Iowa Wild 2024-25 Season Preview

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Iowa Wild

Iowa Wild 2024-25 Season Preview

October 11, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release


Only 175 days separate the last time the Iowa Wild took the ice and the 2024-25 home opener, but for fans and players alike, the season could not come soon enough.

Following a 2023-24 season in which the Wild rallied down the stretch but came up short of a playoff spot, Iowa spent the summer months retooling the roster to find the right complement of players to the current crop of developing prospects. Iowa Wild General Manager Matt Hendricks and Head Coach Brett McLean each described this season's team as bigger, faster, and more experienced, elements that may prove to be decisive as the wear and tear of a 72-game season comes into play.

The Iowa Wild enter the campaign with the objective of returning to the postseason and an equally important task of developing the players who will eventually graduate to play in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild. Iowa will look for veteran players to set an example both on and off the ice for the team's rising stars, who will be expected to take on increased responsibilities as the season progresses.

In this season preview, fans can learn about the organization's outlook for the season, the process behind creating this season's roster, and the attributes of the team's new players.

OUTLOOK

In the AHL, every team faces the challenge of frequent roster turnover when their NHL counterpart deals with injuries or wants to promote a high-performing player. Last season proved to be no different for Iowa, as many of the team's expected veteran stalwarts spent much of the year in Minnesota filling holes created by injuries.

"Last season was tough, but we don't make excuses," said McLean. "Plenty of teams in the AHL have players get called up and they still win in the playoffs. We're looking to continue to grow and be one of those teams that gets into the playoffs while continuing to develop players."

McLean, who spent three seasons apiece with Iowa (2017-20) and Minnesota (2020-23) as an assistant coach before returning to Des Moines to take on the head coaching job, knows how important it is to players and fans alike to experience playoff hockey.

"A big part of development is learning to win at the professional level. One of our jobs and roles is to play meaningful games and to play playoff games. We definitely want to give back to our fans so they have playoff games to go to."

BUILDING THE ROSTER

In his first offseason as Iowa's General Manager, Matt Hendricks focused on finding veteran players who could contribute up and down the lineup. Most importantly, the veterans will be expected to demonstrate to the team's younger skaters how to focus on the details necessary to round out their individual games.

"We have guys who play the game the right way," said Hendricks. "We have veteran guys on the faceoff dot who will help our young centers get better. The good faceoff guys are also strong defensive zone players who understand the 200-foot game. Our young players are going to be a part of that and learn from that."

The Wild also looked to increase size and speed to the lineup. Not only are the forwards and defensemen bigger and faster, but the team also has a 6-foot 4, 243-pound goaltender available to fill the cage.

Roster spots are hardly guaranteed this season. By bringing in a bevy of experienced and young talent, Iowa sought to foster internal competition during the lead up to opening night.

"What I like most about this lineup is the internal competition," said Hendricks. "It's so important and it doesn't get talked about enough. These guys are going to be competing with each other for opportunities. I believe that players create their own opportunity. That's how you earn it. You compete with the guys next to you every day, and that's how you earn it."

FORWARDS

The team brought in several new forwards, such as Travis Boyd, Brendan Gaunce, Reese Johnson, Ben Jones, and Devin Shore. The five additions have played in a combined 1,059 NHL games and 1,016 AHL games; teams across the AHL will be hard pressed to match up with Iowa's experience.

"Those guys can all play in the NHL," said Hendricks. "It provides a tremendous amount of depth for our organization."

Caedan Bankier, Gavin Hain, Michael Milne, Adam Raska, and Sammy Walker all return to the roster in 2024-25. Bankier and Milne each missed chunks of the season in 2023-24 and are eager to prove themselves over a full year of professional hockey.

"Bankier had a very good year for us last year," said McLean. "He missed the first half with a major injury and had a really good finish. He's had a strong camp."

Walker, who signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract with the Minnesota Wild in July, is at his best when he uses his speed.

"He needs to be a player that's on his horse every shift," said Hendricks. "He needs to be disrupting and causing offensive zone and neutral zone turnovers. When he gets below the face off dots, his skill can take over."

