On The Road…To Rockford

The Iowa Wild are off to lovely Rockford, IL for a pair of games this weekend against the IceHogs…we’re about 4 hours into this bus ride, and I’m assuming we’ve got another 90 minutes or so left. (Bloggers note: we have just arrived, and it only took about 4:20 to get here…I was way off).

Figured during this down time, I’d fire off a quick blog of some random thoughts from both on, and off, the ice.

Here are your bus ride movies thus far:

• “Hangover 3” – It was OK (considering I never saw the second one), but nowhere as close to as awesome as the original “Hangover” was….let’s be honest, they were bound to go downhill given the simple fact that the Wolfpack’s first journey to Vegas was one of the best comedy’s of my lifetime.
• “White House Down” – Soooooo far over the top with special effects, etc. that’s it’s almost comical.  Although, I will admit it was nice to see my by Lt. Cedric Daniels from “The Wire” get a cameo.

Granted, these movies are mostly background noise – I’ve been crushing through some work on the first part of the trip. For most of the players, a bus ride like this is a time to mess around on their phones / iPads, listen to music, play cards, or catch some Z’s.

Once we arrive in a road city, the bus will stop first at the team hotel.  In the past (w/ the Houston Aeros) myself, the equipment staff, etc. would then head to the rink to unpack the gear.  However, for this trip, the equipment staff drove the equipment truck earlier in the day, rather than take the bus.  So I’m not really sure what the protocol is once we get to Rock-Vegas.  (Bloggers note: we are now heading to the rink to help unload). I know this much, I’m starving, and I’d like to watch the Minnesota Wild game, some Thursday night NFL action and maybe even catch some of the Stanford / Oregon college football game, while eating some form of a classy meal tonight.  High maintenance with my sports-watching, I know…

As for the two upcoming tilts against the IceHogs, this is a huge weekend for the Wild. After dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season, and allowing 10 combined goals while doing so, I’ll be interested to see how the team responds in what is typically a tough building to play in (at least historically for the Aeros).

BMO Harris Bradley Center will be rocking – their crowds on weekend nights are always solid, and if you fall behind early, or give them too many PP chances, you could be in for a long night (or two).

Here are my keys to success for this weekend:

• Goaltending: I know, I know, Captain Obvious is in the building. However, there’s no better way to snap a modest losing skid than a solid effort between the pipes.  If I’m a betting man, Darcy Kuemper will get the start both nights, a building he was 1-0-0 in last season, having pitched a 38-save shutout on February 9th.
• Discipline: The Wild sit in the middle of the pack in PIM/GP, at 19.22.  That’s simply not good enough.  Now it should be noted that some of their penalty minutes have come from game misconducts, fights, etc.  But the bottom line is over their weekend, three-in-three, Wild opponents went to the man advantage a total of 20 times over the three games.
• Zucker’s Success: Jason Zucker has three goals in the last four games, and that’s a great sign moving forward.  Coming off a rookie season where he scored 24 times with the Houston Aeros, it’s paramount for Zucker to be contributing both five-on-five, and on the power play.  As long as he’s in the AHL, he has the ability to put up close to a point per game numbers.  That type of consistency on the score sheet takes pressure off some of the younger players to contribute.

Both games this weekend are on 1460 AM, KXnO.  Hope you can tune it…

– Radio

Wild Hope To Rebound This Weekend – Tom’s Take

A hockey club’s ills come into focus pretty sharply when a short-handed goal with 35 seconds left in the game results in a loss.

That’s what happened Sunday evening as the 2013 Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins snapped the Iowa Wild’s three-game winning streak with a 3-2 win at Wells Fargo Arena before 3,825 fans. With Iowa on a power play for the final two minutes of the game, an errant pass in the Griffin’s zone ended up on Corey Emmerton’s stick who found Landon Ferraro on the right wing. Ferraro’s wrist shot to the far lower corner of the goal beat Darcy Kuemper for the win.

The loss followed an ugly 5-4 shootout win Thursday night against the Chicago Wolves that began with the Wild getting only 6 shots on goal in the first period.

Sunday’s game began a bit better  with 11 shots on goal in the first period, but if it wasn’t for some tough and aggressive play by veteran center Wayne Peters in the early second period this match would have been over a lot sooner than the final minute of the game.  

“Petey was awesome,” defenseman Steve Kampfer said after the game. “He was our best player Sunday by far. I think it just shows what kind of guy he is and what kind of character player he is for our team.”

With the Wild trailing 2-0, Peters, a hard-nosed no-nonsense veteran with almost 100 NHL games in his career, opened the second period with a hard check to a Griffin defenseman that sent Peters to the penalty box for elbowing.   After the Wild failed to respond to Kampfer getting drilled into the boards in the first period by Griffin center Landon Ferraro, Peters hit seemed to spark the club.

As soon as the Wild killed the penalty, the first big break occurred.  Peters, as he was skating toward the bench, dumped a hard shot against the glass behind Griffin’s goalie Tom McCollum. McCollum skated behind the net to control the puck but the ricochet off the glass got passed him and went straight to Wild winger Jason Zucker who drove the puck into the open net.

Then just 2:20 later, Peters scored his goal of the season on a bad angle shot near the boards and to the right of McCollum.  Later in the period, Peters blocked a slap shot from the point during a Griffin 5-on-3 power play that the Wild was able to weather.

Peters’ role in Sunday’s game and how it pumped the Wild into playing with intensity for the remaining 40 minutes didn’t go unnoticed.

