"I don't know if it's really sunk in yet," Sutherby told the Moose Jaw Times Herald the day he'd signed the deal. "It's the dream of every kid to play in the NHL and I'm hoping I get that chance."
Unfortunately, Brian struggled at the NHL level and consequently only saw 7 games with the Caps before they returned him to Moose Jaw for the opportunity to play 20-25 minutes on the Warriors top line and power play vs. 5-8 minutes on the Caps 4th line and PK.
While struggling to find his NHL legs, Brian also faced the off-ice difficulties of being a rookie on one of the NHL's oldest teams - at 19, he was living alone in an unfamiliar area hundreds of miles away from his friends and family. When asked by the I/O staff how he liked the DC area, Brian confessed it was boring because there wasn't anyone his age for him to hang out with, for at the time the Caps had no other rookies and Brian was living by himself in an Annapolis hotel. At first, we felt sorry for him, until we learned he was staying in a suite with his own maid, so we suggested he take her out. Like a regular Capital, he just laughed at us.
Brian certainly didn't complain when he returned to Moose Jaw, for he was reunited with guys that were more than just teammates: "Obviously I'm disappointed to be leaving the NHL... [but] I'm trying to stay positive and I'm looking forward to being back in the room with guys my age and guys I've made lifelong friendships with."
"I'm not coming back to pout." He added. "I want to work extremely hard and help the guys win a championship. I've never had a problem getting motivated. I expect it will be a little tough my first game back getting my timing down, but you can't question my work ethic." And there was no reason to, as Brian scored 12 goals and added 16 assists for 28 points in his first 21 games with the Tribe.
Despite having his NHL dreams put on hold, Brian saw the opportunity to fullfill another dream when it was announced on Nov. 30th, 2001 that he, along with fellow Warrior teammate and Caps' prospect Nathan Paetsch (D) had been selected to play for team Canada in the World Junior Championship. This was special to Brian because last year at the time he was in a hospital undergoing apendectomy surgury.
In the WJC, Brian centered team Canada's checking line with Steve Ott (Windsor Spitfires, Dallas prospect) and Jarrett Stoll (Kooteney Ice, Calgary prospect). Though Brian netted 3 goals and added 3 assists, unfortunately he will probably be remembered most for a Dec 29th incident where Russia's Alex Svitov (Tampa Bay's top pick in the 2001 draft) spit on him during an ugly round robin game. Canada went on to win 3-0 and Svitov was suspended 2 games. Sutherby also displayed a lot of maturity in walking away from the incident, admitting through gritted teeth, "It was probably the toughest thing I've had to do in my life."� Unfortunately, the favored Canadians fell 5-4 to the Russians in the gold medal round, but Brian and Nathan returned to a congratulatory celebration in Moose Jaw for their silver medals.
Brian Sutherby is argueably the Capital's #1 prospect and is highly favored to skip the AHL and make the team next year. With an unusual but expected release of veteran players, Brian may get the opportunity to play on more than than just the fourth line. Regardless of on which line, it's a safe bet that Brian will be wearing a Capitals jersey next season and we look forward to harrassing - ahem, I mean supporting- him.
Born: March 1, 1982 in Edmonton, Alberta
Nickname: real- Suds, I/O's - Sluts
Family: the oldest of 3, Brian has one younger brother and sister. His mother and grandparents are very supportive - they came down to DC with Brian to support him during the 2001 training camp.
Other Sports' Interests: Baseball and golf. Brian also has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do (so be nice to him).
Off-Ice Inspirations: Brian would like to be a spokesperson for people with epilepsy, for his brother.
What makes him special: Brian is also the only member of the Capitals organization to receive Dubs' autograph, which she gave him after the season ticket holders' party. (If he kept it, she'll be the most surprised.)
Quotable quotes:
On changing his Caps # from 46 to 41, despite the claim it was Mike Farrell's number) "Nah.. it's mine. I've always worn 14 and 41 is kind of the reverse of that."
On the poor 0-6 start of Moose Jaw (while in DC): "Yeah.. they suck."
Not that we claim to have the most exciting lives in the world, but our guess as to why he was so bored in DC: "Well, I need to go an take a nap [in the middle of the day] now."
Moose Jaw Warriors (team site)
Moose Jaw Times Herald (local news)
Hockeysfuture.com (prospect site)