FIVE NEW FACES TO GET EXCITED ABOUT
Oct 11, 2016By Tom Witosky| Follow @toskyAHLWild
When the Iowa Wild takes the ice Friday, five players new to the roster will draw a lot of fan attention.
Alex Tuch, Nick Seeler, Adam Gilmour and Sam Anas will be hitting the ice for their first regular season American Hockey League game this season along Pat Cannone, a key new veteran acquisition from the Chicago Wolves. All five players – three of them top Wild draft choices – are expected to play key roles to get the AHL Wild its first playoff appearance in four years largely by boosting its ability to score.
Here is a quick rundown on the five new players that the Wild coaching staff will have a strong impact on the team this season.
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Alex Tuch – The Wild front office has been waiting patiently for their 6-foot 4-inch, 220-pound first round draft choice to make the next step in what appears to be a promising career. Widely considered a top six forward, Tuch had 32 goals and 30 assists in 77 games during his two seasons at Boston College. Tuch’s size and skating ability should give him the ability to establish himself as the power forward that Iowa needs to support its centers on offense and the club’s d-men in their own zone. Iowa fans should get to the rink to watch this guy because some say he might be headed to St. Paul soon.
Adam Gilmour – The 6-foot 2-inch, 200-pound Gilmour played three seasons at Boston College where he made steady progress in becoming one of the Eagles top playmakers. The Hanover, MA native’s illustrated his playmaking ability at BC early on, particularly in his sophomore season when he finished second in scoring to Tuch with nine goals, 18 assists and a +14. Gilmour finished last season with 26 points and +15.
Nick Seeler -- The 23-year-old former Des Moines Buccaneer defenseman is expected to be in Des Moines for the 2016-17 season as he learns from the Wild’s defensive coaching guru, David Cunniff. Seeler, a native of Eden Prairie MN, played two seasons at the Nebraska-Omaha and finished his college career at the University of Minnesota where he amassed 43 penalty minutes, but also had +14. Seeler already has impressed the Wild staff with his hitting ability and skating.
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Sam Anas – Anas, 23, signed a two-year entry level contract with Minnesota after leading Qunnipiac University in scoring in each of his three seasons there. He caught Minnesota’s attention particularly after posting an outstanding offensive season with 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists) in 43 games plus posting a +16. The 5-foot, 8-inch, 155-pound forward will have to learn how to deal with bigger players in the AHL, but is considered a gifted offensive player with a knack for finding the goal despite his smaller size.
Pat Cannone – The veteran forward signed a free agent contract after Derek Lalonde took the helm as Iowa’s new head coach. “I called Pat on free agent day and described what the expectations would be for him. I told him it wouldn’t be easy,” Lalonde said recently. “A player of that caliber could easily have been a piece on the top line anywhere including the teams that spend a lot of money.” The 5-foot-10 Cannone is expected to be a key scoring forward/center and follow up his career year last season when he had 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists). “When I talked about how this was an opportunity to turn something around and to be a big part of it, that spoke volumes about him,” Lalonde said.