“He is doing everything the right way and I think everyone on our team should go watch his shifts and get a little taste of what he does,” Kampfer said.

The 31-year-old Saskatoon native, who has played for Calgary, Dallas and Minnesota in 96 NHL games, said that he really didn’t intend to try to stir things up, but that it was clear that the club had been sluggish at the beginning.

“I don’t know that it set the tone, but we did have a pretty good 20 minutes and a good 20 minutes following that,” Peters said. “I didn’t go out there with that mindset, but we definitely wanted to respond in the second period.”

Peters said that the two sluggish starts plus the Wild’s ineffective power play – 0 for 7 against the Griffins – must addressed and quickly.

“It is learning how to come play on a regular basis,” Peters said.  “Young, old or in between, it doesn’t matter. It is about finding the routines and the rhythms that make sure that when the puck drops you are ready to play.”

Kampfer agreed.  “It is about guys coming to the rink prepared. Our preparation for the first five minutes isn’t there and it puts us back on our heels for the game. It is frustrating when you go out and you are playing on your heels for the first five minutes, then you are trying to come back.”

Peters said that while rough edges are common for a club’s power play early in the season, there comes a time when grinding the puck into the goal is the only real way to improve performance.

“It is not all about 80 foot across the ice passes, or backdoor one-timers,” Peters said. “ What you have to do is go out there and win the puck, win the battles.  It is not going to be fancy dancy, dipsy doodle. When we are struggling, we have to get an ugly one and get on a roll.”

Coach Kurt Kleinendorst said that both game prep and the power play will be high on the priority list for the Wild’s three-game weekend against Texas and Milwaukee at Wells Fargo Arena. The Stars, who played three seasons in Iowa before departing to an Austin suburb in 2008, will play Friday and Saturday night and the club’s first regular season match against division rival Milwaukee is on Sunday.

Kleinendorst took personal responsibility for the poor production from the power play, which he described as “horrendous” and what caused the Wild to lose to Grand Rapids.

“That’s on me,” he said.

As for the sluggish starts, Kleinendorst said that the club has practiced well and that he is a bit stumped by the poor starts.

“But at the end of the day, it is on all of us. I have to take responsibility, but players have to take responsibility too. They are paid professionals and it is their responsibility to be ready to play when the puck is dropped,” he said. 

Opening Weekend Rewind – Tom’s Take

Just about the last place on earth Iowa Wild defenseman John Blum expected to be Saturday night was in Iowa.

After all, the 24-old defenseman from Long Beach, Calf. played 35 games last year in the National Hockey League for the Nashville Predators and 33 games the year before.

But now he is back in the American Hockey League at least partially the result of a lowered salary cap in the NHL that has forced quite a few NHL caliber players down into the AHL.

But Saturday night’s inaugural opener for the Wild before a roaring record crowd of 10,213 didn’t leave an impression on Blum, it left a memory.

“Without a doubt, it was the best opening night that I have ever been a part of at this level,” said Blum, who also has played AHL hockey in Milwaukee. Following the Wild’s tightly fought 1-0 over Oklahoma City on Saturday night, Blum said that the crowd’s energy got to a lot of the Wild players throughout the game.

“The crowd was really into it,” he said. “For me, it really felt like an NHL game. The crowd made it that much more exciting for us.”

The two matches played by the Wild this weekend at Wells Fargo Arena is just the beginning of what Minnesota Wild officials hope will be a long relationship between the parent club in the Twin Cities and its AHL franchise now here in Des Moines.

On Saturday, the Wild won a tight 1-0 match with 10,213 fans jamming the lower bowl of the arena and sounding like a hockey crowd should. Don Burton, a long-time Des Moines hockey fan, said that Saturday’s crowd was most encouraging for hockey fans who were disappointed by the last attempt here four years ago.

“Frankly, this is the way it is supposed to be and the way a lot of us thought it could be,” Burton said as he took in the view from the game officials level in the arena press box.

Throughout the night, the crowd took it upon itself to cheer for the team at critical points and served-up a lot of noise, particularly in the final tense seconds before the end of the shutout by goalie Johan Gustafsson, who was playing in his first North American professional game after two years in the Swedish Elite League.

Coach Kurt Kleinendorst put the game simply. “It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was beautiful thing.”

On Sunday, the Barons pummeled the Wild in the third period with two goals to break a 2-2 tie before 4,217 fans despite 70 degree weather and NFL football on television. But, despite the loss, the Wild players came back on the ice to sign autographs for a couple hundred fans who stood in line on the ice just to get a chance to meet the players.

“It’s been a spectacular start and would have been perfect with a win on Sunday,” Jim Mill, the Iowa Wild general manager, said as he looked out upon the panoramic view of the Iowa Statehouse and the Des Moines river from the fourth floor of Wells Fargo Arena. “But we also know this is a beginning and we have a long way to go.”

Mill said that the Wild will focus on improving the team as well as the franchise’s operation here every day. He said that the Wild organization is committed to making the Wild one of the best in the AHL and believes the proximity to the parent club will be helpful in a variety of ways.

“It is a process and we know that it takes time and effort,” Mill said. “But this is a first class facility and it’s in a first class city. We need to work on lots of things, but we know that there is not only real market potential here, but part of that is that we become very involved in the community.”

Mill predicted that the Iowa AHL franchise will get better on and off the ice. “We will be better in April than we are now, both competitively and in the front office. We bring that focus every day,” he said.

For his part, Blum said that the night also provided him with more evidence that his decision to play in the Minnesota Wild organization was a wise one. Blum said that he had choice of seven or eight teams, but deliberately chose the Wild.

