IOWA WILD RECALLS GOALTENDERS RILEY MERCER AND CHASE WUTZKE FROM HEARTLANDERS
Apr 16, 2026DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Wild General Manager Matt Hendricks today announced the American Hockey League (AHL) club has recalled goaltenders Riley Mercer and Chase Wutzke from the Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL). The Iowa Wild also reassigned forwards Elliot Desnoyers and Jaxon Nelson and goaltender William Rousseau to the Heartlanders.
Mercer, 22 (3/31/04), is 3-3-1 with a 2.72 goals-against average (GAA) and a .891 SV% with one shutout in seven AHL games with Iowa this season. Mercer has posted a record of 14-21-3 with a 3.22 GAA and a .892 SV% with one shutout in 40 games with the Heartlanders this season.
Prior to his professional career, Mercer went 27-15-4 with a 2.53 GAA, a .925 SV% and five shutouts in 46 games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junor Hockey League (QMJHL) this season, setting new career-bests in GAA and SV%. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound native of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, led the QMJHL in SV%, ranked T-1st in shutouts, third in GAA, fifth in saves and T-7th in wins.
Mercer set career-highs in games played and wins in the 2023-24 season with Drummondville, going 31-13-4 with a 2.53 GAA, a .905 SV% and two shutouts and ranked T-2nd in the QMJHL in wins. He helped lead Voltigeurs to a QMJHL Championship with a 16-2-1 record, a 1.89 GAA, a .934 SV% and one shutout in 19 postseason games. Mercer owns an 82-47-14 record with a 2.92 GAA, a .907 SV% and 10 shutouts in 150 career games with Drummondville over a span of five seasons (2020-25). He is 20-8 with a 2.81 GAA, a .910 SV% and two shutouts in 29 career postseason games (2023-25). Mercer is the franchise leader in wins, shutouts, shootout wins, games played and minutes, and his .907 career SV% also ranks first in team history.
Wutzke, 19 (7/26/06), owns a 2-1-2 record with a 2.98 SV% and .898 GAA in six games with the Heartlanders this season.
The 6-foot-2, 161-pound native of Debden, Saskatchewan, owns a 56-59-12 record with a 3.25 GAA, a .899 SV%, and three shutouts in 140 career WHL games across parts of five seasons with the Red Deer Rebels (2021-26) and Moose Jaw Warriors (2025-26). He was selected by Minnesota in the fifth round (No. 142 overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.
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