Iowa Wild

Iowa Wild
2015–16 Iowa Wild season
City	Des Moines, Iowa
League	American Hockey League
Conference	Western Conference
Division	Central Division
Founded	1994 (In the IHL)
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	Brent Flahr
Head coach	David Cunniff (interim)
Media	KXNO
Affiliates	Minnesota Wild (NHL) Quad City Mallards (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–2013	Houston Aeros
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 10, after a 2-10 start to the season, head coach Kurt Kleinendorst was fired and replaced by John Torchetti.

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.

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.

Players

Current roster

Updated April 29, 2016.

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
20		Conor Allen	D	L	34	2016	Chicago, Illinois	Minnesota
12		Colton Beck	LW	L	33	2015	Langley, British Columbia	Iowa
44		Christoph Bertschy	RW	R	30	2015	Le Mouret, Switzerland	Minnesota
15		Rob Bordson	LW	L	35	2015	Duluth, Minnesota	Iowa
14		Brady Brassart	C	R	30	2014	North Vancouver, British Columbia	Minnesota
17		Brett Bulmer	LW	R	31	2013	Prince George, British Columbia	Minnesota
28		Raphael Bussieres	LW	L	30	2013	Longueuil, Quebec	Minnesota
22		Grayson Downing	C	L	32	2015	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Minnesota
26		Ruslan Fedotenko	LW	L	45	2015	Kiev, Ukraine	Minnesota
3		Joe Finley	D	L	36	2015	Edina, Minnesota	Iowa
18		Maxime Fortunus (C)	D	R	40	2015	La Prairie, Quebec	Iowa
14		Adam Gilmour	RW	R	30	2016	Hanover, Massachusetts	Minnesota
4		Tyler Graovac	C	R	30	2013	Brampton, Ontario	Minnesota
29		Marc Hagel	F	R	35	2014	Hamilton, Ontario	Minnesota
31		Leland Irving	G	L	36	2015	Barrhead, Alberta	Iowa
16		Dylan Labbé	D	L	29	2015	Levis, Quebec	Minnesota
11		Chase Lang	RW	R	27	2016	Nanaimo, British Columbia	Iowa
24		Mario Lucia	LW	L	30	2016	Fairbanks, Alaska	Minnesota
34		Steven Michalek	G	L	30	2015	Hartford, Connecticut	Minnesota
23		Zack Mitchell	RW	R	31	2014	Caledon, Ontario	Minnesota
13		Gustav Olofsson	D	L	29	2014	Borås, Sweden	Minnesota
8		Zach Palmquist	D	L	33	2015	South St. Paul, Minnesota	Minnesota
21		Scott Sabourin	RW	R	31	2016	Orleans, Ontario	Minnesota
28		Nick Saracino	LW	L	32	2016	St. Louis, Missouri	Iowa
25		Tyson Strachan (A)	D	R	39	2015	Melfort, Saskatchewan	Minnesota
36		Hunter Warner	D	R	28	2016	Cambridge, Minnesota	Minnesota

External links

• Iowa Wild official website