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Iowa Wild

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 managerMatt Hendricks[1]
Head coachBrett McLean
CaptainCameron Crotty
MediaBally Sports North
KXNO
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesMinnesota Wild (NHL)
Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–2013Houston Aeros
2013–presentIowa Wild
Current season

The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Des Moines, Iowa. Beginning play for the 2013–14 season as the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL), the team's home games are held at Wells Fargo Arena.

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

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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.

The Wild playing against the Milwaukee Admirals in 2024

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

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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
2013–14 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]
2021–22 72 32 31 4 5 73 .507 202 209 6th, Central 2022 Did not qualify 5,435
2022–23 72 34 27 6 5 79 .549 211 211 4th, Central 2023 L, 0–2 RFD — — — — 6,296
2023–24 72 27 37 4 4 62 .431 184 245 6th, Central 2024 Did not qualify 6,401

Players

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Current roster

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Updated December 20, 2024.[10]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
15 United States Tristan Ashbrook C R 26 2024 Manistique, Michigan Iowa
19 Canada Caedan Bankier C L 21 2023 White Rock, British Columbia Minnesota
55 United States Joseph Cecconi D R 27 2024 Youngstown, New York Minnesota
92 United States Graeme Clarke RW R 23 2024 Waconia, Minnesota Minnesota
5 Canada Cameron Crotty (C) D R 25 2024 Ottawa, Ontario Minnesota
35 Canada Dylan Ferguson G L 26 2024 Lantzville, British Columbia Iowa
43 Canada Hunter Haight C R 20 2024 Strathroy, Ontario Minnesota
14 United States Gavin Hain C L 24 2023 Grand Rapids, Minnesota Iowa
31 Slovakia Samuel Hlavaj G L 23 2024 Martin, Slovakia Minnesota
11 Czech Republic David Jiricek D R 21 2024 Klatovy, Czech Republic Minnesota
17 Canada Reese Johnson C R 26 2024 Regina, Saskatchewan Minnesota
7 Canada Carson Lambos D L 21 2023 Winnipeg, Manitoba Minnesota
10 United States Brad Marek C L 24 2024 Big Rapids, Michigan Iowa
50 Canada Michael Milne LW L 22 2022 Abbotsford, British Columbia Minnesota
22 Canada Ryan O'Rourke D L 22 2022 Pickering, Ontario Minnesota
28 Sweden Liam Ohgren LW L 20 2024 Stockholm, Sweden Minnesota
3 United States Jack Peart D L 21 2024 Grand Rapids, Minnesota Minnesota
74 Czech Republic Adam Raska RW R 23 2023 Koprivnice, Czech Republic Minnesota
13 United States Ryan Sandelin RW R 25 2024 Hermantown, Minnesota Iowa
9 Canada Matthew Sop LW L 21 2024 Kitchener, Ontario Iowa
21 Czech Republic David Spacek D R 21 2023 Columbus, Ohio Minnesota
27 United States Luke Toporowski LW L 23 2024 Bettendorf, Iowa Minnesota
25 United States Sammy Walker C R 25 2022 Edina, Minnesota Minnesota

Team captains

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Franchise records and leaders

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Scoring leaders

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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
Kyle Rau C 244 88 111 199 .81
Sam Anas C 259 72 125 197 .76
Gerald Mayhew RW 228 97 81 178 .78
Zack Mitchell RW 250 66 66 132 .53
Cal O'Reilly C 142 31 100 131 .92
Mason Shaw C 197 43 78 121 .61
Brennan Menell D 199 15 101 116 .58
Adam Beckman LW 181 57 51 108 .60
Marco Rossi C 116 34 70 104 .90
Colton Beck LW 319 41 63 104 .33

References

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  1. ^ "Hendricks named new GM of Iowa Wild". theahl. May 15, 2024.
  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 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.[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 April 22, 2023.
  9. ^ Reduced capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  10. ^ "Iowa Wild Roster". American Hockey League. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  11. ^ "Iowa Wild - All Time AHL leaders". hockeydb.com. April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
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