“I thought it would be a better fit for me because Minnesota has proven over the past few years that they are in the process of building a winning team and organization. I think most players want to be a part of that kind of approach,” Blum said.

Blum also said that local Iowa fans will come to recognize that the level of hockey in the AHL is about as close to the NHL level as it can be.

“There is so much great talent in the AHL right now, it’s unbelievable. You have to be consistent and hard working here to make sure you are ready to move up when the time comes. I think this organization knows how to do that and I think it will show up here,” he said.

Tom Witosky, who spent 33 years as a reporter for the Des Moines Register specializing in investigative reporting in sports, politics, and business, is now a freelance writer. He also was the beat writer for the Iowa Barnstormers during the days of Kurt Warner. He began his love of hockey playing on Lake Minnetonka and fondly remembers the days of Danny Grant and J.P. Parise with the Minnesota North Stars. His blog on All Things Iowa Wild will appear regularly.

Opening Weekend Is Upon Us!

What’s up, Wild fans?

I’m super pumped for this weekend…I can’t imagine just how amped up all of you hardcore fans are!  Our entire organization has put in so much work leading up to this weekend, it’s unbelievable.  Now, we finally get to drop the puck on Saturday night.

With that said, here’s what I think you should watch for this weekend with the Oklahoma City Barons in town:

• The recent recall of #1 goaltender Darcy Kuemper to Minnesota (due to the injury suffered by Niklas Backstrom) means that Johan Gustafsson could be making his North American, regular season debut.  Gustafsson spent the last few seasons playing in his native Sweden; he did make a cameo (relief appearance) for the Minnesota Wild in a preseason game against St. Louis, but other than that, this weekend could be his first real taste of the North American pro game.

• Handling The Vets: The American Hockey League limits the number of “veteran” players you can dress on any given night.  Here is the rule, verbatim, from the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA) website:

What is the Veteran Rule?

Each AHL Club must dress for each regularly scheduled or play-off game, at least eleven (11) Players, other than goaltenders, who have played in a total of not more than two hundred and sixty (260) regular season games in the National Hockey League, American Hockey League, International Hockey League, or any European Elite League, prior to the start of the season, and one (1) player, other than goaltenders, who has played in a total of not more than three hundred and twenty (320) regular season games in the National Hockey League, American Hockey League, International Hockey League, or any European Elite League, prior to the start of the season. Any Player who participates in European Elite League games during a hockey season in which the Player would be eligible to play in the Canadian Hockey League (excluding an overage year) shall not have such games count in the calculation of the two hundred and sixty (260) regular season games. Players on loan from the National Hockey League for a first fourteen (14) day conditioning period shall not be affected by the aforesaid experience requirement.

In the event a Club dresses fewer than seventeen (17) skaters, the number eleven (11) shall be reduced accordingly. In the event the Member Clubs elect to dress eighteen (18) skaters, the development rule minimum number of eleven (11) shall be increased to twelve (12).

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s the possible predicament for the Wild:  Stephane Veilleux (vet), David Steckel (vet), Warren Peters (vet), Jake Dowell (vet), Brian Connelly (vet exempt), Jonathon Blum (vet exempt), Carson McMillan (vet exempt) and Chad Rau (vet exempt) all fall into this category, at least to some degree.   Thus, there may be some nights where all of the above are in Des Moines, and healthy, forcing Coach Kleinendorst to make some tough decisions.  Rarely in the AHL does a team with “too many vets” let the situation linger for too long, or it may just sort itself out via injuries, call-ups, trades, etc.

• The Young Guns: Tyler Graovac, Zack Phillips, Raphael Bussieres, Erik Haula and Taylor Matson….just a few of the young, talented players that the Wild have in the fold to start the season.  Of those I mentioned, only Phillips has one full, professional season under his belt.  However, all of these prospects will be leaned on heavily this year.  It will be interesting to see how they fare this weekend, and just how much they develop under the guidance of coaches Kurt Kleinendorst and Steve Poapst.

• On The PP Blue Line: Special teams are crucial to any team’s success.  Of the 16 teams that qualified for the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs, 12 were ranked in the top 10 in either PP or PK efficiency, and four teams were ranked top 10 in both.  It will be interesting to watch, especially early in the season, who gets the majority of the reps on the back end of the PP units.  Connelly and Blum have plenty of “PP QB” experience; Steven Kampfer can, and has, handled the role in the past, and obviously you can use a forward back there too.  In addition, I noticed defenseman Kyle Medvec getting some practice reps on the 2nd unit earlier in training camp, so I guess we’ll just see how this plays out.

Don’t be fooled by the Barons 0-2-0-0 record after dropping a pair of games to the Charlotte Checkers last weekend.  If anything, they’ll be even more desperate when they get to Wells Fargo Arena.  They certainly have more than a handful of new faces, mostly rookies, from last year’s club that went to the Western Conference Finals, but one thing is always for certain with OKC – they are well coached, and they’ll be disciplined.

Here’s how you can check out all the action this weekend:

• Get your tickets by calling 564-8700, or online at http://www.iowawild.com/home/

• Watch the live TV broadcast (Saturday night only) on Mediacom’s MC-22 channel

• Listen on 1460 KXnO (Josh Fisher is calling Saturday’s game, while I work the TV broadcast) or online via the iHeartRadio app

• Follow us on Twitter, especially the newly created @IAWildLive account for in-game updates

– Radio

Making the Wild call – Meet the Voice of the Iowa Wild, Joe O’Donnell

Making the Wild call

Joe O’Donnell found his calling during his freshman year at the University of Delaware.

