Johan Gustafsson & Raphael Bussieres Sent To Alaska of the ECHL

The Iowa Wild announced today that they are sending goaltender Johan Gustafsson and forward Raphael Bussieres to the Alaska Aces of the ECHL.

Gustafsson, a former sixth round draft pick for the Minnesota Wild, has been pushed out of playing time since the NHL Wild sent Josh Harding down to Iowa to get some games in. Coach John Torchetti said today that Minnesota wants Harding to play. That means the team’s top goaltending prospect at the pro level (considering that Darcy Kuemper has been the starter in the NHL all season) is going to have his playing time cut unless he’s sent down a level.

So far this season Gustafsson has a 4-9-1 record with a 3.54 GAA and a .890 SV%. The team had initially sent John Curry to Quad City, the team’s other ECHL affiliate, upon the arrival of Harding, but have since recalled him. It looks like a stint with the Aces is the avenue to the most playing time and hopefully confidence for Gustafsson, who hasn’t met expectations since arriving in the AHL last year. Though, to be fair, he’s backstopped a team that has been pretty bad defensively.

Bussieres is a tough young player who could develop into a nice depth position at the NHL level within the next few years. He’s a former second round draft pick for the Wild (2012) and has had to battle through some injuries this season, suiting up for just six games. He has no points, a minus-3 rating, and just four shots so far this season.

Both Bussieres and Gustafsson are expected to make their ECHL debuts this weekend.

The Aces beat Stockton last night 4-3 in overtime on Brad Cole’s first goal as a member of the Aces. ECHL rookie of the month for November Olivier Archambault scored the equalizer to force OT with just 19 seconds left in the game.