Welcome to our Central Division Preview, where one-by-one we will take a look at each of the Checkers' division rivals. Today's focus is on the Iowa Wild, affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
Forwards
The Wild suffered through another rough season, and again were torpedoed by a lack of scoring. They saw a slight uptick in their production from the year before, but still found themselves tied with Charlotte for the second-lowest goals per game average in the league. The trio of Tyler Graovac, Michael Keranen and Zack Mitchell served as the main catalysts for the offense, which is a bright spot for the club’s future given that all three are still within the first three years of their careers. Marc Hagel, Kyle’s younger brother, and former Checker Brett Sutter buoyed the secondary scoring and will look to continue to ramp up their production this season.
Iowa will likely gain support from two significant additions this offseason: former Checker Zac Dalpe and 23-year-old Matt Carey. The former is a proven scorer at this level and could be counted on to help aid the Wild’s scoring drought should he spend time in the AHL, while the latter is coming off a 21-point rookie campaign for the Rockford IceHogs. Those two newcomers, combined with the young talent already stocked in Iowa’s lineup, should help the Wild continue their upward trend in the goals department.
2014-15 Season
- • 23-49-2-2; 50 points; 5th in West Division; 15th in Western Conference
- • Checkers 2014-15 Head-To-Head: 6-2-0-0
- • Three Stars:
F Tyler Graovac – 46 points (21g, 25a)
D Jonathon Blum – 37 points (13g, 25a)
F Michael Keranen – 37 points (10g, 27a)
- • Key Additions:
F Zac Dalpe (Signed 1-year, 2-way contract)
D Maxime Fortunus (Signed 2-year AHL contract)
F Matt Carey (Signed AHL contract)
- • Key Departures:
Jonathon Blum (Signed with Admiral Vladivostok of KHL)
Zack Phillips (Traded to Boston)
Defense
The Wild’s problems on the offensive end certainly weren’t helped by their play on the defensive side. Iowa was the only team in the AHL to finish in the bottom five of both goals per game and goals allowed per game. They won’t have much to carry over into this season, however, as three of their top four blue liners from a year ago are no longer on the roster (unrestricted free agent Stu Bickel is included in that). The lone returning player is Matt Dumba, but he seems to have earned a spot in Minnesota after spending the majority of his rookie campaign there. Iowa added longtime Texas Stars captain Maxime Fortunus, who matched a career high with 34 points last season, to help shore up a blue line that features several strong prospects like Christian Folin, Guillame Gelinas and Gustav Olafsson, but the overall youth on their back end could make it another tough go for Iowa.
Goalie
Six different netminders manned the crease for Iowa over the course of the season, but for the most part the Wild were led by the tandem of John Curry and Johan Gustafsson. Curry took the majority of the playing time, appearing in 41 games to Gustafsson’s 35, and turned in respectable numbers (2.66 GAA, .917 SV%), whereas Gustafsson floundered in his time with a goals-against average north of three and a save percentage south of .900. Neither are currently on the Wild’s roster for next season, however, with Gustafsson returning to his native Sweden and Curry still on the free agency market. So the net in Iowa appears to be up for grabs at the moment, with recent college signees Brody Hoffman and Steve Michalek looking to fill that void.
Outlook
After last season, the only direction for Iowa to go is up. The additions of productive veteran presences like Fortunus and Dalpe should help aid the progression of some of Minnesota’s exciting prospects and give the Wild a sizeable boost from a year ago. But even then, there are still plenty of question marks, most notably in goal.
