Iowa Signs Olivier Archambault and Sets Opening Night Lineup
On Thursday the Iowa Wild signed Olivier Archambault to a two-way (AHL / ECHL) standard player contract (SPC). Archambault was an invitee to the Wild’s July development camp, the Traverse City Prospects Tournament, and NHL training camp. He’s signed this deal with the organization and has been assigned to the Alaska Aces of the ECHL, one of the team’s two ECHL affiliates. (More on that at the bottom of this post.)
Archambault had an impressive preseason with Iowa, scoring four goals and an assist in two games against the Chicago Wolves. He was originally a fourth round draft pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2011 and has spent the last five seasons playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He also grabbed ten games with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL last season.
The team also announced the signing of forward Jay (Jason) Gregoire and defenseman Jake Parenteau to professional tryout agreements (PTOs) on Thursday.
Parenteau is a native of Shafer, MN and spent four years playing for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Gregoire spent last season playing in the Swedish Elite League and spent time playing for the St. John’s IceCaps in the AHL before that.
Opening Night Lineup
The team also announced what will be their opening night lineup. Take a look:
Goalies: John Curry, Johan Gustafsson
Defensemen: Guillaume Gélinas, Colton Jobke, Jonathon Blum, Jake Parenteau, Corbin Baldwin, Gustav Olofsson, Alex Gudbranson, Justin Falk
Forwards: Tyler Graovac, Jordan Schroeder, Curt Gogol, Ryan Walters, Brett Bulmer, Zack Mitchell, Stephane Veilleux, Brady Brassart, Joel Rechlicz, Jay Gregoire, Brett Sutter, Raphael Bussieres, Marc Hagel, Michael Keränen, Kurtis Gabriel, Zack Phillips
Curry and Gustafsson are expected to share time this season, though that could easily change if Gustafsson is able to step up and claim the number one role.
The Iowa Wild will open the season tonight in San Antonio at 7:30pm and then they’ll play the Calder Cup Champion Texas Stars on Saturday at 7pm. It’s a tough couple of games for an Iowa Wild team that’s hoping to show off a lot more talent this season after have a disappointing debut season in Des Moines.
Aces Mallards
I had some questions about the Wild’s affiliations following this week’s announcement of the ECHL / CHL merger. The Wild switched their ECHL affiliation this summer from the Orlando Solar Bears to the Kelly Cup Champion Alaska Aces. The team also had a CHL affiliate in the Quad City Mallards.
Tom Witosky of the Iowa Wild told me that the affiliation will remian with both teams, relaying that Iowa GM Jim Mill said, “It’s the best of both worlds with Central and Pacific Divisions.”
So you don’t have to get rid of your Mallard jerseys after all. Now you’ve got two ECHL teams to root for with killer logos.
Nostradamus Says
The Hockey News has posted their predictions for the 2014-15 AHL season and they’ve got the Iowa Wild finishing 12th in the Western Conference. That’s three spots higher than they finished last year when they took last place in the West.