There’s a true sense of pride among professional hockey players within the American Hockey League and ECHL, and a common theme is the desire to continue to evolve the game and leave their league in a better place for future generations.

That’s part of what makes player involvement in collective bargaining so important.

Members of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) have a direct voice with the process, with members of its Executive Committee on the proverbial frontlines – sitting at the negotiating table and engaging in discussion with league leaders to ultimately come to an agreement on an extension of the collective bargaining agreement in both leagues.

Both the AHL-PHPA CBA and the ECHL-PHPA CBA expire this summer.  Negotiations toward successor agreements are already underway, providing players with plenty of opportunity to bring forth their thoughts as part of the PHPA Negotiating Committee. 

Now an assistant coach with the Calgary Wranglers, Brett Sutter isn’t far removed from being directly involved in PHPA negotiations – having been a member of the PHPA the past 16 years before transitioning from playing to coaching.

“The PHPA was great to me as a player and to my family,” Sutter said, adding, “I’m just so thankful for what they’ve done for me and my family.”

As a player Sutter played over 1,000 games in the AHL, serving as the captain of his team on three different franchises – Charlotte, Ontario and Calgary – for a total of 10 seasons.

A natural born leader on the ice, Sutter was also a leader off the ice with the PHPA.

“I think that’s kind of the idea – the older players have to drag those young guys into it. I think you first come into the league, and all you’re thinking about is hockey, hockey, hockey. How do I get to the NHL?,” Sutter explained of getting younger players more aware and involved in the players’ union. “But at the end of the end of the day, there’s a lot more to it. And you get married and you start having kids, and everything else becomes that much more important.”

Over the years, Sutter had a wide range of experiences with the PHPA.  As an Executive Committee Member he was not only an active participant in CBA negotiations, but he was also involved in the AHL’s return to play protocol from the COVID pandemic.

“I’m thankful for the guys that came before me and did all the work that the PHPA did, and I’m sure the younger guys will appreciate the stuff that we did when we were there and I think it’s something great that they become part of,” Sutter said. “You try to leave it better than when you got there, and I think we were able to do that.  I hope this next generation is able to do that too.”

One of the players directly involved in CBA negotiations this year is Charlotte Checkers captain Zac Dalpe, who is in his 15th year of pro hockey – having also spent parts of 12 seasons in the NHL.

He was recently at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic in the Coachella Valley earlier this month, honored and selected by the league as the playing captain of the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

Though he is currently injured and was unable to participate at the league’s annual event, Dalpe flew cross-country with his family to be in Palm Springs, CA to take in the experience with the top players selected to All-Star Classic.

“It makes you feel privileged to be a hockey player. You know, you’re looked at as being a leader, and then you come here and everyone’s trying to honor you. It makes you feel good,” Dalpe said of being recognized by the AHL and being a part of his first AHL All-Star experience. “It’s been a long career, and to get here and experience something like this, it’s pretty fun. I mean, it goes by quick and it doesn’t go on forever. So there’s moments like this, if you can get your family out here, and your mom and dad can see the payoff and all the hard work that you’ve done, and just enjoy it. It’s been fun.”

Dalpe, 35, has spent the better part of his career floating between both the AHL and NHL, with nearly 600 AHL games in his career to go along with 168 NHL games played.

There might not be a player to use as a better example of dedication to the game of hockey than Dalpe, who continues to play at a high level and pushes himself to get better.

Now one of the veteran voices both on and off the ice, Dalpe’s tenure as a PHPA Executive Committee member has him entrenched in being part of the negotiations on an agreement for the next CBA that will affect future players in the AHL.

While he admits it might have been something he took for granted as a 20-year-old rookie coming into pro hockey, Dalpe has been spreading awareness to young players and trying to be a voice to create dialogue amongst players of things they see that they think can be done better.

“I’ve learned a ton being a part of the Executive Committee over the years. My thing is, you always want to – on your way out – you always want to leave the game better than when you came in,” Dalpe said acknowledging that the players who came before him were doing the same sort of thing, and it’s a proverbial passing of the torch he takes seriously. “I think we’ve shown growth over the years through the PHPA. We’ve been hard at work, and hopefully we can get to an agreement that works for everyone.”

With the current CBA set to expire this summer, negotiations have already begun with both the AHL and ECHL.

“We’ve started talking and are opening up some dialogue. The PHPA has good strength in numbers. At the end of the day we’re hockey players, and we want to be the best on the ice, and we want stuff off the ice to make us the best on the ice,” Dalpe said about the upcoming rounds of CBA negotiations.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of just trying to make the league better. That’s kind of where we’re at.”