DES MOINES, Iowa — If you google Cody McLeod, what's likely to pop up is a picture of him flashing a smile with several teeth missing or a video of him getting into a scrap.
Over his career, he's carved out a reputation for himself as a hard-nosed enforcer who never backs down from a fight.
"I get pretty fired up on the ice," said McLeod. "If you're gonna bring that energy and hit, you gotta be able to back it up. So, I don't mind doing it."
It's a role he started to master at an early age.
"Back in junior, I started scrapping a little bit," said McLeod. "Didn't do very well in the first few years, but you get the hang of it. I knew if I was gonna have a career playing hockey, I was gonna learn how to play that role and stick up for my teammates and as the years went on, I got pretty good at it."
His willingness to go to bat for his guys and veteran leadership have made him a great fit on a squad full of young promising players trying to get called up.
"Since I've been through it I can kind of help them and mentor them, so it's been a lot of fun and you gotta love when you see guys from our team get called up to the team in Minnesota."
Aside from giving back to the next generation of players, what else keeps this veteran lacing up his skates?
"I haven't won anything," said McLeod. "I've been close in the Stanley Cup final to win and that's kind of one of the reasons I'm still playing. I want a chance to win the Calder cup."
The Iowa Wild have three games remaining in the regular season and are battling for a spot in the AHL playoffs.