“Once I realized that I wasn’t going to play hockey at a high level, which I probably should have realized sooner than I did,” the 33-year-old Havertown, PA native said with a laugh. “I wasn’t even the best kid on my high school team so how was I going to go the NHL?”

A brief tryout as a freshman for the Blue Hen’s American College Hockey Association club team left O’Donnell looking for a way to stay close to the sport he grew-up loving the most. A visit to the college radio station during his freshman orientation provided that path.

“I found the station and told them I wanted to do the hockey games,” O’Donnell remembered. “They said show-up Friday night, so I rode my bike the arena. Within a couple of weeks I was doing color and the next thing I knew a couple years had gone by and I had done a couple of years of hockey games.”

Now, O’Donnell has been the play-by-play voice for three different professional hockey teams over the last nine years and on Saturday will officially begin his sixth season as the play-by-play voice for the Minnesota Wild’s American Hockey League franchise. This time he will be making the call in Iowa thanks to the off-season move from Houston. When he isn’t traveling with the team, O’Donnell doubles as the Iowa Wild’s director of broadcasting and corporate sponsorships – a key job in the club’s front office.

The move to Iowa has been a good one, according to O’Donnell, who received some good advice from former Iowa Stars assistant Paul Jerrard a few weeks before the announcement that the Houston Aeros were relocating to Iowa. Jerrard, now an assistant coach with the AHL’s Utica Comets, remained with the Dallas Starts organization after leaving Iowa and was an assistant for Dallas from 2011-13.

“We were in Austin and everyone knew we were going to be moving to Des Moines,” O’Donnell said. “So I asked Paul, what do you think? And he said West Des Moines is a great place to live. Great school district, great everything.”

Since arriving in May in central Iowa with wife, Cara, and his two sons, O’Donnell has spent most of his time meeting potential corporate sponsors and area residents who are either fans or are about to become Wild fans.

“Right now there seems to be an excitement about what we are doing,” he said. “We need to make sure that we don’t let our guard down and build on that momentum as an organization.”

With the Wild’s season-opener on Saturday and Sunday, O’Donnell sees a roster as a good blend made-up of Aero veterans, a couple of NHL veterans and a host of new players just beginning their professional careers.

“If you look at the roster right now, the thing that jumps out is the youth and the defense,” O’Donnell said. “There also is the potential to have a couple of guys on the back end with good NHL experience not to mention some excellent players from last year like two-time all-star Brian Connelly.”

O’Donnell said that fans should expect Iowa to focus its efforts early on defense and counter-attacking, a key tactic on the Minnesota system designed by Wild head coach Mike Yeo, who coached the Aeros for one season in the AHL. Yeo emphasizes solid defense and good goal-keeping as the threshold of beginning each attack up ice.

“When Mike Yeo coached us in 2010-11, he used the word ‘north’ all of the time, wanting to play the north and south game,” O’Donnell explained. “If there is a turnover, it is going up as fast as possible. If there is a break-up in the defensive zone with puck, you want to get north. You want to put pressure on the opponent with shots and keep it there by creating havoc with fore-checking.”

O’Donnell’s preparation for the season includes simply watching new players to get to know them by sight and not number. That’s because the game moves so quickly that the play-by-play broadcaster has to be able to describe the game as it happens almost without thinking.

“It is less names and numbers than it used to be,” O’Donnell said, adding that his wife used to test him on opposing team rosters. “Now, I am more about talking about the other team and players and our coaches and players and mixing in what has happened in previous games. I try to be more conversational and talk about the big picture.”

He also believes that while he wants to Iowa to win, those who listen to him will get an accurate detailed picture of the game without a partisan flavor.

“You will know that I am rooting for the Iowa Wild, but if you are listening in Milwaukee, you aren’t going to think that this guy is a homer,” O’Donnell said. “If the Wild doesn’t play well and Rockford does play well, I am usually going to lay that out there. I am not talking about throwing guys under the bus, but trying as objective as possible.”

Last week, the club announced it had reached a two-year agreement with KXNO 1460 – a Clear Channel station – for radio broadcast of a minimum of 60 games – during the 2013-14 season. At the same time, the remaining 16 games will be streamed both on Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio as well as AHL LIveRadio.

In addition, the club has announced a five-game television package with Des Moines Mediacom that includes Saturday’s opener against the Oklahoma City Barons at Wells Fargo Arena. The remaining four games will be telecast on Nov. 2, Dec. 20, Feb. 25 and Mar. 25 with O’Donnell doing the play-by-play.

The veteran broadcaster said that his approach to each broadcast will be based partially on his conversations with fans he has met so far. Many of them, he says, know hockey well.

“There are lots of NHL fans here, there are lots of fans who know the Des Moines Buccaneers, and there are fans here who know the American Hockey League” O’Donnell said. “I will be answering questions like why the power play may be struggling. Those are the kinds of things that hockey fans — whether it is the grandfather in Alberta of a star defenseman or the season ticket holder who lives and dies with the team – will want answered.”

At the same time, O’Donnell wants to make sure that fans get a laugh or two during games. He knows that there will be a few as he gets used to calling games for the Wild and not the Aeros.

“I am sure I will slip a few times calling us the Aeros. I am setting the under/over at five for the first game. If I can get under that I will be happy,” he said.

