The 2023-24 Mike Richter award winner signed a one-year deal with the Iowa Wild on Apr. 8
The 2023-24 season is one that the Iowa Wild will most likely want to forget as soon as possible. After making the playoffs in 2022-23, the Wild struggled right out of the gates this past season, finishing the month of October with a 2-4-1 record.
Having not been able to recover from their slow start, the Wild never put together more than a three-game win streak and finished the season 29th in the standings with a record of 27-37-4-4.
With that being said, something that should intrigue and excite Wild fans as they head into the offseason was the Apr. 8 signing of goaltender and Mike Richter Award winner (awarded to NCAA's best goalie as selected by a voting committee) Kyle McClellan.
Having backstopped a strong Wisconsin Badgers team this past season, McClellan chose to forego his final season of NCAA eligibility to turn pro.
While some Wild fans may not have heard of McClellan, that will most likely soon change as he possesses a skillset should allow him to transition seamlessly to the professional level.
2023-24 Numbers
Having recently completed his senior season (his second with the Badgers), McClellan put up a record of 24-12-1 to go along with an impressive seven shutouts, a 1.94 GAA and a .931 SV%.
Amongst all NCAA goalies, McClellan finished tied for first in the country in save percentage with Arizona State goalie Gibson Homer, albeit having played over 1400 more minutes than Homer this past season.
Equally impressive, McClellan finished first in the NCAA in shutouts and second in the country in goals against average, trailing only Cornell junior goaltender Ian Shane who sported a 1.69 GAA at season's end.
When it comes to workload, McClellan saw the eighth most minutes with 2198 but came in fourth for wins, ahead of goalies such as Justen Close and Kaiden Mbereko who played more than him.
While McClellan might not have faced as much rubber as other goaltenders (finishing T-14th in saves), he made the saves when it mattered and led the Badgers to a second place finish in the Big Ten standings.
Skillset
When one first looks at McClellan, his stats are the first thing that pop out but he has the skillset to back up the numbers.
Standing at 6-foot-1, some may consider McClellan to be average sized for a goalie but he moves well in his net. He tracks the play well through traffic, using a quick processing ability to find pucks and either hold them or re-direct them out of harm's way.
He displayed solid athleticism throughout the season as well, showing an ability to hold his edges to stay in position when pucks were around his crease and strong lateral pushes to cover ground on the rare occasion he made a misread.
Using this clip as an example, McClellan doesn't see the Buckeye player slip into open space as he is busy following the puck carrier but is able to use his athleticism to make a quick lateral push and make a highlight reel save.
Future Role
As McClellan makes the jump to the professional level next season, it is still unclear how much playing time he will get. With the Wild having a tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson as well as Jesper Wallstedt waiting on the sidelines, McClellan may begin the season as an AHL backup or in the ECHL.
With that said, his numbers and skillset make him an intriguing pickup for the Wild. If they can find a role for him where he can play consistent minutes, McClellan could make Wild management look like geniuses.
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