DULUTH — After unknowingly bringing a Chicago Bears fan
we found a fellow Cheesehead this week.
Minnesota Duluth junior defenseman Brady Cleveland joined fellow Green Bay Packers fans Matt Wellens of the News Tribune and Zach Schneider of My 9 Sports
on this week’s episode of the Bulldog Insider Podcast
to not talk about the 13-time world champions of football, but the
long and winding road Cleveland took to Bulldog Country.
Cleveland grew up playing hockey in Wausau, Wisconsin, before spending two years with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan. After being taken in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, he returned home to play for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Cleveland lasted just one season in Madison before transferring to Colorado College for his sophomore season. He ended up in the transfer portal again last spring, and wound up with the team he actually grew up cheering for as a kid, the Bulldogs.
Below are edited excerpts from this week’s episode:
Matt Wellens: Wisconsin, not as big of a hockey state as Minnesota or even Michigan. How’d you get involved in hockey and such growing up?
Brady Cleveland: When I was growing up, my parents wanted me and my brother to have the opportunity to play every sport. So, we tried hockey. At first, I didn’t like it at all. I was crying on the ice, trying to hide from the Zamboni when it came out for the first time.
Like you said, it’s not a huge state for hockey. Growing up, I had just played youth association in Wausau. It’s kind of weird looking back at these things because time has flown by so fast. I just played for the
Wausau WarJacks, is what it’s called.
I just played for them all the way throughout high school. Then in high school, I played for Wausau West for two seasons and also played Team Wisconsin U14 and U15. That ultimately led me to being able to try out for the NTDP. Then I made that team and played for them for two years, and it was a pretty cool experience.
Wellens: How big of a deal was it when you made the National Team Development Program? Not a lot of Wisconsin kids get a chance to play at that level and then go on to college and do everything you’ve done.
Cleveland: It was a pretty big deal.
It was something pretty cool being the kid from the middle of Wisconsin and being one of the only kids, the only kid on my team from Wisconsin to be on that team is something pretty special. I was honored to be a part of that.
Wellens: Was UMD ever in the mix, whether it was when you were a teenager looking for that first school or when you went into the portal the first time? Or were they not really on your radar until you went in the second time?
Minnesota Duluth defenseman Brady Cleveland (5) shouts to Augustana players after being sent to the penalty box for roughing on Friday, Oct. 10 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
Cleveland: Not really until I went in the second time, but a funny story about that is growing up, I actually wanted to come to UMD first, before Wisconsin. Obviously that changed as you grow up and get older and you have different views on things. But the first team that I ever wanted to commit to and play college hockey for was the Bulldogs.
Wellens: Why the Bulldogs?
Cleveland: I think just being a kid and seeing all the national championships they won and the success was something that I wanted to be a part of.
Wellens: When did the the Badgers all of a sudden take over?
Cleveland: Growing up in Wisconsin, like we talked about, everybody’s talking about them. They hadn’t had much success and I just wanted to be a part of the group that changed that.
I think that was a big part of it, too.
Wellens: The Red Wings, how involved were they with each of your your moves and your decisions?
Cleveland: At the end of the day, it’s my career. They don’t want to really guide you. They can help, but they don’t want to guide you a certain way and lead you in a wrong direction. They don’t want to be the reason why .. if they told me to go to this school and it didn’t work out. They don’t want to be held accountable for that.
Brady Cleveland at Detroit Red Wings Development Camp at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on July 1, 2024.
Allison Farrand / Detroit Red Wings
They’ve been really supportive, though. I talk to their development guy, Dan Cleary. I talk to him very often. He’s always just been like, ‘You need to do what you need to do.’
Wellens: You got Steve Yzerman, you got Kris Draper
You’re working with Cleary. Is it nice to be working with players who have that kind of perspective?
I’m wondering if the advice that you got — it’s your career, do what you think is best — I’m guessing their player experience played a part in that.
Cleveland: I think it’s a big part of it. Dan Cleary always tells us during the summer camp, he talks about his experience. He was a first-round pick and things kind of didn’t work out for him, but he bounced back and found a way. I think that’s something that’s really cool. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned from those guys. During the summer when I get to be there and be around those guys, it’s something really cool and really special to be a part of.
When I do video, Kronwall will do a video with me …
Wellens:
Oh, that’s why you hit like that?
Cleveland: Yeah. I’ll be on there with Dan Cleary and Niklas Kronwall. We’ll do some video and it’s just cool to see the game through their eyes because they’re really good players. They’re some of the best players of all time and it’s just cool learning from them. Also getting their feedback on your game and seeing what things they think you need to work on, too.
Minnesota Duluth defenseman Brady Cleveland (5) skates with the puck against Omaha on Friday, Nov. 14 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Check out the full episode for more from Cleveland about working with the Detroit Red Wings and his experience in the transfer portal. You can find the Bulldog Insider Podcast at
DuluthNewsTribune.com/BulldogInsider
, and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop Thursdays throughout the UMD men’s and women’s hockey seasons.