Iowa Wild

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. 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.
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. 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.As former sole owner of the team, Chuck Watson owns the rights to the Aeros name, prompting the name change. The team failed to make the playoffs for its first five seasons.
On February 22, 2018, the Minnesota Wild extended their contract through 2023. 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==
Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Playoffs	Playoffs 	Playoffs 	Playoffs 	Playoffs 	Playoffs 	Averageattendance
Season 	Games 	Won 	Lost 	OTL 	SOL 	Points 	PCT 	Goalsfor 	Goalsagainst 	Standing 	Year 	Prelims 	1stround 	2ndround 	3rdround 	Finals 	Averageattendance
2013–14 	76 	27 	36 	7 	6 	67 	.441 	169 	235 	5th, Midwest 	2014 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	5,883
2014–15 	76 	23 	49 	2 	2 	50 	.329 	172 	245 	5th, Midwest 	2015 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	5,659
2015–16 	76 	24 	41 	5 	6 	59 	.388 	169 	225 	8th, Central 	2016 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	5,846
2016–17 	76 	36 	31 	7 	2 	81 	.533 	182 	196 	6th, Central 	2017 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	6,019
2017–18 	76 	33 	27 	10 	6 	82 	.539 	232 	246 	5th, Central 	2018 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	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	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	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 	No playoffs were held 	No playoffs were held 	No playoffs were held 	No playoffs were held 	3,273
2021–22 	72 	32 	31 	4 	5 	73 	.507 	202 	209 	6th, Central 	2022 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	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 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	6,401
==Players==
===Current roster===
Updated May 1, 2024.
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===Team captains===
*Jake Dowell, 2013–14
*Stephane Veilleux, 2014–15
*Maxime Fortunus, 2015–16
*Mike Weber, 2016–17
*Cal O'Reilly, 2017–19
*Cody McLeod, 2021–22
*Mason Shaw, 2022
*Dakota Mermis, 2022–present
==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.
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==
==External links==
*Iowa Wild official website
 
Category:Minnesota Wild minor league affiliates
Category:Ice hockey teams in Iowa
Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 2013