Cal Clutterbuck

Cal William Clutterbuck (born November 18, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played for the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders in the NHL. He was selected 72nd overall by the Wild in the 2006 NHL entry draft and holds the league record for most career hits.

Clutterbuck was born in Welland, Ontario, to Tim and Jocelyne Clutterbuck. In his hometown, he is remembered as one of the "Welland Five," a group of future NHL players that also includes Matt Ellis, Daniel Paille, Dan Girardi, and Paul Bissonnette. Bissonnette recalled that Clutterbuck was a dominant scorer in youth hockey before becoming more physical and focused on checking as he got older. He played baseball, golf, and volleyball but concentrated solely on hockey from about age 16. While attending Notre Dame College School, he played junior hockey for the Welland Cougars of the Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League.

The Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League selected Clutterbuck 13th overall in the first round of the 2003 OHL Priority Selection. He joined them for the 2003–04 season and scored his first OHL goal on November 23 in a 5–2 win over the Sudbury Wolves.

After the 2006–07 season, Clutterbuck signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Wild on May 31, 2007. Before the 2007–08 season, he played in the 2007 NHL Centre I.C.E. Prospects Tournament, recording two goals and two assists as the Wild prospects lost the third-place game to the Atlanta Thrashers prospects. He was then cut from development camp and assigned to the Houston Aeros of the AHL. As the team's youngest player, he scored his first professional goal on his first shot in his first game, the Aeros' home opener against the Chicago Wolves on October 6.

After quickly tying for fourth in team scoring with two goals and an assist, he was recalled to the NHL on October 23 and made his debut on October 28 against the Colorado Avalanche. He played one more NHL game before being reassigned to Houston on November 1. By late February, he had 18 points in 50 AHL games, and he finished the season with 11 goals, 13 assists, and 97 penalty minutes in 73 games.

Before the 2008–09 season, Clutterbuck again participated in the NHL Prospects Tournament, again tallying two goals and two assists. He was reassigned to the Aeros to start the season but was called up on October 15 after Marek Zidlicky was placed on injured reserve. With the Wild, he averaged 10:05 of ice time per game and led the Northwest Division with 51 hits. On November 24, he scored his first two NHL goals against José Théodore of the Washington Capitals in a 4–3 win, adding four hits and leading all rookies with 64 hits.

After going scoreless in the next two games, he was a healthy scratch twice; coach Jacques Lemaire said this was meant to motivate him. He went nearly a month without a goal before breaking the drought on December 23 against the Carolina Hurricanes. On February 4, he set a career high with nine hits in a 3–0 win over the Anaheim Ducks, leading the NHL with 180 hits through 45 games. On March 10, he recorded an assist and set a franchise record with 10 hits in an overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks.

By the end of March, he had set a new league record with 327 hits through 72 games (the previous mark was 311 by Dustin Brown), and he finished the season with 18 points and an NHL-record 356 hits.

In the offseason, Clutterbuck worked on sprints, weights, and agility to stay in the Wild lineup. He made the opening-night roster for 2009–10 but played only four games before going on injured reserve. He missed five games, then returned on October 24 and scored the game-winner against the Hurricanes. He tallied four goals over his next 10 games. On February 14, he scored his career-high 12th goal and recorded his first assist in 21 games. On February 25, he became the first Wild player to sign an extension during the 2009–10 season, inking a three-year deal. Despite missing one game with a lower-body injury, he set new career highs in assists on March 21. He finished his second full NHL season with career highs of 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 74 games.