Iowa Wild

Lore & Background

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 AHL in 2001 when the IHL folded. Upon joining the AHL, the Aeros affiliated with the NHL'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. The team failed to make the playoffs for its first five seasons.

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.

Reader's Guide

The Iowa Wild represent the relocation of a franchise with a notable AHL history, including a Calder Cup championship in 2003 and a finals appearance in 2011 as the Houston Aeros. The team's move to Des Moines in 2013 established a direct affiliation between the Minnesota Wild and an Iowa-based AHL team, a relationship that was extended through 2023 in 2018. The Wild's first five seasons in Iowa saw no playoff appearances, but the team reached the playoffs for the first time since relocating in 2019, advancing to the division finals and losing to the Chicago Wolves in six games. The following 2019–20 season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Wild holding second place in the division and no playoffs held; the 2020–21 season was delayed and shortened with no Calder Cup playoffs. The franchise's history also ties into a broader pattern of Twin Cities sports affiliations with Iowa minor league teams, as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Iowa Wolves share a similar relationship in basketball.

Did You Know?

• The Aeros won the Calder Cup in 2003 as an AHL team.
• The Iowa Wild's inaugural game on October 12, 2013, was a 1–0 win over the Oklahoma City Barons.