The Iowa Wild have been participating in the AHL out of Des Moines, Iowa for just one season and they have already done what the past franchises in IA couldn’t: Making money. Now, Iowa hockey fans await the 2014-15 home opener already announced by the team trying to increase ticket sales.
The AHL Franchises of the Iowa Stars and Iowa Chops both came to an end after a combined five straight seasons of poor attendance.
Todd Frederickson was warned about the attendance problems before choosing Des Moines to field his AHL Team, but this season was a successful one.
The Wild ended up placing 10th in the AHL in average attendance for the 2013-2014 season with 5,883 people per game.
Frederickson also wanted a short trip from the AHL to the NHL in case of a quick call up. Des Moines is only a 3.5 hour drive from St. Paul and given the circumstances, the strengths outweighed the weaknesses of moving to Iowa.
Despite a last place finish in the Conference, the Wild had an impressive season in progressing players on to the next level.
Stars such as Jason Zucker (injured for the rest of the season) and Darcy Kuemper (the starting goalie heading into the playoffs) have earned their way to Minnesota’s NHL Franchise.
The future is looking great for Iowa. The Wild affiliates in the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) and the Quad City Mallards (CHL) both qualified for the 2014 Playoffs in their respected leagues and it will be interesting to see how those squads’ players meet up in Des Moines.
Orlando (down 1-0 to Cincinatti) and Quad City (beating Allen 1-0) will both play game 2 of their series’ on Easter Sunday.
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