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AHL Iowa Wild

Blum Named Iowa Wild IOA Specialty Man of the Year

April 2, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release


Des Moines, IA - The Iowa Wild are proud to announce that defenseman Jonathon Blum has been named the team's winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Des Moines community during the 2013-14 season.

In its inaugural season, the Iowa Wild is fortunate enough to have a community leader in defenseman Jonathon Blum. Along with his fiancée Emilie, the two have been great ambassadors for the Iowa Wild organization in the Greater Des Moines area. Not only did Jonathon sign up for various school visits throughout the season as part of the *Wild About Reading Program*, he was also proactive in his community outreach.

In a partnership with Defending the Blue Line, Jonathon donated his personal tickets for each Iowa Wild home game to local military families. After creating the donation program, he appropriately named it "Blum's Brigade." Not only did Blum donate his tickets, he also invited them to meet outside of the locker room after the game to personally thank them for the service and dedication to our country.

Jonathon and Emilie are also passionate animal advocates. The young couple has two dogs of their own, which they rescued from a shelter in California. Jonathon initiated a relationship with a large Des Moines area shelter called the Animal Rescue League (ARL). Along with three of his teammates, the four spent hours at the ARL shooting photos for a campaign promoting the shelter and animal compassion. The ARL and player involvement was also featured at an Iowa Wild home game.

Blum also significantly contributed to the Iowa Wild's Pink in the Rink efforts. Jon's mother is a cancer survivor, and he opened up about his family's story for a feature article in the Des Moines Register. Jon also taped promotional videos for Susan G. Komen of Iowa to further their donation efforts.

Blum is now one of 30 finalists for the AHL's 2013-14 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League later this month.

Iowa continues a five-game road trip on Wednesday, Apr. 2 at 6 p.m. in Grand Rapids. The team will also make stops in Chicago and Milwaukee prior to returning home on Friday, April 11 for Chicago at 7:05 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.

Fans may purchase single game tickets multiple ways, either through the team's website - www.iowawild.com, Wells Fargo Arena box office or Dahl's Ticketing. Tickets are available online at www.iowawild.com under the single game tickets tab. Fans may also purchase tickets by calling 1-866-55-DAHLS (32457) or by visiting one of 13 Dahl's Food Stores locations in the greater Des Moines area, and in Ames. In order to purchase group tickets (10 or more), please call the Iowa Wild ticketing department at 515-564-8700. Fans interested in buying full season, or smaller season packages may call the Iowa Wild front office at 515-564-8700.

The Iowa Wild regular season is presented by Mercy Medical Center. Season tickets to see the Wild play at Wells Fargo Arena start at just $9 per game. For more information on tickets, please contact the Wild ticket office by calling 515-564-8700 or go to www.iowawild.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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