Cal Clutterbuck

Cal William Clutterbuck, a Canadian who played right wing in professional hockey, was born on November 18, 1987. The Minnesota Wild selected him 72nd overall in the 2006 NHL entry draft. Over his NHL career, he suited up for the Wild and the New York Islanders. He currently owns the league’s all-time record for most hits.

Clutterbuck grew up in Welland, Ontario, with parents Tim and Jocelyne. He was part of a local group known as the “Welland Five,” which also included Matt Ellis, Daniel Paille, Dan Girardi, and Paul Bissonnette. According to Bissonnette, Clutterbuck was a dominant scorer in youth hockey and only turned more physical and focused on hitting as he got older. He played baseball, golf, and volleyball before concentrating solely on hockey around age 16.

While attending Notre Dame College School, he played junior hockey for the Welland Cougars in the Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League. In the 2003 OHL Priority Selection, the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors picked Clutterbuck 13th overall. 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. The Wild drafted him in the third round, 72nd overall, in 2006.

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

Clutterbuck quickly tallied two goals and an assist, tying for fourth in team scoring, before getting called up to the NHL on October 23. He made his NHL debut on October 28 against the Colorado Avalanche. After one more game with the Wild, he was sent back to Houston on November 1. By late February, he had 18 points in 50 AHL games.

He finished that season with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 73 games, plus 97 penalty minutes. Before the 2008–09 season, Clutterbuck again played in the NHL Prospects Tournament, again recording two goals and two assists. He started the season with the Aeros but was recalled to the Wild on October 15 after Marek Zidlicky went on injured reserve. In the NHL, 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 Washington’s José Théodore 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 scoring on December 23 against Carolina. On February 4, he set a career high with nine hits in a 3–0 win over Anaheim, 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 San Jose. By month’s end, he had set a new league record with 327 hits through 72 games (the previous mark was 311 by Dustin Brown), along with eight goals and 13 points. He finished the season with 18 points and an NHL-record 356 hits. After his rookie year, Clutterbuck spent the offseason running sprints, lifting weights, and working on agility to stay in the lineup.

He made the Wild’s 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 Carolina. He tallied four goals in 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 that 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.