Coralville, Iowa- After three years of a successful affiliation agreement, the Iowa Heartlanders and Minnesota Wild have decided to keep it going for three more through the 2026-27 season, the two teams announced on July 26.
The Minnesota Wild have had a constant presence in the State of Iowa since 2013, when the Houston Aeros became the Iowa Wild and an affiliation agreement was signed with the Quad City Mallards. While the Mallards played their games in Moline, Illinois, the Iowa Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf were among the largest supporters of Mallards Hockey. While the Mallards were replaced with the SPHL’s Quad City Storm in 2019, their impact remains to this day.
When the Iowa Heartlanders were announced as an expansion team in 2020, set to begin playing in 2021. On June 17th, 2021, the Iowa Heartlanders and Minnesota Wild announced they would be affiliated and seek to continue the growth of Hockey in the State of Iowa.
“We are thrilled to renew and continue our affiliation with the Minnesota Wild. Over the past season, our ties with the Wild really strengthened, and their support has been essential to the growth of Heartlanders hockey in eastern Iowa. We look forward to building upon our strong partnership and developing top-tier talent for the Iowa Wild and Minnesota Wild. Both are truly first-class organizations and we are excited for many successful seasons together,” said Heartlanders Managing Partner Michael Devlin.
The Iowa Wild, AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, simply offered three “party” emotes to add to the occasion.
Throughout the three years of this agreement, 37 former Heartlanders have played for the Iowa Wild, and the Heartlanders have signed many players who participated in Iowa and Minnesota Wild Summer Development Camps, with Goaltender William Rousseau being the most recent to join that list.
Here is the Statement the Minnesota Wild offered:
The Iowa Heartlanders have featured their affiliates at multiple games, including affiliation night specialty jerseys and mascots visiting Xtream Arena.
The Iowa Wild’s “Wild on Wheels” street festival will also be stopping in Coralville on Thursday, September 12.
The Heartlanders will begin their 2024-25 season with their refreshed affiliation agreement starting on Friday, October 18th, when Iowa will host the Fort Wayne Komets to begin the 2024-25 season.
