Icemen enter affiliation agreement with Minnesota, Iowa

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Icemen announced that the team has entered into a multi-year affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild and the American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild.

"We are excited to enter into this affiliation agreement with the Minnesota Wild and its AHL affiliate the Iowa Wild," said Joe Ernst, Vice President of Hockey Operations for Zawyer Sports & Entertainment. "This is a great opportunity to build a collaborative relationship that benefits our teams, our players, and hockey fans in Minnesota, Iowa and Jacksonville.”

Under the affiliation agreement, the Icemen will serve as a resource for the development efforts and personnel needs of both the Iowa and Minnesota Wild. The agreement allows Wild prospects to be assigned to the Icemen for developmental purposes throughout the season.

"We are thrilled to announce a new ECHL affiliation agreement with the Jacksonville Icemen," said Minnesota Wild Executive Vice President and General Manager Bill Guerin. "This affiliation strengthens our commitment to developing players at every level while expanding the reach of our organization to an exciting and growing market."

The Minnesota Wild are based in Saint Paul, Minnesota and compete in the NHL’s Central Division in the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Grand Casino Arena. The Wild were founded on June 25, 1997, and began play in the 2000-01 season. The Wild made their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance in 2003, making a surprise run to the Western Conference finals, but ultimately falling to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The team have appeared in the playoffs a total of 14 times, and have won one division championship, in 2008. Current top players, include Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, Vladimir Tarasenko and Quinn Hughes. Notable Alumni include: Marian Gaborik, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette.

The Iowa Wild were founded in 2013. The team is based in Des Moines, Iowa and play in the AHL’s Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Casey’s Center. The Wild AHL Franchise was formerly the Houston Aeros in Houston, Texas, before relocating to Des Moines before the 2013-14 season and becoming the Iowa Wild. Iowa Wild inaugural season was opened on October 12 and opened with an attendance of10,200. Notable Alumni Include, Gerald Mayhew, Marco Rossi, Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Boldy, Kyle Rau and Sam Anas.