Iowa Wild

The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.

Iowa Wild
CityDes Moines, Iowa
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded1994 (In the IHL)
Operated2013–present
Home arenaWells Fargo Arena
ColorsForest green, Iron Range red, harvest gold, Minnesota wheat, white
         
Owner(s)Minnesota Sports and Entertainment
General managerMichael Murray[1]
Head coachVacant
CaptainDakota Mermis
MediaBally Sports North
KXNO
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesMinnesota Wild (NHL)
Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–2013Houston Aeros
2013–presentIowa Wild
Current season

The team was formerly the Houston Aeros, in Houston, Texas, before being relocated to Des Moines, beginning with the 2013–14 AHL season as the Iowa Wild.[2][3] The Wild is the second AHL team based in Des Moines following the Iowa Stars, which had been the Dallas Stars' AHL affiliate from 2005 until 2008 (in the team's final season (2008–09), they were known as the Iowa Chops and were affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks).

The affiliation between the two Wild franchises is the first of two between Twin Cities area franchises and Iowa minor league franchises, as the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association and the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League also share an affiliation.

History

The Iowa Wild franchise began as the Houston Aeros, a 1994 expansion team in the International Hockey League (IHL) that played out of the Compaq Center. The Aeros were one of six IHL teams to join the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2001 when the IHL folded. Upon joining the AHL, the Aeros affiliated with the National Hockey League's one-year-old expansion team, the Minnesota Wild. The AHL version of the Aeros won the 2003 Calder Cup and also reached the 2011 Calder Cup finals, but lost to the Binghamton Senators. In 2003, the majority ownership of the franchise was sold to Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, the ownership group of the Wild, while former owner Chuck Watson retained a 10% minority share along with Houston native Nick Sheppard holding a 4% share. The team then moved home games to the new Toyota Center.[4]

On April 18, 2013, the Minnesota Wild announced that Minnesota Sports and Entertainment were unable to reach a lease agreement with the Toyota Center, and the Aeros would be relocated to Des Moines, Iowa, beginning with the 2013–14 season with home games at Wells Fargo Arena.[5] The Iowa Wild inaugural season was opened on October 12 with a 1–0 win over the Oklahoma City Barons. The opening night attendance was 10,200.[6] The team failed to make the playoffs for its first five seasons.

On February 22, 2018, the Minnesota Wild extended their contract through 2023.[7] In 2019, the team reached the playoffs for the first time since relocating from Houston, reaching the division finals and losing to the Chicago Wolves in six games. The following 2019–20 season was then curtailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with the Wild holding second place in the division and no playoffs were held. The 2020–21 season was then delayed due to the pandemic, with a shortened season held and no Calder Cup playoffs.

Season-by-season results
Regular season Playoffs Average
attendance[8]
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year Prelims 1st
round		 2nd
round		 3rd
round		 Finals
2013–147627367667.4411692355th, Midwest2014Did not qualify5,883
2014–157623492250.3291722455th, Midwest2015Did not qualify5,659
2015–167624415659.3881692258th, Central2016Did not qualify5,846
2016–177636317281.5331821966th, Central2017Did not qualify6,019
2017–1876332710682.5392322465th, Central2018Did not qualify6,153
2018–197637268587.5722422303rd, Central2019—W, 3–2, MILL, 2–4, CHI——6,409
2019–206337184482.6511941712nd, Central2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic6,351
2020–213417134038.5591071134th, Central2021No playoffs were held3,273[9]
2021–227232314573.5072022096th, Central2022Did not qualify5,435
2022–237234276579.5492112114th, Central2023L, 0–2 RFD————6,296

Players

Current roster

Updated April 28, 2023.[10]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
9 Canada Brandon Baddock LW L 28 2022 Vermilion, Alberta Minnesota
24 Canada Mitchell Balmas C L 24 2022 Sydney, Nova Scotia Iowa
40 France Louis Boudon C L 24 2023 Grenoble, France Iowa
21 United States Mitchell Chaffee RW R 25 2021 Rockford, Michigan Minnesota
12 United States Kevin Conley F L 26 2022 Wausau, Wisconsin Iowa
17 United States Patrick Curry F L 27 2022 Schaumburg, Illinois Iowa
77 United States Casey Dornbach RW R 25 2023 Edina, Minnesota Iowa
16 Canada Damien Giroux C L 23 2021 Sudbury, Ontario Minnesota
47 United States Cam Hausinger RW R 24 2023 Anchorage, Alaska Iowa
15 United States Sam Hentges C R 23 2022 Fridley, Minnesota Minnesota
27 Canada Joe Hicketts (A) D L 26 2021 Kamloops, British Columbia Minnesota
8 Sweden Simon Johansson D R 23 2022 Stockholm, Sweden Minnesota
26 Canada Tanner Kaspick C L 25 2022 Brandon, Manitoba Iowa
94 Canada Landon Kosior (ATO) D R 20 2023 Regina, Saskatchewan Iowa
36 Canada Michael Milne LW L 20 2022 Abbotsford, British Columbia Minnesota
20 Canada Mike O'Leary LW L 25 2022 Halifax, Nova Scotia Iowa
22 Canada Ryan O'Rourke D L 20 2022 Pickering, Ontario Minnesota
39 Canada Turner Ottenbreit D L 25 2019 Yorkton, Saskatchewan Iowa
14 Czech Republic Jakub Sirota (ATO) D L 24 2023 Prerov, Czech Republic Iowa
6 United States Riese Zmolek D L 26 2023 Rochester, Minnesota Iowa

Team captains

Franchise records and leaders

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers for the Iowa Wild in the AHL. Figures are updated after each completed season.[11]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;   = current Iowa player

Points
PlayerPosGPGAPtsP/G
Kyle RauC24488111199.81
Sam AnasC25972125197.76
Gerald MayhewRW2289781178.78
Zack MitchellRW2506666132.53
Cal O'ReillyC14231100131.92
Brennan MenellD19915101116.58
Mason ShawC1883975114.61
Marco RossiC1163470104.90
Colton BeckLW3194163104.33
Tyler GraovacC2024953102.51

References
  1. "Minnesota Wild Announces Promotions and Additions to Hockey Operations Department". OurSports Central. September 24, 2021.
  2. "Wild AHL Affiliate Moving To Iowa". Minnesota Wild. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  3. Birch, Tommy; Leistikow, Chad (2013-04-18). "Is Des Moines ready to try pro hockey again?". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  4. "Relocation Likely if Aeros Can't Get A New Lease Deal at Toyota Center". Houston Chronicle. January 18, 2013.
  5. "It's official: Aeros hockey team leaving Houston at end of season". ABC13. April 19, 2013.
  6. As former sole owner of the team, Chuck Watson owns the rights to the Aeros name, prompting the name change."Wild statement on AHL affiliate". Houston Aeros. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  7. Wild, Iowa. "FIVE YEARS IN: JUST GETTING STARTED | Iowa Wild". www.iowawild.com. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  8. "Iowa Wild yearly attendance". HockeyDB. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  9. Reduced capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  10. "TheAHL.com –Iowa Wild Roster". Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  11. "Iowa Wild - All Time AHL leaders". hockeydb.com. April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
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