Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Back home in Des Moines this weekend, the Iowa Wild are enjoying the climate-controlled environment at the Casey Center.
There’s no wind chill or the biting cold that came with last week’s outdoor games in Minnesota.
And they're enjoying the return of their goalie Carl Peterson.
Peterson started Saturday in Milwaukee for the first time since Dec. 12 after missing six weeks with an injury. It was a solid effort, too, as he made 27 saves to hold the Wild in a one-goal game until the Admirals' final empty-net goal.
Peterson, a native of Waterloo, Iowa, signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild last July, giving him his first chance to play in his hometown since he was a teenager with the Waterloo Blackhawks of the American Hockey League.
Minnesota is committed to Philip Gustafson and Jesper Wallstetter In net, Peterson is very clear and will likely be assigned to Iowa State. But the fit works for both parties. The Wild purchased goalie insurance for Peterson, who played 106 games in the NHL with Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Peterson has the opportunity to live just two hours away from his hometown, making it easy for family and friends to watch him play.
Peterson was also able to give back to Iowa State. He and Wild partnered with Scheels, a sporting goods retailer with a strong presence in the Midwest, to launch the Goalie Gives Back community program last month. The mission is simple: Purchase new goaltending equipment for young players and reduce the cost of ice time — two major obstacles to getting the next generation of kids to compete. Peterson will donate $1 per save this season, and Shires will donate the same amount.
But Peterson has done more than simply lend his name and even money to support the effort.
The program hosted a hockey equipment promotion event last month in partnership with Mid-American energy company RecPlex in nearby West Des Moines. The Des Moines Youth Hockey Association donates the equipment to local players for free. DMYHA also hosts evening goalie clinics, where Peterson and his Iowa State teammates will also appear as volunteer coaches. Goalie Gives Back will also provide funding to reduce the cost of the clinic.
Floor hockey? It's been a pastime for students for decades, so Peterson and his teammates will also hand out floor hockey equipment at local schools and extracurricular activities.
Any chance of skating on the ice at the Casey Center? DMYHA goalies will have the opportunity to work with Peterson at the Wilderness House for training and an “all-goalie game.” The event is scheduled for March 30.
Professional hockey doesn't always allow players to stay in one place for very long. When Peterson joined Minnesota last summer, he wanted to connect with Des Moines.
“I think it’s growing,” Peterson said of the state’s hockey scene. “There's a nice new facility in the RecPlex and I've had a few opportunities to go out and skate with some local kids. I think there's a really good foundation here and Iowa has a better chance of becoming a hotbed for hockey players.”
Cost keeps a lot of kids away from hockey. With shortages of equipment, ice time and local rinks, getting kids exposed to hockey and able to experience its rewards has been a significant challenge in the sport. Just north of Iowa's border, Minnesota's hockey culture goes back decades. Iowa is not there yet.
“That was a small part of the goal of the project I started,” Peterson explains. “Making sure they have the right resources and that cost isn't a direct barrier to trying to be a goaltender or getting on the ice. If that helps a little bit, it makes more kids want to try goaltending and make it a thing for them.”
After joining Iowa State, Peterson went to the team's front office to pitch his ideas. Senior Manager, Media Relations Alec Lesnar and Community Relations Manager Nick Spolek Help him further develop his plans, fill in the details, and take the project from concept to reality.
“They’ve done a really good job of supporting it and putting a lot of their own effort into it,” Peterson continued. “They were instrumental in raising awareness. It was a major collective effort that they embraced.
“There are a lot of people who care deeply about growing the sport and helping kids.”
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
