Undrafted, McLeod utilized his physical assets to assert himself into an NHL lineup. Wild fans will recall the 6-foot-2, 204-pound enforcer using his frame and size in matchups with the Colorado Avalanche where he spent 10 years from 2007-2017. In the span of his NHL career, he posted 72 goals, 127 points and racked up 1,630 penalty minutes.
"We hired him just so he could scare the heck out of all our guys," joked Brad Bombardir, director of player development. "It's been awesome. I just have so much respect for him. I knew Cody from previous teams, and he grows on ya. I just have so much respect for his career and how hard he works every day. And we really appreciate the insight that he has because we wanted somebody with some insight that is just coming away from the game right now."
"He's sitting in the locker room with those young guys, and he knows what they're feeling. He's on the bus with them. He just knows that atmosphere, and it's just good for us to understand that a bit more. He's excited and we've loved having him so far."
From Colorado, McLeod found a spot with the Nashville Predators - including a highlight year with a Stanley Cup Finals run in 2017 - and spent two seasons with the New York Rangers from 2017-2019 before sneaking in seven more games with the Predators in 2018-19.
He joined the Iowa Wild for the 2019-20 season, and was named captain on May 14, 2021, a letter he held until his retirement this summer.
It's with that letter that McLeod began to prepare himself for his current role. He took his veteran status and NHL experience to help better his teammates which included the likes of Adam Beckman, Marco Rossi and more.
"It was a good role," said McLeod, who had 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) and 275 penalty minutes through 110 games in Iowa. "I got to play with (Connor) Dewar and (Matt) Boldy and Brandon Duhaime. And you see guys when they come up here (to the NHL), you're pumped for them. You get excited, and we're actually watching games of theirs when we're on the road in the hotel. It was pretty neat for the younger guys to see. And as an older guy, I was super jacked when they got the opportunity to watch him play.
"When I started to get older when I was playing in the NHL, and you see the young guys come in and you just do whatever you can to help the young guys. As you get older, you don't play as much and you still gotta do your job. I was never a big goal scorer or anything, but I always showed up to work. And then Iowa gave me a chance and I knew that was kind of my role there and I wanted to just keep playing and help the young guys."
It's that work ethic that the Wild are looking to utilize as a player development coach. And McLeod couldn't be happier about his newfound position in the game.
"Minnesota's giving me that chance," he said. "So I want to make sure I can make the most of it."