Notes…O’Donnell began his professional play-by-play career full-time with the Idaho Steelheads back in 2005, then moved to Houston where he succeeded former Iowa Stars broadcaster Jason Shaver…To get the Aeros job, O’Donnell also had to interrupt his honeymoon to travel to Houston for his interview in 2008…O’Donnell’s favorite hockey play-by-play broadcaster is Doc Emrick. “There is no one, in my opinion, who gets the passion of the game and the moments of the game than Doc Emrick.”

Tom Witosky, who spent 33 years as a reporter for the Des Moines Register specializing in investigative reporting in sports, politics, and business, is now a freelance writer. He also was the beat writer for the Iowa Barnstormers during the days of Kurt Warner. He began his love of hockey playing on Lake Minnetonka and fondly remembers the days of Danny Grant and J.P. Parise with the Minnesota North Stars. His blog on All Things Iowa Wild will appear regularly.

Tom’s Take First Practice In the Books

First Practice…

Iowa Wild General Manager Jim Mill watched intently Wednesday morning from a chair on the mezzanine level of Wells Fargo Arena as three forwards maneuvered around two defensemen during a three-on-two drill.

Shortly after a goal is scored, the goalie pushed out the puck from inside the net, Mill smiled: “That’s good. I like that.”

Meanwhile, a key member of that roster, goalie Darcy Kuemper, was just arriving in downtown Des Moines – a place that immediately reminded him of his hometown. What impressed the 23-year-old Saskatoon native the most, however, was the arena and the locker room where he will be spending most of his time this winter.

“It is awesome,” said Kuemper, who played 21 games for the Houston Aeros and six games last season for Minnesota last season. He is expected to be the Iowa’s mainstay goalie this season. “They are doing an awesome job already of getting us ready for the season.”

Now that Minnesota club officials have made up their minds on most the NHL roster, Iowa Head Coach Kevin Kleinendorst and Assistant Coach Steve Poapst begin to prepare their club for the 2013-14 season in the American Hockey League, the club’s first season in Iowa.

Mill said that he expects the first week of practice to be intense as well as helpful in getting ready for the season, which begins Oct. 12 – a week later than just about every other AHL team.

“We will turn it into an advantage because we have the chance to work a bit longer on our preparation,” Mill said. “These guys have had a lot of time to practice and some have already played in exhibition games.”

Mill also said that the club has agreed to scrimmage against the Milwaukee Admirals a week before their respective seasons begin. The teams will meet at the I-Wireless Center in Moline.

“They don’t start the season until the same time we do so we agreed to have a scrimmage halfway between Milwaukee and Des Moines,” Mill said. The Wild’s Central Hockey League affiliate, the Quad City Mallards, play at the I-Wireless Center.

That scrimmage would be in addition to the Sept. 28 road preseason game on the road at Chicago and the Oct. 2 Green-White Scrimmage at Wells Fargo Arena.

Most of the 25 players expected into training camp arrived Monday and Tuesday, but Kleinendorst and

Mill got good news during the Wild’s intense 90-minute practice: Six veterans cleared waivers and are expected to be at practice Thursday in Des Moines. Those players include four defensemen expected to help Kuemper and likely back-up goalie Johan Gustafsson. This will hopefully turn the Wild into one of the AHL’s top defensive teams.

Defensive players clearing waivers were veterans Brian Connelly, Steve Kampfer, Jonathon Blum and Jon Landry. Blum split his seasons the past two years between AHL Milwaukee and NHL Nashville. Landry played much of the last two years with AHL Bridgeport. Kampfer, who played for Sioux City in the USHL in 2004-05 and 05-06, played 55 games last year in Houston. Connelly has played four full seasons in the AHL, including last year in Houston.

Other players clearing waivers include former Des Moines Buccaneers forward Chad Rau, who has played four years in the AHL and Carson McMillan, another center with four years AHL experience. Both are expected to bring leadership to the locker room.

Kleinendorst reacted to the news all six veterans were on their way to Iowa with a smile though he acknowledged they are likely to be disappointed about being sent down to the minors.

“They will come to work like they always do,” Kleinendorst said. “There is a certain amount of disappointment and that is understandable. I feel for them because I have been in their shoes and know exactly what they are going through.”

But Kleinendorst, who has participated in Minnesota’s training camp the last two weeks, said he sees no problem predicting the veterans will come to Iowa ready to go to work.

“They have been schooled that the moment they walk into the building, they are ready for an honest day’s work. That just comes with professionalism and they are professionals,” he said.

Kleinendorst also said that the veterans on the Wild roster will play a key role, particularly in training camp and the early part of the season.

“Every organization needs those kinds of players and we have it. It gives you leadership in the locker room, particularly when it comes to my team,” he said. “But as an organization it gives you depth.”

Kleinendorst also praised the Minnesota front office for “a wonderful job of bringing in quality people and that is refreshing to me.” 

“It doesn’t take much, only one or two players can create headaches and make my life miserable,” he said. “You can overcome that, but when you don’t have to overcome it from my end, it just means all my energy gets to go in the right way. I appreciate the people in this organization because these are good guys.”

 

Tom Witosky, who spent 33 years as a reporter for the Des Moines Register specializing in investigative reporting in sports, politics, and business, is now a freelance writer. He also was the beat writer for the Iowa Barnstormers during the days of Kurt Warner. He began his love of hockey playing on Lake Minnetonka and fondly remembers the days of Danny Grant and J.P. Parise with the Minnesota North Stars. His blog on All Things Iowa Wild will appear regularly.

Day One In The Books From Minny-Soda…

What’s shakin’ Wild fans?  I’m up here at Ridder Arena, the home for the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team, where today, the Minnesota Wild hit the ice for the first time.