Luke Toporowski, the first Iowa native to ever suit up for the team, will also return to Iowa's lineup once he recovers from injury.

"He's a highly skilled player with the puck on his stick," said Hendricks. "We want to see him more engaged on forechecks and around the net front. He'll be putting more tools in his tool belt."

DEFENSE

Iowa spent the 2023-24 season with an exceptionally young defensive corps, a challenge that the team looked to mitigate during the offseason by signing a pair of experienced blue liners in Joseph Cecconi and Cameron Crotty. Both defensemen play right-handed and bring size to the lineup; both players are 6-foot-3 and over 210 pounds.

"Right shot defensemen are hard to find," said Hendricks. "They each have size and length, which makes defending easier."

Hendricks described Crotty as a hard-nosed player in the defensive zone who can distribute pucks on the offensive end and Cecconi as having a defense-first mindset that allows coaches to rely on him in any situation.

Carson Lambos, Kyle Masters, Jack Peart, and David Spacek each played for Iowa last season and will be expected to take steps forward in their development during 2024-25.

"Spacek had a strong ending to his season in Iowa and an offseason that culminated in a World Championship gold medal (with Czechia)," said Hendricks. "He's got a lot of confidence. His demeanor hasn't changed, but he's more mature. We're really happy with the way his last six months have gone."

Hendricks noted that Lambos showed up to training camp in excellent shape ahead of a crucial sophomore season.

"He's an excellent skater," said Hendricks. "He's continuing to work to play the game faster and move pucks quicker. He's working to get pucks moving north and use his natural skating ability to move up the ice."

Daemon Hunt, who cracked the Minnesota Wild opening night roster, will compete for NHL playing time. If Hunt plays in Iowa, fans can expect an even better version of one of the team's top defensemen from last season.

"He's knocking on the door right now," said Hendricks. "He's come in with a great mindset and his practices have been extremely impressive. He's showing the ability to compete physically and contribute offensively."

GOALTENDING

Jesper Wallstedt, who shouldered much of the load between the pipes last season, also starts the season in Minnesota. The Wild signed Troy Grosenick, who has 324 AHL games under his belt, to help steady the team in net, but Grosenick suffered an injury requiring surgery during the offseason and is out long term.

While Wallstedt may see some spot starts in Iowa, the team will likely turn to a pair of intriguing options over the early months of the season.

Samuel Hlavaj, a 6-foot-4, 243-pound Slovakian goaltending prospect, will enter his first North American professional season. The 23-year-old brings intimidating size to the crease and blew away training staff in Minnesota during fitness testing.

"Our scouts recognized him as having NHL potential down the road," said Hendricks. "His compete level is extremely high. There's never a rebound that he won't try to stop and he's never out of the play."

Dylan Ferguson, who spent 2023-24 in the KHL with Dinamo Minsk, previously spent five seasons in the AHL and appeared in three NHL games.

"He had success in Henderson and Belleville and played a couple of good NHL games in Ottawa," said Hendricks. "He wanted to be back in North America. He has a bright future and he's another guy who competes."

OPENING NIGHT

When the Iowa Wild take on the Manitoba Moose in the team's home opener on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m., the coaching staff will keep a close eye on how the team enters and exits its own zone.

"We're really focused on certain areas of the game," said McLean "We want to be really good at breakouts and coming into our defensive zone so we can start the season strong."

With every new season comes optimism, and McLean is particularly excited about the environment around the team's prospects.

"We feel very confident that the way our team is built will help us develop our players. We feel confident that the guys we brought in this summer will complement our young prospects. At the same time, the prospects will get a lot of ice time and opportunities to grow."

Iowa Wild hockey is presented by Kwik Star. For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit ‚ www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team's website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or ‚ tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2024-25 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at ‚ https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365 . ‚ ‚

Visit http://www.iowawild.com/pressbox for the latest news and information from the team including press releases, game notes, multimedia content, and daily statistics. ‚ ‚

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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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