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National Post

Is Brett Sutter a rising star in the coaching ranks? The Calgary Flames believe so

Article content Flames fans don't need any sort of refresher on what happened in 2004, when 'The Jolly Rancher' spurred Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Conroy and the rest of a hard-hatted squad on an improbable run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. If only replay technology was a little more advanced back then … Article content 'Even though Brett only has the one year of coaching experience, I just think the whole career part of it and the blue-collar work ethic that he has, quite honest, I think it leads up to a long career for him,' Darryl told Postmedia. 'He was raised in a locker room, so he understands the team part of it. I remember taking him into the locker room in Chicago when he was a little boy. You learn a lot being in the locker room, and he has basically done that his whole life. He's lucky in that sense. Article content 'Brett, his leadership skills are off the charts. He was captain of, what, three or four teams? And his hockey IQ is really high. He knows the game. I think he understands what it takes and the roles, that sort of thing. Article content 'And he's obviously familiar with the whole organization, from ownership right down to the trainers. So I think it's perfect for him and it's great for the Flames to develop a young coach like that.' Article content Wranglers looking to roster filled with young players Article content The pipeline has been a positive story for the Flames over the past few seasons, with Matt Coronato, Dustin Wolf and Connor Zary among the graduates from farmhand to fixture. Article content As Conroy seeks to build a contender, that trend must continue. Brett Sutter now plays a vital role. Article content The Wranglers' roster for this upcoming season should be stocked with youngsters. It's possible that more than half the guys in their lineup on any given night will be in their early 20s — among them, forwards Andrew Basha, Matvei Gridin, Sam Honzek, Rory Kerins, William Stromgren and Aydar Suniev, defencemen Hunter Brzustewicz, Artem Grushnikov, Yan Kuznetsov and Etienne Morin and goaltender Arsenii Sergeev. (The oldest dude on this list is 23.) Article content Article content Article content 'Brett understands that the job of the American League head coach is to, first and foremost, develop the young players for the NHL,' Conroy said. 'It's going to be, 'Hey, if you want to get to the NHL, you have to do X, Y and Z. You can't cheat. You don't want to be here forever. You want to get to the NHL. But if you don't put all this work in, it's not going to happen.' Because every year, there are more and more young guys coming. Everybody is fighting for the same jobs. Brett understands that better than anyone, and I think that's going to be a huge asset for us.' Article content The Wranglers' new skipper will tell you that sort of guidance has been a part of his everyday role for longer than his HockeyDB page might indicate, back before he was in charge of determining the lines or planning the drills for practice.