Iowa Wild

The Iowa Wild are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play from 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
2019–20 AHL season
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 managerTom Kurvers
Head coachTim Army
MediaFox Sports North
KXNO
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesMinnesota Wild (NHL)
Allen Americans (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–2013Houston Aeros
2013–presentIowa Wild

The team used to be known as the Houston Aeros, calling Houston, Texas, home and most recently playing at the Toyota Center. On April 18, 2013, it was announced that the Aeros would move to Des Moines, beginning with the 2013–14 AHL season and be known as the Iowa Wild.[1][2]

The Wild is the second AHL team to call Des Moines home. The city was home to 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).

History

Houston Heritage
Main article: Houston Aeros (1994–2013)

The Houston Aeros were an expansion team in the International Hockey League in 1994. The team's name is a homage to the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association in the 1970s, one of the teams Gordie Howe played for in the WHA. The Aeros were the second IHL team to be named after a WHA franchise, the first being the Phoenix Roadrunners; unlike the Roadrunners, who used the same logo as their WHA predecessor, the IHL Aeros used a new logo, a bomber flying over the team name based on the Boeing B-17 or B-25 Mitchell. The Aeros would defeat the Orlando Solar Bears to win the 1999 Turner Cup, following an impressive 54-win season.

The Aeros were one of six IHL teams to join the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2001 when the IHL folded. The AHL version of the Aeros would go on to win the 2003 Calder Cup; they would reach the 2011 Calder Cup finals as well but lost to the Binghamton Senators. They served as the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and were affiliated with the ECHL revival of the Orlando Solar Bears for the 2012–13 season.

The team played their home games in the Toyota Center, which they moved to from the Compaq Center for the 2003–04 season.

The principal owner was Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, with Chuck Watson, the former owner, owning a 10% minority share along with Houston Native, Nick Sheppard, holding a 4% share.

In Iowa

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 and play their home games in Wells Fargo Arena. 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.[3] It was announced on February 22, 2018, the Minnesota Wild would extend their contract through 2023.[4]

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.

Season-by-season results
Regular season Playoffs Attendance
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year 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, Central2019W, 3–2, MILL, 2–4, CHI6,409
2019–206337184482.6511941712nd, Central2020Season Cancelled due to COVID-19

Players

Current roster

Updated June 14, 2020.[5]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
7 Sam Anas C R 27 2016 Potomac, Maryland Minnesota
10 Olivier Archambault LW L 27 2019 Le Gardeur, Quebec Iowa
41 Josh Atkinson D L 27 2019 St. Albert, Alberta Iowa
30 Dereck Baribeau G R 21 2019 Quebec, Quebec Minnesota
44 Matt Bartkowski (A) D L 32 2018 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Minnesota
12 Kyle Bauman RW R 27 2019 Apopka, Florida Iowa
36 Colton Beck (A) LW L 30 2015 Langley, British Columbia Minnesota
47 Louie Belpedio D R 24 2018 Skokie, Illinois Minnesota
14 Will Bitten RW R 21 2018 Ottawa, Ontario Minnesota
4 Nick Boka D R 22 2019 Plymouth, Michigan Iowa
29 Alex Breton D L 22 2019 Sainte-Marie, Quebec Iowa
25 J.T. Brown RW R 29 2019 Burnsville, Minnesota Minnesota
43 Connor Dewar C L 20 2019 The Pas, Manitoba Minnesota
22 Brandon Duhaime LW L 23 2019 Parkland, Florida Minnesota
40 Gabriel Dumont C R 29 2019 Degelis, Quebec Minnesota
39 Stepan Falkovsky D L 23 2018 Minsk, Belarus Minnesota
26 Luke Johnson C R 25 2019 Grand Forks, North Dakota Minnesota
34 Kaapo Kahkonen G L 23 2018 Helsinki, Finland Minnesota
– Kameron Kielly RW R 23 2020 Baxter, Minnesota Iowa
17 Mike Liambas (A) LW L 31 2018 Woodbridge, Ontario Minnesota
20 Gerald Mayhew C L 27 2017 Wyandotte, Michigan Minnesota
6 Mitch McLain C L 26 2018 Baxter, Minnesota Iowa
55 Cody McLeod LW L 35 2019 Binscarth, Manitoba Iowa
27 Brennan Menell D R 23 2017 Woodbury, Minnesota Minnesota
15 Turner Ottenbreit D L 22 2019 Yorkton, Saskatchewan Iowa
42 Kyle Rau C L 27 2017 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Minnesota
18 Matthew Register D L 30 2019 Calgary, Alberta Iowa
60 Mat Robson G L 24 2019 Mississauga, Ontario Minnesota
2 Jack Sadek D R 23 2019 Lakeville, Minnesota Iowa
23 Mason Shaw C L 21 2018 Lloydminster, Alberta Minnesota
16 Tyler Sheehy C R 24 2019 Burnsville, Minnesota Iowa
28 Dmitry Sokolov RW L 22 2018 Omsk, Russia Minnesota
11 Nico Sturm C L 25 2019 Augsburg, Germany Minnesota
29 Keaton Thompson D L 24 2019 Devils Lake, North Dakota Iowa
37 Hunter Warner D R 24 2016 Cambridge, Minnesota 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.[6]

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

Points
PlayerPosGPGAPtsP/G
Sam AnasC25972125197.76
Gerald MayhewRW2098872160.77
Kyle RauC1896383146.77
Zack MitchellRW2506666132.53
Cal O'ReillyC14231100131.92
Brennan MenellD19915101116.58
Colton BeckLW3194163104.33
Tyler GraovacC2024953102.51
Justin KloosC119324981.68
Jordan SchroederLW100305080.80

References
  1. "Wild AHL Affiliate Moving To Iowa". Minnesota Wild. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  2. Birch, Tommy; Leistikow, Chad (2013-04-18). "Is Des Moines ready to try pro hockey again?". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  3. 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.
  4. Wild, Iowa. "FIVE YEARS IN: JUST GETTING STARTED | Iowa Wild". www.iowawild.com. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  5. "TheAHL.com –Iowa Wild Roster". Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  6. "Iowa Wild - All Time AHL leaders". hockeydb.com. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
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