Iowa Wild

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.

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.

Updated February 5, 2021.[5]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
2		Calen Addison	D	R	20	2021	Brandon, Manitoba	Minnesota
41		Josh Atkinson	D	L	28	2019	St. Albert, Alberta	Iowa
30		Dereck Baribeau	G	R	22	2019	Quebec, Quebec	Minnesota
11		Adam Beckman	LW	L	19	2021	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Minnesota
47		Louie Belpedio (A)	D	R	24	2018	Skokie, Illinois	Minnesota
14		Will Bitten	RW	R	22	2018	Ottawa, Ontario	Minnesota
28		Shawn Boudrias	RW	R	21	2020	Laval, Quebec	Iowa
36		Jarrett Burton	C	L	30	2020	Echo Bay, Ontario	Iowa
21		Mitchell Chaffee	RW	R	23	2021	Rockford, Michigan	Minnesota
19		Joseph Cramarossa	LW	L	28	2021	Markham, Ontario	Minnesota
43		Connor Dewar	C	L	21	2019	The Pas, Manitoba	Minnesota
22		Brandon Duhaime	LW	L	23	2019	Parkland, Florida	Minnesota
40		Gabriel Dumont (A)	C	R	30	2019	Degelis, Quebec	Minnesota
18		Damien Giroux	C	L	20	2021	Sudbury, Ontario	Minnesota
15		Fedor Gordeev	D	L	22	2021	Toronto, Ontario	Minnesota
13		Daemon Hunt	D	L	18	2021	Brandon, Manitoba	Iowa
92		Hunter Jones	G	L	20	2021	Brantford, Ontario	Minnesota
9		Ivan Lodnia	RW	R	21	2019	Novi, Michigan	Minnesota
8		Josh Maser	LW	L	22	2020	Penticton, British Columbia	Iowa
3		Ian McCoshen	D	L	25	2021	Anaheim, California	Minnesota
6		Mitch McLain	C	L	27	2018	Baxter, Minnesota	Iowa
55		Cody McLeod (A)	LW	L	36	2019	Binscarth, Manitoba	Iowa
27		Ryan O'Rourke	D	L	18	2021	Pickering, Ontario	Iowa
35		Joel Rumpel	G	L	29	2021	Swift Current, Saskatchewan	Iowa
23		Mason Shaw	C	L	22	2018	Lloydminster, Alberta	Minnesota
16		Tyler Sheehy	C	R	25	2019	Burnsville, Minnesota	Iowa
17		Dmitry Sokolov	RW	L	22	2018	Omsk, Russia	Minnesota
29		Keaton Thompson	D	L	25	2019	Devils Lake, North Dakota	Iowa
37		Hunter Warner	D	R	25	2016	Cambridge, Minnesota	Iowa

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