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Facing Familiar Faces Bittersweet for NTDP Alum Keenan Suthers

By Riley Nelson, 12/08/16, 10:15AM EST

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Forward currently plays for Muskegon Lumberjacks of USHL

It’s been almost eight months since Keenan Suthers took the ice for Team USA, but he’s still using the lessons he learned from his time with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program as a member of the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Under head coach Danton Cole, the forward from Macomb, Michigan, spent two years with the NTDP, creating lifelong friendships and further developing his hockey skills.

“Those were the best two years of my life,” Suthers said. “I made a lot of really good friendships and bonds that are going to last for a lifetime. Going overseas, competing against other countries, wearing the USA crest, and playing in USHL (United States Hockey League) games were just unbelievable experiences and something I’d never give up.

“(Cole) told me that you have to become a role player to get to the next level and figure out what you’re good at. Our practices were tough, and we competed against each other, and he showed everybody what type of work ethic you need to put in every day to be successful.”

Suthers played 51 games for the U.S. National Under-18 Team last year, tallying 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists). He was part of the team that went to Switzerland and won the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament — something he considers his fondest memory with the team and the best experience of his hockey career.

After starting the season off with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers, the six-foot-eight forward moved his talents to the NTDP’s cross-state rival: the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

“The move to Muskegon was probably the best thing that could have happened to me,” Suthers said. “My family is able to come watch many home games. I know a lot of the guys from Michigan on the team. Muskegon’s awesome and we have a really good team this year.”

Keegan Howdeshell (NTDP 2014-16) is one of the players that Suthers knows very well and has helped ease the transition. The two played together at the NTDP and are now best friends and roommates in Muskegon.

Suthers is making the most of his final season in the USHL, as he’s taking his talents to play NCAA Division I hockey for the University of St. Lawrence next fall.

“It has a great coaching staff, and the campus is beautiful, so it wasn’t really a tough decision,” he said. “It’s a great academic school, and that’s big for me. The opportunity to go in next year and play a lot of minutes was huge. Obviously they’re a good team and I felt very comfortable there.”

However, before the move to St. Lawrence, Suthers will have to face his old program three more times this season. He said the close proximity between Team USA’s home in Plymouth, Michigan, and the Lumberjacks makes the matchups more exciting.

“There’s only one other USHL team in Michigan, so a lot of people from both teams can be there to support each other,” he said. “It really comes down to the winner gets bragging rights for the state.”

Despite the fierce competition, Suthers is excited return to a place he used to call home.

“It’s a little different not having the USA sweater on, and when we play against the U17s Friday, it’s playing against Coach Cole. It’s different being on the other side of the ice, but it’s good to go back and see some similar faces and remember all the things we went through back there.”

Suthers will return to USA Hockey Arena on December 9 at 7 p.m. ET to face his old coach, and in his words, attempt to win bragging rights for the state.

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Photo by Rena Laverty