IOWA WILD SIGNS SIX PLAYERS TO AHL CONTRACTS
Jul 2, 2026DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild General Manager and Alternate Governor Matt Hendricks today announced the American Hockey League (AHL) club signed six players to AHL contracts for the 2026-27 season. Iowa signed forwards Bradley Marek, Gerry Mayhew, Nick Rhéaume, and Braidan Simmons-Fischer to one-year, one-way contracts and defenseman Mike Koster and forward Drew Kuzma to one-year, two-way contracts.
Marek, 25 (11/13/2000), recorded 12 points (7-5=12), 70 penalty minutes (PIM) and a minus-4 rating in 59 games for Iowa last season. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound native of Big Rapids, Mich., owns 31 points (20-11=31), 141 PIM and a minus-7 rating in 135 games across three career AHL seasons with Iowa (2024-26) and the San Jose Barracuda (2023-24) while also tallying 31 points (13-18=31) in 37 games for the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL in 2023-24. Marek spent two seasons (2021-23) at Ferris State University, where he totaled 36 points (17-19=36) in 72 career games and earned Rookie of the Year honors from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) as a freshman in 2021-22 after posting 19 points (10-9=19) and tying for the team lead in goals. Marek also spent four seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2017-21, where he posted 65 points (37-28=65) in 191 career games split between the Central Illinois Flying Aces (2017-19), Youngstown Phantoms (2019-20) and Muskegon Lumberjacks (2020-21).
Mayhew, 33 (12/31/1992), is Iowa’s all-time leader in goals (119), points (220), game-winning goals (18), and shots (690). The 5-foot-9, 161-pound native of Wyandotte, Mich., also ranks second in games played (288) and power-play goals (37), T-2nd in shorthanded goals (4), and T-3rd in assists (101). Mayhew holds Iowa’s single season records for goals (39, 2019-20) and shots (205, 2018-19). During the 2019-20 season, Mayhew was selected for the AHL All-Star Game and won the Les Cunningham Award (AHL Most Valuable Player) and Willie Marshall Award (AHL goals leader).
Mayhew owns 220 points (119-101=220), 210 PIM, and a plus-14 rating across 288 games in an Iowa Wild uniform. He posted 42 points (22-20=42), 32 PIM, and a minus-16 rating in 60 games with Iowa in 2025-26. He has recorded 352 points (185-167=352), 370 PIM, and a minus-4 rating over 505 AHL games with the Iowa Wild (2016-21, 2025-26), Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2021-22), Charlotte Checkers (2022-24), and Rockford IceHogs (2024-25). Mayhew made his NHL debut on Oct. 15, 2019, against Toronto and has posted 15 points (13-2=15), 20 PIM, and a minus-1 rating in 57 career NHL games with the Minnesota Wild (2019-21), Philadelphia Flyers (2021-22), and Anaheim Ducks (2021-22).
Rhéaume, 24 (5/2/2002), recorded 33 points (15-18=33), 137 PIM, and a minus-1 rating in 66 ECHL games with the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2025-26. Prior to his professional career, the 6-foot-3, 194-pound native of Sherbrooke, Quebec recorded 21 points (14-7=21), 73 PIM, and a minus-29 rating in three NCAA seasons with Northeastern University (2024-25) and UMass-Lowell (2022-24).
Simmons-Fischer, 24 (1/26/2002), skated in six games with Iowa and recorded 10 points (1-9=10), 94 PIM, and a plus-2 rating in 40 games with the Allen Americans (ECHL) in 2025-26.
Prior to his professional career, Simmons-Fischer played in the ACHA for Adrian College (2024-25) and totaled two points (1-1=2), 34 PIM, and a minus-5 rating in 25 games over two seasons with the University of St. Thomas (NCAA) from 2022-24. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound native of Commerce Township, Mich., recorded 26 points (9-17=26), 301 PIM, and a minus-16 rating with the Austin Bruins (NAHL) from 2020-22 and registered three points (1-2=3), 12 PIM, and a plus-4 rating in 22 games with the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) from 2019-21.
Koster, 25 (4/13/2001), recorded two assists in 13 games with the Wild and posted 21 points (4-17=21), 18 PIM, and a minus-9 rating in 38 games with the Iowa Heartlanders in 2025-26. Koster recorded five assists and a minus-1 rating in seven games for the Heartlanders in 2024-25. He also posted six points (2-4=6), two PIM, and a minus-4 rating in seven playoff games.
Prior to his professional career, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound native of Chaska, Minn., recorded 89 points (18-71=89), 38 PIM, and a plus-48 rating in 180 NCAA games across five seasons with the University of Minnesota (2020-25), where he served as captain during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Koster also posted 34 points (7-27=34), 18 PIM, and a minus-7 rating over three USHL seasons with the Tri-City Storm (2017-20). He was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round (#146 overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Kuzma, 23 (11/13/2002), recorded eight points (5-3=8), 21 PIM, and a plus-1 rating in 13 ECHL games with the Greensboro Gargoyles in 2025-26. Prior to his professional career, the 6-foot-6, 218-pound native of St. Albert, Alberta posted 31 points (12-19=31), 106 PIM, and a minus-41 rating in four NCAA seasons with Lindenwood University (2022-26) and served as captain during the 2025-26 season.
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