There has been a lot of obstacles for the Iowa Wild this season.
The most notable has been the abnormal number of players recalled and some for extended periods of time due to the injuries in Minnesota.
Both captain and veteran defenseman Dakota Mermis and forward Vinni Lettieri — two key players — have been regulars in Minnesota this season. Mermis has played 38 games with the Wild and only five in Iowa. Lettieri has become a key piece in the Wild's bottom six and 26 of his 36 games this season have been in Minnesota.
Jake Lucchini, 28, has played 15 games in Minnesota, which has been a major loss for Iowa. He had 23 points in 30 games with Iowa and led the team in scoring before his extended stay in Minnesota.
“It's really rewarding when you see the guys come up here and make an impact,” Iowa Wild general manager Mike Murray told The Hockey News. “Somewhat selfishly from the Iowa perspective, in the back of your head, you think, 'Man, it'd be really nice having those guys in Iowa,' but from the organization perspective, that's what the role of Iowa is. And to see those guys come up here and contribute to the success of the big club, that's ultimately what we want.”
The team is “relatively young” and has also dealt with its own injuries this season. Not to mention it's the first season with an entirely new coaching staff, which brings its own challenges. In November, first-year head coach Brett McLean went as far as saying, “The slow start to the year I’d say a lot of it is on me, too, just — as a new head coach — not maybe knowing what to focus on at the start of the year.”
Pat Dwyer — who was an assistant coach with Ben Simon under McLean — was promoted to Minnesota in November. A month later, Iowa brought in Cody Franson as his replacement, joining Simon as an assistant under McLean.
Iowa's major hurdle this season has been their inability to find consistency.
“There's been ups and downs, but you would expect that with a relatively young roster,” Murray said. “That's probably been the hardest part this year is sustained success and consistency from the group. We'll play well for a game, maybe two games, but stringing those (games) together throughout the season has been hard for the group.”
Iowa is 3-3 since the All-Star break and 4-4 in the month of February. With 23 games left, the team will need to find consistency down the stretch to make the postseason for a second year in a row and for a third time in franchise history.
“We've kept our head above water and in a position to still make a push for the playoffs,” Murray said, “which I attribute that to the coaching staff and the players taking advantage of their opportunities, and again, putting us in a position to potentially make the playoffs.”
By the numbers (via AHL.com)
Record: 18-28-3 (.398 points percentage)
Goal differential: -51 (119 GF, 170 GA)
Power play: 16.5% (24th)
Penalty kill: 73.1% (32nd)
Penalty minutes: 700 (seventh-most)
Goals leader: Adam Beckman (13)
Assists leader: Nic Petan (28)
Points leaders: Petan (40), Sammy Walker (31), Beckman (25), Lucchini (23) and Fogarty (23)
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