Down on the Farm: Welcome Home, Cal

A good portion of the country looks at Iowa as a “fly over” state, but the Hawkeye State is much more to for Wild goalie Cal Petersen—it’s home.

Born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, Petersen is one of only four Iowa born players to make it to the NHL. After spending the first eight years of his professional career on either the west coast with the LA Kings, or the east coast with Philadelphia, a unique opportunity presented itself this past summer.

The Minnesota Wild offered the veteran goalie a contract and there was a good chance he would get to spend time in Des Moines, roughly 128 miles from where he grew up.

“It was sort of a pipe dream,” said the Iowa native with a big grin. “You need some luck for the stars to align and the opportunity to come up. When it happened, it was easy to say yes. I'm proud to be from Iowa.”

The proud Iowan never shies away from telling friends and teammates what he loves about his home state.

“I'm proud of the people from here,” said the 31-year-old. “It is an endearing place to live. I love the beauty of it and what it means to be an Iowan. Even though hockey’s not the biggest thing here, there's a lot of passionate fans.”

Most visitors to the state experience what locals call “Iowa Nice”. Petersen took the time to explain what that means.

“Iowans are sincerely nice, and they want to help you,” he explained. “They put on a smiling face. They don’t have ulterior motives.

“Iowans will help you as much as they can. Many of the communities are farm-based, and that's just them and the fabric of it. I'm from one of the big cities and you can drive through it in about seven minutes.”

How It Started

Eric and Mary Petersen raised their two children in Waterloo, Iowa. Cal’s passion for hockey was in his bloodlines, handed down from his father, who played goalie for Bethel University, a small D-3 college in Saint Paul, MN.

Following in his dad’s footsteps, Cal’s passion for hockey grew with regular family trips to Young Arena for Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL) games. By age four Cal was on skates and playing forward.

“Originally my dad didn't want me to play goal, because he understood it's demanding mentally,” said Cal. “It's hard for a goaltender to always leave it at the rink. You have a lot of pride and take it personally when you win, lose, or get scored on. He understood that and thought maybe it'd be easier to go a different route.”

Clearly, it didn’t last. His mother convinced Eric to allow Cal to “give it a try” and it took off from there.

“The first thing I liked was the pads,” he said with a smile. “I thought that was the coolest.”

October 6, 2005

The AHL’s Iowa Stars debuted at Wells Fargo Arena (now Casey’s Center). It was the first professional hockey game played in the building, and Cal Petersen was in attendance with his father. At just ten years old, Petersen was awestruck by the play of then Iowa goalie, Mike Smith.

“I remember that really well because I'd never seen a goalie play the puck like that”, he recalled.

He’s always been a student of the game. Growing up, he paid particularly close attention to Hall of Fame goalies Martin Broduer and Patrick Roy. Also, Jose Theodore, like Cal, was a left-handed catching netminder.

After spending his first pro season in Ontario, Petersen made his NHL dream a reality.

His hockey journey eventually saw him suit up for East Waterloo High School. The next step saw him take a leap to his hometown team, the USHL’s Blackhawks. Unlike most USHL players who reside with billets, Petersen enjoyed the luxury of living at home with his parents, and younger sister Annie.

Over his first three seasons Petersen garnered attention. In 78 appearances, Cal posted a 48-19-1 record with a 2.74 g.a.a. and a .910 save percentage. In 2012-13, the left-handed catching netminder was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team and played in the USHL/NHL Top Prospects game.

That summer, the Buffalo Sabres moved him closer to his dream of playing in the NHL by snagging him in the fifth round with the 129^th pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The following season, Cal was named the USA Hockey Junior Goalie of the Year, played in the USHL All-Star game and named to the USHL’s Second All-Star Team. He gained more notoriety after helping Team USA win gold at the 2013-14 World Juniors-U19.

He progressed to college, venturing six hours from Waterloo to play at Notre Dame. His momentum continued and Petersen was turning heads with his stellar play. Cal went on to earn Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman.

March 2015

The biggest night of college career was March 6, 2015 when Petersen set an NCAA D-1 record with 87 saves in the longest game in Hockey East playoff history, a 4-3 loss to UMass in five overtimes.

Petersen played a total of three seasons for the Fighting Irish, finishing with a 55-39-15 mark, 11 shutouts, a 2.30 g.a.a. and a .924 save percentage.

When his junior season ended, Petersen was far enough removed from his draft year to be a free agent. He decided to sign with the LA Kings and move 1,793 miles away from his home state.

October 2017

It wasn’t long before he found himself back in the Hawkeye state. In October of 2017, Cal made his professional debut with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The L.A. Kings AHL affiliate opened on the road in Des Moines. The Reign were visiting the Iowa Wild at what was then known as Wells Fargo Arena. Eric and Mary were able to drive to the game and watch Cal stop 25 of 27 in a tough 3-0 loss.

Despite the setback, he said it was one of the most memorable nights of his career. Ironically, not his only great hockey memory in Des Moines.

November 2018

The Kings recalled Petersen on November 12, 2018. The following night, he relieved Kings goalie Peter Budaj in the second period of a 5-1 loss at Toronto on Nov. 13. Cal allowed one goal on 15 shots.

With his appearance, Petersen became only the fourth Iowa native to play in the NHL. To put that into perspective, the State of Hockey has over 40 Minnesotans on current NHL rosters.

Cal made his first NHL start on November 16, 2018, a 2-1 shootout win at Chicago. A few nights later, he earned his first NHL shutout with 29 saves in a 2-0 win at St. Louis.

On June 6, 2023, the Kings traded Petersen to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three-team trade, also involving the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After a few months in the Flyers organization Petersen was placed on waivers. And as luck would have it, he was signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild bringing him back home to Iowa.

Leading from the Crease

Cal Petersen has a strong belief in what is needed from the goalie for a team to have success.

“As you get up to the higher levels, you become a leader, in the role itself,” explained the veteran goaltender. “The role is a beacon for the team. Teammates, look to you for confidence and reassurance you have their back. By projecting strength and calmness, you allow them to play freely.”

It didn’t take long for Cal to make his mark. He posted his first shutout of the season in only his third start.