IOWA WILD ANNOUNCES 2017-18 TEAM CAPTAINS
Nov 8, 2017DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Wild announced Wednesday the team has selected its Captains for the 2017-18 season, starting with center Cal O’Reilly as the fifth Captain in team history. Fellow center Pat Cannone and winger Christoph Bertschy will serve as alternate captains.
“Just watching Cal [O’Reilly] operate, he’s extremely competitive. He’s been a captain in this league in the past for a reason. When we were going through those hard times, the ups and downs, when we had to make a push here or a push there or hold guys accountable…he was the voice in the room,” said Iowa Wild Head Coach Derek Lalonde.
O’Reilly, 31 (9/30/1986), served as team captain of the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) the past two seasons. He also wore the “C” with the Utica Comets of the AHL during the 2014-15 season. In his first season with the Wild organization, O’Reilly has recorded six points (two goals, four assists) in 10 games. In his AHL career, O’Reilly has posted 456 points in 535 games with seven teams. The Toronto, ON native has also skated in 145 NHL games, including his Minnesota Wild debut on Oct. 21, 2017 against the Calgary Flames.
Cannone, 31 (8/9/1986) is in his second season with the Wild after leading the team in scoring with 38 points last year. He served as an alternate captain for road games in 2016-17 and he previously captained the Chicago Wolves (AHL) during the 2015-16 campaign. Cannone is a seven-year pro and he currently ranks second on the Iowa Wild in scoring with seven points (four goals, three assists) in 11 games this season.
A native of Switzerland, Bertschy is in his third professional season in North America. The 23-year-old recorded the overtime game-winner on November 2, which marked his first goal and third point of the season. Bertschy is slated to skate in his 150th AHL / Iowa Wild game on Nov. 9, 2017 against the Rockford IceHogs. He has also played in nine career NHL games, all with Minnesota Wild.
The Iowa Wild hosts the Rockford IceHogs at Wells Fargo Arena at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday for the Wild About Education School Day Game.
The Iowa Wild 2017-18 season is presented by Mercy Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.