Iowa Wild Sign Greg Wolfe
The Iowa Wild have signed rookie forward Greg Wolfe of the Alaska Aces (ECHL) to a professional tryout (PTO). The signing took place on Wednesday.
NEWS: @mnwild has reassigned @sutter_brett, and #IAWild has signed Greg Wolfe to a PTO. More: http://t.co/uhEka8oDEP pic.twitter.com/eSr5tzcDym
— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) February 11, 2015
Wolfe is one of three rookies who have joined the Iowa Wild since the All-Star break. He joins Aces teammate and ECHL All-Star Olivier Archambault and Quad City Mallards forward Joe Perry, both of whom have drawn into the Iowa lineup already.
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Wolfe is the top scoring rookie in the ECHL this season with 17 goals and 31 assists in 44 games for the Aces. (Archambault ranks fifth and Perry ranks seventh among ECHL rookies.) Wolfe is coming off a four-year career with Michigan State University in the NCAA, where he captained the team through his junior and senior seasons. He finished his NCAA career with 35 goals and 54 assists through 147 games, capped with a 13 goal, 18 assist senior season.
The need for forward depth and the struggles of others have created a space for some young players from a lower level to be given a chance. At the NHL level, Matt Cooke will miss more than a month, Jason Zucker is out for the season, and Ryan Carter will miss a month as well. That’s created a situation where the NHL club currently has Jordan Schroeder, Stu Bickel, and Stephane Veilleux called up. It’s a great opportunity for these young players to carve out a space for themselves in the AHL.
That opportunity is aided by the struggles of players like Zack Phillips, Kurtis Gabriel, and Raphael Bussieres, who have not made the kind of impact the organization was hoping for. Wolfe, Archambault, and Perry all have the chance to make a statement and find their way into consideration for next season’s Iowa roster, if not a permanent place this season.
Wolfe will join the team immediately and should get a chance to play over the weekend as Iowa plays three games in three days, starting with Friday and Saturday matches against the Calder Cup champion Texas Stars. They’ll then take on the Oklahoma City Barons on Sunday afternoon at 4pm. All three games will take place in Des Moines.