That’s right, the first day of the Wild’s 2013 NHL training camp is in the books.  Today was the first of three straight days featuring two-group practice sessions.  Group A hit the ice at 9:30 a.m., while Group B got on at 11:15 a.m.  (Blogger’s note: Xcel Energy Center didn’t have ice available today because of a couple of concerts in town this week)

Each group features about 20 players, including goalies.  Splitting things up player-wise allows the coaches to move through the drills quicker and get a better visual on how guys are adapting out there.  For the players, it’s more like a normal practice – meaning, there’s not a lot of down time on the ice.  Each player goes through a respective drill a couple of times, and then it’s right back to the whiteboard for the next drill / some teaching.  Not only does the the on-ice session flow better with less bodies on the ice, but the ice stays in better condition as well.

I missed Group A (I was driving up from Des Moines), but I caught most of Group B.  From what I saw, the pace seemed to be pretty good.  After Group B got off the ice, I chatted with several members of the Wild coaching staff / brass, and everyone seemed fairly pleased with the opening day of camp.  

The drill that stood out the most to me was a corners battle drill (one of the final drills they did before the players were put through a brief “bag skate”).  Personally, I love seeing the competition and intensity out there.  Obviously in a training camp situation, guys aren’t trying to flatten one another, but it still gives you a good idea of how strong a player is on his skates as well as their compete level.

Training camp is a numbers game.  It’s a chance for the younger prospects to show they belong on the same ice surface with the Mikko Koviu’s of the world.  At the same time, it’s a chance for guys like Carson McMillan, Justin Fontaine and Jon Blum to show the brass just how hard they worked this summer.  And believe me, the powers that be can tell.  McMillan for instance, looks to be in great shape.  Players like the three guys I just mentioned knew what they needed to work on heading into this past summer (Blum is a bit different however, since he was with Nashville / Milwaukee last season).  The question is always the same: did “Player X” improve themselves enough to become a consistent NHL player?  And quite frankly, the final answer might not be known in September.  But, as we all know, first impressions matter.  If Mike Yeo, Minnesota’s bench boss, sees something he likes, or a skill set he never saw in a certain player before, you better believe that player will slide up the depth chart.  Keep in mind, so much about getting “called up” is based on circumstance.  For example, Fontaine is a 5’10” winger that plays a two-way game.  If Minnesota loses a player to injury, suspension, or otherwise, that isn’t a two-way winger, well, Fontaine might not get the call no matter how well he’s playing.  Again, these are just examples, and my opinion, but I think it illustrates that training camp is certainly an important time for all of these players on an individual basis.

The other part of training camp that is crucial is the team element.  First off, there’s an emphasis on system work.  I talked with Andrew Brunette from the Wild’s hockey ops staff following today’s on-ice sessions.  He said that years ago during his playing days training camp was several weeks in length.  Now, it’s so condensed that coaches really have to get into their system work immediately.  In addition, training camp is a time for the newer faces to get integrated with the old guard.  Simply put, it’s a good time for team-building.  Chemistry is huge in hockey – not only do you need the players to mesh well on the ice, but you need to have a good dressing room.  Too many “bad eggs” or selfish individuals on a team, and it makes it that much more difficult to succeed.  Hockey is based so much on sacrifice, that if you’re not willing to play hard for your teammates / coaches, you’re gonna have tough time winning when it matters most.

Josh Fisher (author of “Fish’s Flics”, but of course you knew that already) and I crushed a couple of video interviews today for iowawild.com and our plan is to bag a couple more tomorrow.  So please keep checking iowawild.com for the latest multimedia features.  Oh, and follow me on Twitter – once the season gets rolling, I’ll be doing a ton of in-game tweeting.

On behalf of the Wild organization, thank you so much for the support / positive reception we’ve received thus far.  Our staff is working tirelessly to get ready for October 12th – it’s gonna be a blast!

I can’t believe the season is just a few weeks away…I’ll check back in during the I-Wild portion of training camp.

– Radio

Going Wild To Do Things Right

Going Wild To Do Things Right

AHL President Dave Andrews always believed Des Moines should get a second chance at having a franchise in the top minor league in professional hockey.

“We can’t make any guarantees about the future, but we continue to believe in the market,” Andrews told me four years ago when he had to shut down the Iowa Chops.

That second chance has arrived with the Minnesota Wild bringing its AHL franchise from Houston to Des Moines.

As the Iowa Wild organization builds the foundation for what they hope will be a long stay, I’d like to handicap why this go-round is fundamentally different than the previous four-year stay and has a good chance of succeeding.

Economy: First, it’s 2013 not 2008. Iowa, and Des Moines in particular, are coming out of the Great Recession. When the previous franchise was trying to draw crowds, Des Moines residents were dealing with 8% unemployment, businesses closings, and widespread home and commercial mortgage foreclosures. Very few really wanted to spend money on entertainment.

Now, unemployment is below 5%, the average cost of a home has returned to 2007 levels, and downtown real estate development is coming back. This kind of economic activity encourages spending on entertainment.

Venue: The Iowa Events Center – built over objections by some Polk County residents – clearly has proven its value to the community’s quality of life. Global Spectrum, first under Matt Homan’s supervision and now Chris Connolly’s, has delivered taxpayers a profit from the arena. Critics once used the hockey team’s lack of success to justify opposition, but now it’s tough to find naysayers, especially when they’re going to Wells Fargo Arena for a Fleetwood Mac or Taylor Swift concert.

