Wild AHL Affiliate to Des Moines?

[Broodwich]

I was up in St. Paul for the Wild season opener on Saturday night.

There's a lot of discussion that the Houston Aeros will relocate to Des Moines at the end of the season. This has been talked about for a few months here, but this is the first time I've heard anything that has real legs.

Good for the Wild. Good for Des Moines. Good for a regional association with an NHL club.

References in these two articles.

Homeland has Wild rookie Granlund well-covered | StarTribune.com

Wild 1, Stars 0 - Yahoo! Sports

 

[CY88CE11]

This makes a heck of a lot more sense than their affiliate being in Houston. And it branches their brand out to Iowa more. As a casual Wild fan, this pleases me.

 

[whirlybirds]

Let's just hope that Iowans get out and support it.

 

[sodakjoe]

I'm not a wild fan, but I would be totally on board with this.

 

[bostrem00]

This would be a perfect relocation for the team....

 

[Al_4_State]

Makes a lot more sense than their farm club being in Houston, or the minor league hockey team in Des Moines being affiliated with Dallas or Anaheim.

I've always thought that the key to making an AHL team really work here was to tie it to Minnesota or Chicago.

 

[Bobby45]

Let's just hope that Iowans get out and support it.

Besides the Iowa Hawkeyes er squawkeyes what have Iowans ever supported.....


Waiting for a reply..............

 

[cloneluke80]

couldn't get into "the chops" for that very reason.. also please don't name them the chops!

MN tie would be incredible., just look at the success of the Iowa cubs, make the atmosphere great, get lots of local companies, organizations involved and people will get on board..

 

[CY88CE11]

couldn't get into "the chops" for that very reason.. also please don't name them the chops!

MN tie would be incredible., just look at the success of the Iowa cubs, make the atmosphere great, get lots of local companies, organizations involved and people will get on board..

This.

And look at how many Cubs fans there are in Iowa. I know part of this is due to proximity, even without the I-Cubs, but being able to see up-and-comers go through Des Moines to get to Chicago is a huge draw.

 

[Al_4_State]

Besides the Iowa Hawkeyes er squawkeyes what have Iowans ever supported.....


Waiting for a reply..............

The Cyclones seem pretty well attended these days.

 

[jflattery]

I was up in St. Paul for the Wild season opener on Saturday night.

There's a lot of discussion that the Houston Aeros will relocate to Des Moines at the end of the season. This has been talked about for a few months here, but this is the first time I've heard anything that has real legs.

Good for the Wild. Good for Des Moines. Good for a regional association with an NHL club.

References in these two articles.

Homeland has Wild rookie Granlund well-covered | StarTribune.com

Wild 1, Stars 0 - Yahoo! Sports

I don't think they would move to Kansas City; KC seems to be more interested in an NHL team than an AHL team to move into the Sprint Center.

 

[cyhawkdmb]

Let me ask this.

Im not a hockey fan so I have no idea. Is Des Moines more of a Hockey town then Omaha?

Only reason I ask is because a AHL team failed in Omaha.

 

[oldwiseman]

Omaha has college hockey with UNO that competed with the AHL team.

 

[06_CY]

The support for the Chops was pretty poor and the ownership group was terrible. If this does happen, I hope both are better than before.

 

[chuckd4735]

couldn't get into "the chops" for that very reason.. also please don't name them the chops!

MN tie would be incredible., just look at the success of the Iowa cubs, make the atmosphere great, get lots of local companies, organizations involved and people will get on board..

Put me in the group who the the "Chops" name and logo was pretty bad ***, but naming them the "Iowa Wild", for example, would probably be a better fit. Regardless of your opinion of hockey, this would be a great thing for Des Moines.

 

[CY88CE11]

Let me ask this.

Im not a hockey fan so I have no idea. Is Des Moines more of a Hockey town then Omaha?

Only reason I ask is because a AHL team failed in Omaha.

Well, who would get excited in the midwest about watching a Calgary affiliate? Similar to the Iowa Stars/Chops being so far from Dallas/Anaheim. I think this will be more successful due to the proximity.

 

[ZJohnson]

Not a Wild fan but this is great. Nothing I hated more in my time living in DSM than the AHL leaving. I loved going to Bucs games, but that was almost for the drinking aspect. I need live hockey in my life. Finally got to see some last night. It is very similar down here. The only time the Yotes have a full house is when they play big name teams and all the northern transplants spend the money to see their respective team. Take last night, Opening Night for the Yotes and it was probably 40% Hawks fans(which was fricken awesome) and there was probably 1500-2000 open seats. It is hard for a city/state to get into hockey when they really don't offer it to kids growing up. Other than the minimal club teams.

 

[CyFan61]

Would this mean no more Buccaneers?

 

[CyDude16]

Would this mean no more Buccaneers?

They would still be here... Completely different level of hockey.

 

[CY88CE11]

Would this mean no more Buccaneers?

The Bucs are a junior team - kids trying to get college scholarship offers and things of that sort. In comparison to baseball, the Bucs are probably most similar to a high AAU team, whereas this "Iowa Wild" (if that's what they decide) would be like the I-Cubs.