Chris Sutter: The Heart of the Kings

By Emily Redenbach
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Updated: July 25, 2015

An interesting phenomenon started appearing at Staples Center last season. This in stadium ‘entertainment’ got Kings fans, and players, spirits soaring. It even became a favorite amongst visiting fans. It wasn’t the Kiss Cam, where the season before Rita Korn and Darwin Beckell captured our hearts as the “Kiss Cam Couple.” It wasn’t Bailey (who certainly knows how to invigorate Kings fans, but is much better at playing pranks on other teams fans. He’s definitely worth a follow on twitter – @BaileyLAKings.) It was Chris Sutter, son of Kings head coach Daryl Sutter.

Chris’ story is somewhat of a miracle. He has Down Syndrome, and the Sutter’s were told that giving him up to have specialists take care of him would be the best course of action. Instead, Darryl left his job as the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks and spent the next two years with his wife Wanda taking care of his infant son. “A lot of Down syndrome kids also have so many other issues,’’ Sutter said. “We went through the whole medical thing with Chris. He had heart surgery when he was a baby, and multiple ear surgeries. He had heart surgery when he was less than two weeks old. They told us he wouldn’t live and that we should institutionalize him and all these things. We went through the whole gamut, of `live, not live.’”

“We knew exactly what we were doing,” Darryl Sutter said. “Once they told us the different types of Down Syndrome, and he has Trisomy 21, our whole thing was to try to maximize him and get everything we could for him. We made career decisions with me because we wanted to max Chris out. In some ways, we’re still doing that. It wasn’t about what the doctors said.”

“If that meant us one of us, or both of us, always being there with him, then that’s the decision we made. So from a family standpoint, that’s how we look at it. We also look at it as not just maximizing his potential, but allowing him to do what he wants to do. If he wants to live on the farm, then we’re going to live on the farm. If he wants to go to college, then we’re going to go where he wants to go. That sort of thing. It’s had a big impact on my career, where I’ve went.’’

Not that Daryl has any regrets raising Chris. “It’s a blessing for us. It’s been everything and more. It’s awesome. It keeps everything in perspective. All these little problems that you think you have, it puts it all in place. All you have to do is talk to Chris or spend time with Chris. He can level the playing field out, just like nothing.’’

Some 21 years later, Chris wasn’t just stealing his family’s heart. He was stealing the hearts of his Kings family too. He’s been active at the Kings Care Foundation’s annual fundraising event ‘Tip-A-King.’ One of the options is to take a photo with Coach Sutter in front of a green screen, and they superimpose you in front of the Kings bench as if you’re helping him coach. The process of printing the photos takes 10-15 minutes, so if you’re not inclined to go stand in huge lines to meet the other players, I thoroughly recommend hanging around to talk to Chris. He’s humble, so proud of his dad, and eager to be a help to the fans, full of info about the event. It’s easy to see why his Dad is equally as proud of him. “He’s got no fear of anything,” says Daryl. “His self-confidence is high. If he saw you working, he’d want to help you. If he met you and was comfortable with you, he’d want to help you do this story. That’s the way he is.’’

It’s the #ChrisSutterDanceCam that’s really gotten fans excited. He’s become a favorite feature during the third period. There are even people with shirts now that say ‘Keep Calm and Dance Like Chris Sutter.” “Players tell me. Players see it,” Sutter said. “They’ll tell me, ‘Geez, Chris was on there twice today.’” Every game he brings a unique dance move – I’ve been to almost every home game for a while now, and I rarely see Chris do the same thing. He’s confident, coordinated (much more than I – I should never end up on the dance cam), and clearly having a blast. The atmosphere perks up every time he graces the screen. In fact I’ve seen the crowd turn fierce when someone in front of him tries to steal the spotlight from him. Chris has become such a fixture at Staples Center, that he was featured in the Kings end of season Top 20 moments.

It’s not just the fans who love him; he’s also quite the feature in the Kings locker room. The team feel like he’s a brother. Anze Kopitar, whilst hoisting the Stanley Cup for the second time in three years, said as such. (And because I can’t resist a chance to throwback to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, watch Anze Kopitar’s interview after the win, his arm around Chris the whole time.)

“He’s been the focal point of it always,” Darryl Sutter said. “He can be with us at the rink with the guys. He was like that in San Jose. He’s a joy to be around for everybody. When he comes to the rink, he’s with the players. That’s how he sees himself. He’s not coach’s son. He loves the players.” (I also highly recommend watching the video at the end of this article – about four minutes in there’s footage of Chris in the locker room with Kopitar, former King – and let me take the time to shed a tear over that fact – Justin Williams, and assistant captain Matt Greene. Him tickling Greene is priceless.)

“They’re very much alike,” captain Dustin Brown said of the Sutters. “Chris loosens up the room. One thing that Darryl brought with him is that family is important. He changed the atmosphere here and guys can now bring their kids.”

Chris also brought his special brand of magic to the NHL All Star weekend, where he united players from a variety of teams as Daryl’s assistant coach for Team Foligno. His pre-game pep talk in the locker room invigorated the players, and our hearts melted as we saw him actually coach from behind the bench. “I had a great time,” said Chris. “It was a fun weekend for me. I had a great time with my dad. It was a fun three days here.” His team concurs. “He made us laugh a lot,” says Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. “It was great to have him around the room. All the boys loved him and it made him happy, which makes us happy.”

And Chris hasn’t just impressed the hockey world; he’s been involved in two Special Olympics, both in Canada, on the Alberta bowling team. He diligently follows along with the events every year. Perhaps it was this, or his participation in the All Star Game, that prompted Christopher Schwarzenegger to ask his mother, Maria Schriver to invite Chris to be part of the torch relay in this years Special Olympics. (Schriver’s late mother founded the Special Olympics.) Shriver asked him in person in the halls of Staples Center after a comeback victory over the Chicago Blackhawks back in late January, where his father stood next to him grinning. The Special Olympics are currently being hosted here in Los Angeles. If you’re around, the events are free. You can find a full schedule of them here.

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