May 6, 2024
The 2023-24 Iowa Wild season featured plenty of highlights both on and off the ice. Despite the team coming up short of a playoff spot, there were plenty of areas in which to measure success. Iowa players past and present continued their development while the team continued its commitment to growing hockey throughout Iowa.
Continue reading for a chance to reminisce on individual and team accomplishments from the past season!
18 players who previously skated in Iowa suited up for the Minnesota Wild during the 2023-24 season, 12 of whom played with Iowa during 2023-24. Three Iowa alumni (Daemon Hunt, Liam Öhgren, and Jesper Wallstedt) made their NHL debuts with Minnesota.
Following two seasons in Iowa, Marco Rossi enjoyed a breakout rookie season with Minnesota. Rossi finished second among NHL rookies with 21 goals and fifth in scoring with 40 points. Rossi was also one of four rookie skaters to skate in all 82 games.
Jesper Wallstedt and Daemon Hunt both spent their second seasons surpassing the highs of their rookie years.
Wallstedt served as Iowa’s backbone in net, appearing in 45 of Iowa’s 72 games and winning 22 games. He opened the season with an 11-5-0 record and beat his rookie save percentage with a 0.910 mark during 2023-24. Wallstedt also started 21-of-23 games between Feb. 2 and Apr. 5 between NHL recalls.
Wallstedt made his NHL debut with Minnesota on Jan. 10 at Dallas and earned his first win and shutout on Apr. 7 at Chicago.
Hunt followed up a rookie season in which he posted 11 points (2-9=11) in 59 games with a 29 point (3-26=29) showing through 51 games. His 26 assists ranked third on the team and first among Iowa defensemen.
Hunt also saw his first NHL action and made his debut with Minnesota on Oct. 27 at Washington. He appeared in 12 NHL games and picked up his first point with an assist on Dec. 18 at Pittsburgh.
The Minnesota Wild generated buzz across Iowa when they acquired Luke Toporowski from the Boston Bruins on Mar. 8. The Bettendorf, Iowa native became the first Iowa-born player to suit up for the Iowa Wild in team history and recorded an assist on Mar. 9 against Manitoba.
He added a goal and an assist in front of friends and family the next night and finished with 11 points (5-6=11) in 17 games with Iowa. Toporowski’s contract runs through the 2024-25 season.
The 2023-24 season featured a laundry list of individual…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Iowa Wild…