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Sutton helps Phantoms players stay sharp
YOUNGSTOWN
No one has seen more Youngstown Phantoms games and practices in the past three years than Bill Sutton, the team’s equipment manager and head videographer.
Sutton, whose nickname is “Bus,” describes his position as “one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. I’ve definitely been here for over 200 games.”
His main responsibilities include ordering all of the team’s equipment, sharpening skates, receiving items in, sending items out, scheduling ice time, putting together the team’s travel schedule, grocery shopping and laundry,
As the head videographer, his job is to set up the coaches’ camera that records the duration of every game.
Prior to joining the Phantoms, Sutton was helping out at The Ice Zone, the team’s practice facility in Boardman. He worked in the pro shop, where he learned how to sharpen skates. He became friends with Phantoms assistant coach Brad Patterson.
“It was an opportunity that landed in my lap,” Sutton said. “When the time came for a change, the previous equipment manager came to me first.”
Sutton says his favorite part of the job is that it is not an everyday job. There is always something new happening and always something keeping him focused.
The friendships made with the players over the years are also something he considers rewarding.
“I get calls from players that have moved on to college or the pros, and they tell me how much they miss this lifestyle,” Sutton said.
During a game, if a player loses an edge on his skate, Sutton must act as quickly to minimize the amount of shifts missed. Fixing a skate can be a long and difficult process.
“I’ve done it in 10 minutes before, but you don’t always realize how fast you do it because you don’t have a choice,” Sutton said. “Panicking doesn’t work. Everyone thinks I only sharpen skates and do laundry, but there’s much more to it than that.”
One of the more obvious duties with this job is to be in charge of ordering all of the players’ equipment.
During training camp, Sutton schedules appointments with representatives from Reebok and CCM. As soon as every player is fitted properly with equipment, he puts together a spreadsheet to send to the companies.
Due to USHL sponsorship rules, all visible equipment must be Reebok or CCM. However, there are some exceptions with skates — only 50 percent of players must wear Reebok or CCM blades.
Every player begins the season with a bank of 25 sticks.
“Some players break five a year, others break 50 — it all depends on their style of play,” Sutton said.
If a player goes over the original number of 25, he has the ability to get more through another player that does not go through as many sticks.
Skates are a different story as most players only go through one pair for the entire season. Damage to skates is usually fixed by Sutton, but not always.
“Players like Conor Lemirande, he’s a big guy, and he’s broken three pairs already,” Sutton said.
For road trips, the Phantoms usually practice before departing for a long ride into the midwest. The team will leave the day before the next game, with hopes of arriving at the destination the next morning in time to squeeze in an ice session.
“It’s tough to sleep on the bus,” Sutton said. “There are several times where I don’t sleep at all.”