missing for the 54-year-old Zettler: he wishes his older brother Brian was around to share the ups and downs of his journey.

On March 24, 1995, a day before Zettler, then 27, was with the Philadelphia Flyers and preparing for a critical divisional matchup against the Washington Capitals, the devastating news reached him that his brother had passed away suddenly from an undetected heart condition.

“He was living a great life and was an extremely bright guy,” Zettler said. “He was on his way to a great career in engineering, working for General Motors in Saginaw, Michigan, at the time. He was healthy and in a great and happy marriage with a one-year-old daughter. There was nothing to indicate something like this would happen. We woke up that day, and there was a phone call. It was my mom saying my brother had passed away. It was shocking for me. I could never have imagined it.”

The autopsy determined Brian succumbed to cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat caused by myocardial fibrosis, or in layperson’s terms, scar tissue on the heart. 

How does an athlete overcome such gut-wrenching news? Zettler did what he always did – he dug in and persevered. 

“Brian’s death has been almost 30 years,” Zettler said. “He’s still so fresh in my mind. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. He was my biggest fan, my biggest supporter. Every game, when I’m behind the bench and hear the anthems, it triggers a memory of Brian. It brings a smile to my face, and I’m getting chills talking about it.”

Zettler remains attached to Brian’s closest friends, Greg Betty and Bruno Schmidt, as well as Brian’s wife.

Zettler was born in Sept-Iles, Que. The family moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., when he was five. He made the hometown Greyhounds when he was 16 and was part of a historic team that claimed the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions and set a record with a perfect 33-0-0 performance at home.

Zettler’s defense partner was veteran Jeff Beukeboom, three years older. The latter advanced to the NHL and won three Stanley Cups with Edmonton and a fourth with the 1993-94 New York Rangers. Beukeboom was also a depth defenseman who later became an NHL assistant coach and significantly influenced Zettler.

“We were a loaded team that first year in the Soo,” Zettler said. “I was an underage, and then we became even more loaded by trading for Wayne Presley and Bob Probert. I could not have asked for a better partner than Jeff. He told me, ‘Do whatever you want out there, I’m right behind.’ I gotta tell you, to know he had my back was one of the most comforting feelings I’ve had in the world.”

The Minnesota North Stars selected Zettler in the third round (55th overall) in the 1986 NHL draft. In 1987-88, he wound up captaining his hometown Greyhounds in his fourth year of junior.

Zettler became a regular in the NHL when he was taken in the 1991 dispersal draft by the San Jose Sharks. He met his wife, Shannon, in San Jose and gained confidence in his playing career, which was aided by words from Brian, his other sibling, Al, and his parents.

Zettler was a No. 6 or 7 defenseman for most of his career. Still, his determination scratched out 14 NHL seasons (569 regular-season and 14 playoff games) with the North Stars, Flyers, Sharks, Flyers, Maple Leafs, Predators and Capitals. He played in another 310 IHL and AHL games.

His perspective made him an effective coach. He could relate to the struggles of the fourth-liner or sixth defenseman, hoping to stay in the lineup. 

“What I enjoyed about Rob was he was an easy guy to talk to,” said Cup-winning Blues assistant coach Mike Van Ryn, who had Zettler as a coach in Toronto. “He didn’t overthink the game with me and allowed me to play to my strengths. He knew when I messed up. You knew in the off-season he was looking for ways to improve our games. I appreciated how hard he worked. I still talk to him as a coach and friend rather than player-coach. I have a great deal of respect, both personally and professionally, for him. He’s a great coach, person, father and husband. Those are reasons why he’s a good coach.”

Zettler played his final NHL game for the Capitals on April 13, 2002, and went out in fine fashion. He and Jaromir Jagr assisted on Sergei Gonchar’s tying goal in the second period against the New Jersey Devils.

Zettler knew he wanted to stay in the game. So, he and his family returned home to San Jose. He took an analyst position on the Sharks’ radio broadcasts and helped with the club’s alumni.

Then, 24 games into the 2002-03 season, the Sharks replaced Darryl Sutter as coach with Ron Wilson, Zettler’s former coach in Washington. Zettler approached Wilson, volunteering his insights on the team after watching them for three months.

Wilson asked Zettler to come down from the broadcast booth to the bench, and a coaching career was born. Zettler will coach in his 1,000th NHL game later this season. 

“I’m eternally grateful to Ron for putting his trust in me back then,” said Zettler.

He says Wilson and Cooper have been his biggest coaching influences, but he’s taken something from everyone he has worked alongside. 

“I worked under Kevin Constantine, and his attention to detail was excellent. So I took a piece of that. The way George Kingston treated people, from the players right through his coaching staff, was excellent. He’s an unbelievable human.”

And Brian would agree his younger brother has evolved into a first-class human, too.  

This feature appeared in The Hockey News Rookie Issue 2023, available for free with a subscription at THN.com/free.