Iowa Wild

Iowa Wild
2014–15 Iowa Wild season
City Des Moines, Iowa
League American Hockey League
Conference Western Conference
Division West Division
Founded 1994 (In the IHL as the Houston Aeros)
Operated 2013–present
Home arena Wells Fargo Arena
Colors

Green, wheat, white, red

                   
Owner(s) Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (majority), Chuck Watson (minority), Nick Sheppard (minority)
General manager Jim Mill
Head coach John Torchetti
Media KXNO
Affiliates Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Alaska Aces (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–2001 Houston Aeros (IHL)
2001–2013 Houston Aeros (AHL)
2013–present Iowa Wild

The Iowa Wild is an 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. On November 10th, after a 2-10 start to the season, head coach Kurt Kleinendorst was fired and replaced by John Torchetti.

The team was previously 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 and the Wells Fargo Arena home. The city was previously home to the Iowa Stars, which had been the Dallas Stars' AHL affiliate from 2005 until 2008 (in the team's final season in 2009, they were known as the Iowa Chops and were affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks).

History

Houston Heritage

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 (essentially their current logo) 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.

In 2003, the Aeros replaced their original bomber logo, carried over from their IHL days, to a new logo featuring a forward-facing modern fighter jet below a bold "AEROS", and using the WHA Aeros' colors of light and dark blue. In 2005, as part of their affiliation with the Wild, the Aeros changed their colors to the Wild's forest green and Iron Range red. This new logo was not popular with many of the long-term fans. On April 18, 2006, the team announced that the 2006–07 season would see the Aeros return to their original bomber logo associated with their championship seasons, with only minor color alterations; the blue elements of the original logo were replaced with green.

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 win, 1-0, over the Oklahoma City Barons. The opening night attendance was 10,200.[3]

Season-by-season results

Players

Current roster

Updated March 9, 2015.[4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
41 United States Bickel, StuStu Bickel D R 28 2014 Chanhassen, Minnesota Minnesota
7 United States Blum, JonathonJonathon Blum D R 26 2013 Rancho Santa Margarita, California Minnesota
14 United States Bowman, CollinCollin Bowman (PTO) D R 23 2015 Littleton, Colorado Iowa
21 Canada Brassart, BradyBrady Brassart C R 21 2014 North Vancouver, British Columbia Minnesota
17 Canada Bulmer, BrettBrett Bulmer LW R 23 2013 Prince George, British Columbia Minnesota
28 Canada Bussieres, RaphaelRaphael Bussieres LW L 21 2013 Longueuil, Quebec Minnesota
12 Canada Chouinard, JoelJoel Chouinard (PTO) D L 25 2015 Sherbrooke, Quebec Iowa
33 United States Curry, JohnJohn Curry G L 31 2013 Shorewood, Minnesota Minnesota
26 Ukraine Fedotenko, RuslanRuslan Fedotenko (PTO) LW L 36 2015 Kiev, Ukraine Iowa
39 Canada Gabriel, KurtisKurtis Gabriel RW R 22 2014 Newmarket, Ontario Minnesota
2 Canada Gélinas, GuillaumeGuillaume Gélinas D L 21 2014 Quebec, Quebec Minnesota
4 Canada Graovac, TylerTyler Graovac C R 22 2013 Brampton, Ontario Minnesota
3 Canada Gregoire, JasonJason Gregoire LW L 26 2014 Winnipeg, Manitoba Iowa
24 Canada Gudbranson, AlexAlex Gudbranson D R 20 2014 Orleans, Ontario Minnesota
31 Sweden Gustafsson, JohanJohan Gustafsson G L 23 2013 Köping, Sweden Minnesota
37 Canada Harding, JoshJosh Harding  G R 30 2014 Regina, Saskatchewan Minnesota
36 Finland Keranen, MichaelMichael Keranen LW L 25 2014 Stockholm, Sweden Minnesota
6 United States Knight, JaredJared Knight LW R 23 2015 Battle Creek, Michigan Minnesota
22 Canada McCarthy, SteveSteve McCarthy (PTO) D L 34 2015 Trail, British Columbia Iowa
18 Canada Mitchell, ZackZack Mitchell RW R 22 2014 Caledon, Ontario Minnesota
23 Sweden Olofsson, GustavGustav Olofsson D L 20 2014 Borås, Sweden Minnesota
8 Canada Perry, JoeJoe Perry F R 25 2015 Nanaimo, British Columbia Iowa
- United States Rechlicz, JoelJoel Rechlicz  RW R 27 2014 Brookfield, Wisconsin Minnesota
- United States Richard, BradBrad Richard  (PTO) D R 26 2015 New Bedford, Massachusetts Iowa
27 Canada Sutter, BrettBrett Sutter C L 27 2014 Viking, Alberta Minnesota
19 Canada Veilleux, StephaneStephane Veilleux (C) LW L 33 2013 Beauceville, Quebec Minnesota

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. ↑ "TheAHL.com –Iowa Wild Roster". Retrieved 2015-01-10.

External links