Experience:  The Minnesota Wild owns and operates the Iowa Wild. While local ownership might be preferred by some, Minnesota has a vested interest in making the AHL team work here financially and competitively. The club believes in developing its players and they like that a player needed to fill out the roster on any given night can get to the Excel Center in St. Paul simply by driving less than four hours.

The Wild view the Iowa market as unchartered territory to expand marketing of the NHL brand. Minnesota Wild games, unlike Dallas or Anaheim’s, are televised into the Des Moines market on Direct-TV, making the potential connection with new fans even stronger.

Des Moines’ avid hockey fans already are excited about the good product that’s coming to town. The Wild staff in Des Moines is a savvy group facing a simple challenge: Draw the uninitiated and lukewarm hockey fans to the arena and make sure they have such a good time they, too, are avid to return to cheer the team.

Craig Leipold, the Wild’s majority owner, had a good selling pitch for about 80 Des Moines businessmen in June. The Racine, WI, native promised a long-term commitment to Des Moines and said he would visit often. The organization has backed up his words by bringing in a staff of about 20 employees, each of whom is out making calls every day to sell tickets and sell sponsorships. Wild officials say they are encouraged by the number of early deposits for season tickets they already have received.

And remember this during the first season: Most sports business experts believe that the appropriate amount of lead time to get everything ready is 18 months. The Wild has just four months to get the operation up and running. Yet this can be an advantage. Management can learn in real time what does and doesn’t work in this market.  Expect some experimentation on ticket prices as well as a variety of promotions.

Competition:  AHL players generally are a half stride away from the NHL. Any team in this league is worth watching if you like high-level professional hockey with 87 percent of NHL players having spent time in the AHL. Former Stars and Chops players now in the NHL include defenseman Nick Grossman at Philadelphia; winger Bobby Ryan, just traded from Anaheim to Ottawa; Mike Smith, the starting goalie for Phoenix; and winger Loui Eriksson–who  played almost 100 games in Iowa–who just was traded by Dallas to Boston after five years on the Stars roster.

The Wild franchise also has been successful on the ice qualifying for the AHL Calder Cup playoffs 10 out of the last 12 years. The Stars / Chops qualified twice in four seasons.

Second chances are great, and this time there are solid reasons to believe that hockey will succeed. It’s gonna be Wild.

Tom Witosky, who spent 33 years as a reporter for the Des Moines Register specializing in investigative reporting in sports, politics, and business, is now a freelance writer. He also was the beat writer for the Iowa Barnstormers during the days of Kurt Warner. He began his love of hockey playing on Lake Minnetonka and fondly remembers the days of Danny Grant and J.P. Parise with the Minnesota North Stars. His blog on All Things Iowa Wild will appear regularly.

IOWA WILD SEASON TICKET HOLDER ROOKIE CAMP – TOM’S TAKE

It’s real.

Old hockey fans and new hockey fans and everyone in between got to see Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena what many had been missing for more than four years.

“I missed not having hockey in town. I could always watch it at home on television, but is so much better when you can feel the chill of the ice, see the action and feel the energy,” Dr. Greg Ceraso of Johnston said.

Ceraso, a die-hard Pittsburgh Penguins fan, and his daughter, Jessie, were among about 1,000 season ticket holders to experience the Iowa Wild’s first Season Ticket Holder Rookie Camp – an opportunity for season ticket holders and their children to get a look inside the Wild locker rooms and meet members of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild front office and team operation staff. And, of course, take a spin on their skates around the ice of the newly installed rink where the Wild will open its first AHL season in Des Moines on Oct. 12.

The cool rink air, already adorned at center ice with the logo of the Wild’s presenting sponsor, Mercy Medical Center, felt good as fans walked into the building from 90 degree August heat with many wearing shorts and an assortment of hockey sweaters. Others wore Iowa Wild t-shirts that told the simple message that they were among the first season ticket holders.

The purpose of the night was simple: “We wanted to make it real for these fans, who are important to us,” Todd Frederickson, the Iowa Wild’s president, said afterward. “We wanted to give them some real evidence so they really knew this was going to happen.”

For Larry Ihrig and Jack Brunotte, two retired Des Moines police officers, the arrival of the Wild will mean a substantial cost savings this year. That’s because the two won’t be compelled to take one of their long hockey vacations in Ihrig’s van. In past years, the two have traveled to all but three minor league hockey towns to watch games.  The longest trip was a 35 day sojourn around the country.

“We will watch hockey all the time,” Brunotte said. “We have been to games at the lowest level in the South and have gone everywhere. But the fact that this team is here now is going to make it so much easier.”

Last year, the two even got as far as Abbotsford, British Columbia, where they watched the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate. Utica and Glen Falls, N.Y, where the Adirondack Phantoms play, are the only two AHL cities left on their map to visit, but that might have to wait a while.

“We will probably see 50 games this year just here in town,” Ihrig said, combining their season tickets to Wild games while taking in Des Moines Buccaneer games.

Both men expressed confidence in the Minnesota Wild’s ownership of the franchise and the future of the franchise in Des Moines.

“These guys really know what they are doing,” Ihrig said. “You can just see how much better they are at it than what was here before.”

Meanwhile, a group of four new Iowa Wild fans see the team’s arrival as a way to help improve the city’s quality of life, while also enjoying the sport.

“We will do anything that is good for the city and we really believe that having a hockey team at this level is good for the city,” Jerry Borowick of Waukee.  “We have seats on the glass and are looking forward to beating on the glass every night.”

