MAYHEW OUTSCORES LEAGUE DURING 19-20 SEASON

May 21, 2020

Yo, Wild fans.  Hope you’re all doing well – staying busy, staying safe and keeping it real – all priorities right now, in no particular order.

Recently I wrote a piece on the record-breaking season put forth by Sam Anas.  You can find that here.

Today, it’s on to Gerry Mayhew, the winner of the Willie Marshall Award as the league’s leading goal scorer and an AHL Second Team All-Star selection.

The 27-year-old has spent his entire career in the Wild organization after turning pro in March of 2017…and I think it’s fair to say he’s come a long way!

After all, Mayhew jumped onto the ice at the wrong time early in his first pro game, causing a too-many-men on the ice penalty in Cedar Park, Texas on March 10, 2017.  Then head Coach Derek Lalonde made him serve the penalty, which occurred at the 41-second mark of the opening period!

He was a healthy scratch the next night.

Since then Wild fans have watched him develop into the league’s most dangerous goal scorer.  Over the last TWO SEASONS, Mayhew leads the AHL with 75 goals, which is 10 more than the next closest player.

His goal total over the last three years reads like this: 16, 27, 39.  And his 9 tallies in just 11 Calder Cup Playoff games last spring (2019) was about as dominant a run as any player can have.  He’s gone from an Amateur Tryout (when he left Ferris St. to join Iowa) to an AHL contract to an NHL contract, which eventually led to his NHL debut earlier this season. And of course, he found the back of the net that night.

Here now are some numbers from his unreal season.  Keep in mind, all this came in just 49 games as Mayhew spent several weeks in the NHL and missed a weekend home set against the San Jose Barracuda due to illness.

#20 GERRY MAYHEW: 39 GOALS, 22 ASSISTS = 61 POINTS

• First player in the AHL with 39 goals since 2011-12, when Norfolk Admirals star Cory Conacher netted 39 in 75 games
• Led the AHL with 10 game-winning goals, the most since Chicago Wolves forward Shane Harper also netted 10 in 2014-15.  Harper appeared in 75 games that season
  • • Mayhew also found the back of the net 8 times to tie the score (game-tying goal or GTG)
• Tied for the team lead with 5 FG (first goals), meaning he broke the scoreless tie
• Posted multiple goals in a game 11 times!
• Scored 24 times in 28 contests at Wells Fargo Arena (read: fan favorite)
• Ranked 6th in the AHL in shots on goal (179) – should be noted Mayhew played less games than everyone else who finished ahead of him
• Scored 5 or more goals against the following division rivals:
  • • Grand Rapids (7 goals in 6 games)
    • Rockford (5 goals in 4 games)
    • Texas (5 goals in 8 games)
  • Averaged a point / game (2g, 3a in 5 games) vs. Milwaukee, the league’s top defensive team
• Recorded a 10-game point streak from Dec. 12 - Jan. 10, tying a franchise record
• CCM / AHL Player Of The Month, January 2020
  • • Had 12 goals (and 7 assists) in 11 games that month
    • To put that in perspective, there were 100 forwards in the AHL this season who had between 8 and 11 goals all year long…and 79 of those 100 players logged at least 40 games!
  • Scored a goal or more in 3 straight games, four different times
    • 10/4 – 10/11 (3 goals over 3 games)
    • 12/31 – 1/4 (5 goals over 3 games)
    • 1/14 – 1/22 (5 goals over 3 games)
    • 2/8 – 2/14 (8 goals over 4 games)
  • Shockingly, Mayhew went without a goal in his last 5 outings with Iowa -- there was a long stint in the NHL during that stretch.  He also came up empty in 6 NHL games from 2/25 – 3/7.  Thus, the last goal he recorded was February 14 against the San Diego Gulls, when earned his second career hat trick in a 3-0 win.

Again, kudos to Jacob Born (former Iowa Wild PR / stat dude) and team video coach Keith Paulsen for having some of this stuff handy. The rest I dug up on my own, and honestly, I really enjoyed it.  Both Mayhew and Anas had amazing seasons as part of what was shaping up to be the best season in franchise history.  Who knows what numbers they would have finished with and what playoff success was in store for this team….

• Wild Joe Radio