Minnesota Wild Season Grades: Cal Clutterbuck

What can you say that hasn't been said about Cal Clutterbuck? The guy is a fan favorite, he works his tail off (Sorry, Tom), and genuinely looks to love every second of his life. Great with his team mates, great trash talker, and great with the media (the best part for us), Clutterbuck is everything a hockey fan wants to watch in a game. 

And he came awfully close to making me eat a hat. You have to respect that.

You can guess what type of grades Cal gets from the HW team. Make the jump anyway. You've read all the other ones, and this gives you a chance to give some comments about Clutterbuck. Show him the love, folks (if you so choose).

GRADES

JS- GRADE: A What Wild fan doesn't like this guy? The hitting, the scoring, the 'Stache, the energy, there's just no way you don't like this guy. He holds the record for most hits in a season and is now the 3-time reigning hits champion. Only Marty Havlat's 22 goals prevented Clutterbuck from taking the crown and making Bryan have to eat a hat. The only thing you could say about him is his production stagnated after a while, but he was playing on the third line for most of the season. The guy fills many roles, and was every considered an early candidate for team MVP. I would've loved to have seen him get a couple shifts with Koivu, because every time they happened to play together, magic happened. Clutterbuck has probably the deadliest, quickest shot on the team, but doesn't use it nearly enough. Hard to find anything wrong with the way he played this year, he was huge and he's getting better every year.

Elise- GRADE: B+ Good year for Clutterbuck, who continued to impress and provide some points to go along with the hits and energy.

Bryan- GRADE: A Clutterbuck almost went the distance in the race to make me eat a hat. His offensive abilities still have yet to reach their peak, and he is clearly a 20 goal scorer in this league. I'm still not sure I like him as a top six forward on a permanent basis, but as a fill in, and third line energy / added offense guy, he is tops in the league. Add in the hits, and the trash talk, and this guy gets an A every time. He is also growing into a leader, standing and taking media questions almost nightly, and telling it straight. He's as good off the ice as on it. We haven't seen the best he has to offer yet, either.

Nathan- GRADE: A. Cal Clutterbuck is a fan favorite. A wrecking ball with offensive talent. A burgeoning goal scorer. A chirper. A guy who makes everyone on his team better, and who opposing fans hate but would love to have on their team.

Ask John Tavares just how important a teammate Cal Clutterbuck is.

19 goals, 15 assists, 34 points, league-leader in hits, he's the perfect third line guy. The biggest question with Cal is whether or not he has peaked or if he can move to a 30 goal, 40 assist, 70 point second or third liner. Honestly, likely not, but like I said, he's the ultimate third line guy.

Cumulative GPA: 3.93 A

Final Thought

Did I mention I almost had to eat a hat? 

Clutterbuck led the league in hits, yet again (ticking off Dater), potted 19 goals, and added 15 helpers. His defensive play was among the top on the team, and even saw a fair amount of power play and penalty kill time. Now available and capable to play in all situations, and at a very reasonable price, Clutterbuck is a vital part of the team. He scores, he hits, he sells jerseys (ticking off Steigerwald), he trash talks (ticking off everyone outside Minnesota), he talks to the media... one of the best. 

Thanks for not making me eat a hat.