Edward Collinet, general manager of European Motorcars, said he talked Borowick into buying tickets not just because he has been a Toronto Maple Leaf fan for more than 20 years, but because he always thought Wells Fargo Arena should have a hockey team. Collinet and his wife, Christine, have lived in Iowa only two years after living in Florida. European Motorcars is one of the Wild’s corporate sponsors.

“Ever since we moved here I have loved this building,” Collinet said. “We would come to events all the time and I couldn’t believe we couldn’t have a hockey team here. This is a great building so when the team announced they were coming here I was very happy.”

Christine Collinet, who grew-up in Minnesota, said that there is another advantage to having the Wild in Des Moines.

“It’s a great way to get my two nephews in Minnesota to come down and visit us in Iowa, she said. “They live and breath hockey 100 percent of the time all year round.”

And that Minnesota connection is something that has shown itself before, when the Wild’s farm team was the Houston Aeros.

“When the Aeros played here before, the stadium filled up. That’s because there are so many Minnesotans living here,” Ceraso said. “Those were much more energy filled games.”

Follow Tom Witosky on Twitter @toskyAHLWild.

Tom Witosky, who spent 33 years as a reporter for the Des Moines Register specializing in investigative reporting in sports, politics, and business, is now a freelance writer. He also was the beat writer for the Iowa Barnstormers during the days of Kurt Warner. He began his love of hockey playing on Lake Minnetonka and fondly remembers the days of Danny Grant and J.P. Parise with the Minnesota North Stars. His blog on All Things Iowa Wild will appear weekly.

Fish’s Flics #2 – Iowa Wild Movie Reviews

 

Hello Iowa Wild fans…

Here is my second edition of Fish’s Flics. Keep in mind, the Iowa Wild have been pretty busy of late. Kurt Kleinendorst was named Head Coach, the office furniture arrived (goodbye folding tables – hello desk with drawers and new storage space) and hockey operations is starting to get the the locker room in order. With that said, all folks in Iowa should start following Athletic Trainer Jody Green ( @JAGtheATC ) and Head Equipment Manager Mike “The Tuna” Lefczik ( @thetuna14) – on Twitter.

To remind you of the rules, the rating scale is from 1-5, measured in Swedish Fish (my favorite movie candy).

Over the last two weeks, I saw Wolverine, The Conjuring and The Call (Redbox pick up).

The Conjuring: In order to truly rate this horror movie, you have to take into consideration the type of movie it is. For example, you rate a comedy based on how much it makes you laugh. You should rate a horror movie based on how much it scares you. With that said, this movie was near epic and I am, in no way, kidding. I like horror movies, but gorey ones don’t do much for me. In hindsight, Poltergeist, Amityville Horror and The Excoricist are some of the scariest movies of all time. Ghost movies are plain scary to me. This movie is like the three listed above, but combined into one.

The Conjuring delivers on every front possible. It has good flow, has an OK plot (it is a horror movie), and has great effects. The use of sound in a scarey movie is equally important to the jump factor. They bring a lot of it to the table. This movie will give you chills.

If you can brave the elements, I highly recommend this movie. It might help you to see this movie at a matinee. I probably would not take a kid to see this movie. I would give it a perfect rating, but let’s face it, I can’t give a horror movie a perfect score.

Rating: 4.5 Swedish Fish

Wolverine: This was not a bad flic, but it was not an overly good flic. It just seems like the Marvel Comic series continues to go back to Wolverine and Hugh Jackman. At some point in time, Hugh Jackman has to get tired of playing this role. From a different angle, he did have to come back with a manlier role after Les Miserables.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest version of Wolverine. Fight scenes – as you would expect, there are some pretty good tilts in the movie with a lot of action. The effects are also good and the story line is decent. Not sure why, I was just not blown away by this movie.

If you are a big X-Men fan, you will like it. If you are looking to be entertained, try a matinee or even wait for it to come out on RedBox.

One last important note, stay till the end of the credits, there is a teaser for another X-Men movie that includes Magneto and Professor Charles Xavier.

Rating: 2.0 Swedish Fish

The Call: I needed to mix in a RedBox selection. I have to admit, when I initially saw the preview for this movie in late Winter, I was interested. The marketing folks did a good job of making this movie seem interesting. Also, Halle Berry is always a big draw for me – hands down one of the hottest chicks in the world.

Back to the movie, it was average at best. I’m glad I waited to see it on a DVD rental as opposed to paying full price at a movie theatre. With that said, it was an average RedBox rental.

Halle Berry is a 911 operator who is emotionally scarred from a serious call-gone-disaster. Basically, she has to deal with a psycho killer who preys on young women. Due to her bad experience, she takes a break from the phone lines to become more of a 911 Trainer. One day, the crazy man resurfaces and she gets thrusted back onto the phone line by default. To make a long story short, it’s moderately entertaining to see if they can locate the victim before the crazy man takes her life.

Ladies may find this more troubling to watch than men. Michael Eklund, who plays the “killer”, does a good job as a crazy psycho. He makes you think twice about leaving young women at home alone or unattended at a mall. At the end of the day, the movie was average – for a RedBox.

Rating: 1.5 Swedish Fish

Iowa Wild Director of Communications Josh Fisher

Aside from working in hockey, I happen to be a big fan of going to movies. After a lengthy discussion about my harsh criticism for movies, broadcaster Joe O’Donnell convinced me to write movie reviews. Seeing as how I try to knock out at least one movie a week, I will see what I can do to help you find good flics, and avoid the terrible ones (I will jump on the grenade for you). Keep in mind, I am pretty blunt in my opinion (don’t be offended). You can follow me on Twitter @iowawildfish