Iowa Wild

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Iowa Wild
2021–22 AHL season
Iowa Wild logo.svg
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 coachTim Army
MediaFox Sports North
KXNO
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesMinnesota Wild (NHL)
Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–2013Houston Aeros
2013–presentIowa 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.

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] The team reached the playoffs for the first time relocating from Houston in 2019, where they reached the division finals and lost 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 1st
round
2nd
round
3rd
round
Finals
2013–14 76 27 36 7 6 67 .441 169 235 5th, Midwest 2014 Did not qualify 5,883
2014–15 76 23 49 2 2 50 .329 172 245 5th, Midwest 2015 Did not qualify 5,659
2015–16 76 24 41 5 6 59 .388 169 225 8th, Central 2016 Did not qualify 5,846
2016–17 76 36 31 7 2 81 .533 182 196 6th, Central 2017 Did not qualify 6,019
2017–18 76 33 27 10 6 82 .539 232 246 5th, Central 2018 Did not qualify 6,153
2018–19 76 37 26 8 5 87 .572 242 230 3rd, Central 2019 W, 3–2, MIL L, 2–4, CHI 6,409
2019–20 63 37 18 4 4 82 .651 194 171 2nd, Central 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 6,351
2020–21 34 17 13 4 0 38 .559 107 113 4th, Central 2021 No playoffs were held 3,273[9]

Players[]

Current roster[]

Updated March 16, 2022.[10]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
2 Canada Calen Addison D R 21 2021 Brandon, Manitoba Minnesota
14 Canada Brandon Baddock LW L 26 2022 Vermilion, Alberta Minnesota
30 Canada G R 23 2019 Quebec, Quebec Minnesota
11 Canada Adam Beckman LW L 20 2021 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Minnesota
21 United States Mitchell Chaffee RW R 24 2021 Rockford, Michigan Minnesota
19 Canada Joseph Cramarossa LW L 29 2021 Markham, Ontario Minnesota
7 Canada Kevin Czuczman D L 31 2021 London, Ontario Minnesota
47 Canada LW L 30 2021 Battleford, Saskatchewan Iowa
16 Canada C L 22 2021 Sudbury, Ontario Minnesota
27 Canada Joe Hicketts D L 25 2021 Kamloops, British Columbia Minnesota
31 Russia C L 21 2021 Saratov, Russia Minnesota
41 United States D R 26 2021 Brookfield, Wisconsin Iowa
10 United States Jon Lizotte D L 27 2021 Grand Forks, North Dakota Minnesota
5 United States Dakota Mermis (A) D L 28 2021 Alton, Illinois Minnesota
70 United States Zane McIntyre G L 29 2022 Thief River Falls, Minnesota Minnesota
55 Canada Cody McLeod (C) LW L 37 2019 Binscarth, Manitoba Iowa
24 Canada D L 27 2021 Orangeville, Ontario Iowa
39 Canada D L 24 2019 Yorkton, Saskatchewan Iowa
42 United States Kyle Rau (A) C L 29 2017 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Minnesota
23 Austria Marco Rossi C L 20 2021 Feldkirch, Austria Minnesota
72 Canada G L 31 2022 Swift Current, Saskatchewan Iowa
18 Canada Mason Shaw C L 23 2018 Lloydminster, Alberta Minnesota
22 United States C L 25 2021 Brantford, Ontario Minnesota
44 United States Nate Sucese LW L 25 2021 Fairport, New York Iowa
13 United States RW R 24 2021 Lakeville, Minnesota Minnesota
29 United States D L 26 2019 Devils Lake, North Dakota Iowa
17 United States Dominic Turgeon C L 26 2021 Pointe-Claire, Quebec Minnesota

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
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Sam Anas C 259 72 125 197 .76
Gerald Mayhew RW 228 97 81 178 .78
Kyle Rau C 189 63 83 146 .77
Zack Mitchell RW 250 66 66 132 .53
Cal O'Reilly C 142 31 100 131 .92
Brennan Menell D 199 15 101 116 .58
Colton Beck LW 319 41 63 104 .33
Tyler Graovac C 202 49 53 102 .51
Justin Kloos C 119 32 49 81 .68
Jordan Schroeder LW 100 30 50 80 .80

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.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Relocation Likely if Aeros Can't Get A New Lease Deal at Toyota Center". Houston Chronical. 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.[permanent dead link]
  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 May 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Reduced capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  10. ^ "TheAHL.com –Iowa Wild Roster". Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  11. ^ "Iowa Wild - All Time AHL leaders". hockeydb.com. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.

External links[]

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