Pius Suter

**Pius Suter** (born May 24, 1996 in Zurich, Switzerland ) is a Swiss professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Playing Career

Pius played as a youth in the junior program of the ZSC Lions before opting to play major junior hockey in North America with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) after his selection in the CHL Import Draft in 2013. Suter helped contribute with 24 points in 66 games as Guelph were crowned OHL champions. At the end of his second season with the Storm in the 2014–15 season, he recorded a break-out season in posting over a point-per-game average with 72 in just 61 games with Guelph.

At the end of his junior career, Pius opted to pursue his professional career with the ZSC Lions. In the 2016–17 season, he was signed to a one-year contract extension through 2018 on December 20, 2016. On August 26, 2017, he scored a CHL record of 4 goals with the Lions in an 11–1 blowout win against French team, Rapaces de Gap.

He was invited to the 2017 Ottawa Senators rookie camp in September, forcing him to miss the start of the 2017–18 season. After his return, he would go on to be a part of the ZSC Lions NL championship winning team, leading the team in assists for the season.

Prior to the start of the 2018–19 season, the ZSC Lions announced that Pius had been included in the training camp roster for the New York Islanders; however, he returned to ZSC after failing to gain a contract with the Islanders and agreed to an early 4-year contract extension with the Lions through the 2022-23 season on November 28, 2018. He finished the 2019–20 season as the league's PostFinance Top Scorer with 53 points, including 30 goals, in 50 regular season games. He was also named MVP of the regular season.

On July 13, 2020, Pius announced he was leaving the NL and the ZSC Lions, using his exit-clause in his contract in order to pursue his career in North America and the NHL. On July 16, 2020, he was signed as an undrafted free agent to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

With the 2020-21 North American season set to be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he remained in Switzerland and was loaned by the Blackhawks to return to ZSC Lions' affiliate, the GCK Lions of the Swiss League on September 9, 2020.

On November 4, 2020 (with the NHL future still uncertain), Pius officially returned to the ZSC Lions. On December 20, 2020, after making 6 further appearances with the Lions, he was recalled from loan by the Blackhawks. He made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks on January 13, 2021 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. On January 24, 2021, Pius scored his first NHL career goal and first NHL career hat trick.

## International Play

Pius first represented Switzerland at the junior level at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships. He also featured for the Swiss at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and in two World Junior Championships in 2015 and 2016.

He was added to the Swiss national team at the senior level in preparation for the 2017 IIHF World Championship. He would make
the final squad and make his full international debut in the round-robin stage.

Pius was named as part of Switzerland's roster for the 2018 Winter Olympics where he scored a hat-trick in the game against South Korea, also adding assists on Switzerland's lone goals in the game against the Czech Republic and the playoff game against Germany.