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Iowa Heartlanders
City Coralville, Iowa
League ECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded2021
Home arena Xtream Arena powered by Mediacom
ColorsBlack, sunrise yellow, grey, white
       
Owner(s)Michael Devlin
Head coachDerek Damon
Affiliates Minnesota Wild ( NHL)
Iowa Wild ( AHL)
Website iowaheartlanders.com
Franchise history
2021–presentIowa Heartlanders
Current season

The Iowa Heartlanders are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Coralville, Iowa. The team began play in the 2021–22 ECHL season, playing their home games at Xtream Arena.

History

On September 17, 2020, Newfoundland Growlers' majority owner Dean MacDonald (through his group Deacon Sports and Entertainment) came to an agreement with the city of Coralville to place an ECHL team in Xtream Arena, pending league approval, for the 2021–22 season. [1] On January 12, 2021, the team was approved by the ECHL Board of Governors to join the league for the 2021–22 season. [2] In March 2021, the team announced it had hired former ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna as team president. [3] The team name, Iowa Heartlanders, was announced on May 20, 2021. [4] On June 17, the Heartlanders announced they would be the affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. [5] On July 27, 2021, the Heartlanders named Gerry Fleming as their inaugural head coach. [6]

On October 22, 2021, the Heartlanders played their first game against the Kansas City Mavericks and won 7–4 at home with more than 4000 in attendance.[ citation needed] In November, Kris Bennett was named the team's first captain, with Jake Linhart and Riese Zmolek given alternate captain roles.[ citation needed]

The Heartlanders finished their inaugural season with 29 wins, which included a franchise-best seven-game winning streak from mid-February - early March 2022.

In the summer of 2022, former head coach Gerry Fleming accepted an opportunity in the DEL (top German pro league) with a club in Frankfurt, Germany. The move paved the way for Fleming's assistant coach Derek Damon to take over the head coaching position. Damon was officially announced as the second coach in team history on July 5, 2022.

The Heartlanders set the team's all-time attendance record on Opening Night 2022 (Oct. 21, 2022) vs. the Idaho Steelheads. This attendance record was beaten at the sold out final vs. the Kansas City Mavericks on April 13, 2024.

In July 2023, Michael Devlin became the team's majority owner. The switch helped improve the team's local direction and resources. Devlin, founded Heartlanders Hockey LLC and brought a strong hockey background to the team, having already been the primary owner of the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers.

Season-by-season records

Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Kelly Cup
2021–22 72 29 33 9 1 68 229 263 7th, Central 2022 did not qualify
2022–23 72 22 36 13 1 58 189 256 7th, Central 2023 did not qualify

Players

Current roster

Updated March 15, 2024 [7]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/ G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
4 United States Ben Brinkman D L 23 2023 Edina, Minnesota Heartlanders
24 Canada Brett Budgell LW L 22 2023 St. John's, Newfoundland Iowa
18 Canada Will Calverley C L 25 2023 Scarborough, Ontario Heartlanders
89 Canada Nick Campoli C L 25 2022 Toronto, Ontario Heartlanders
71 United States Liam Coughlin C L 29 2023 South Boston, Massachusetts Heartlanders
34 United States Drew DeRidder G L 23 2023 Fenton, Michigan Heartlanders
8 United States Casey Dornbach RW R 26 2023 Edina, Minnesota Iowa
16 United States Jake Durflinger RW R 26 2022 Walnut Creek, California Heartlanders
26 Canada Ty Enns LW L 25 2024 Cartwright, Manitoba Heartlanders
19 United States Adam Goodsir F L 25 2023 Okemos, Michigan Heartlanders
92 Canada Louka Henault D L 23 2023 Montreal, Quebec Heartlanders
27 United States Max Johnson C R 25 2023 Lakeville, Minnesota Heartlanders
29 Canada Hunter Jones G L 23 2021 Brantford, Ontario Minnesota
41 United States Peyton Jones G L 28 2023 Langhorne, Pennsylvania Heartlanders
5 United States Hunter Lellig D R 25 2023 Waterloo, Iowa Heartlanders
3 United States Chris Lipe D R 24 2023 Rockford, Michigan Heartlanders
38 Canada Tanner MacMaster C L 28 2023 Calgary, Alberta Heartlanders
73 Canada Kyle Masters D R 21 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Minnesota
7 United States Kevin McKernan D R 29 2022 Grafton, Massachusetts Heartlanders
36 Japan Yuki Miura C R 27 2021 Tokyo, Japan Heartlanders
9 Czech Republic Pavel Novak RW R 22 2023 Tabor, Czech Republic Minnesota
88 United States Jack Perbix C R 23 2024 Elk River, Minnesota Heartlanders
22 United States Dakota Raabe F L 26 2024 Capistrano Beach, California Heartlanders
14 United States Justin Wells D L 25 2022 North Canton, Ohio Heartlanders

References

  1. ^ "Coralville announces it is getting a professional hockey team". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. September 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "ECHL Approves Two Expansion Memberships". ECHL. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Iowa Names Mckenna as Team President". ECHL. March 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Introducing the Iowa Heartlanders". ECHL. May 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "Minnesota Wild Announces Affiliation Agreement with Iowa Heartlanders". OurSports Central. June 17, 2021.
  6. ^ "Gerry Fleming Named Heartlanders First Head Coach". Iowa Heartlanders. July 27, 2021.
  7. ^ "Iowa Heartlanders roster". EliteProspects.com. March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.

External links


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