The Iowa Heartlanders were established as an affiliate of the Minnesota Wild in 2021, and just last season, the Iowa team earned its first postseason appearance in franchise history, posting a franchise-best 36 wins and 83 points. The season was certainly a milestone but also one that left players with lingering desires. 

Forward Yuki Miura signed with the team at its inception and experienced the early doldrums of the Heartlanders, who compete in the ECHL, essentially the AA level of professional hockey — two steps below the NHL. 

After three straight seasons lodged in seventh place in the division, playoff action was thrilling, but a game seven loss in the first round against the Fort Wayne Komets left frustrating dissatisfaction. 

“That was the best and worst experience I ever had,” Miura said. 

The postseason was only a stepping stone. This season, which opened on Oct. 17, is centered on claiming the Kelly Cup. New head coach Chuck Weber knows the hardware well. He won it twice as coach of the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2008 and 2010. 

Weber, named the ECHL’s Coach of the Year in 2008, coached against Miura in international competition at the helm of Great Britain’s national team. Miura, who hails from Tokyo, represented Japan. 

“He’s really smart, has a lot of experience, and he won the [Kelly] Cup here, which is a really hard thing to do,” Miura said. “He has an open-door policy and is always open to us, and that helps us understand what we want to do on and off the ice.”

Weber, who hails from Lockport, New York, is adjusting well to Iowa City. Back in August, he saw the Iowa football team play against his alma mater, the University of Albany. 

“Everyone has been so welcoming, from my family getting acclimated here to the organization and the Iowa community,” Weber said. “It’s been fantastic.” 

Playing with speed is a quintessential aspect of hockey the Heartlanders have been working on during the offseason. Coach Weber said he wants his squad to not just be the hardest-working team but the smartest as well. 

“Our guys take a lot of pride in wearing the Heartlanders jersey,” Weber said. “We want to be a team that plays fast, competes, and does the little things well that can make the fan base very proud.”

While speed has been a primary focus of improvement of the Heartlanders’ training camp, Weber also wants to implement some creativity in the offense and believes his squad has the skills to do so. 

“We’ve been able to upgrade some talent here, and this team did a great job last year in making the playoffs,” Weber said. “They have a great identity, and we want to take that identity to another level and go deeper in the playoffs.” 

Weber likes to describe the 72-game regular season as a marathon, while he describes training camp as a 500-meter sprint. His players agree with this description. 

“We’ve got to outskate other teams, and that’s why we’re having hard practice,” Miura said. “We know if we work hard these two weeks, that’ll help us get more comfortable playing against other teams in the regular season.” 

This season, the Heartlanders will feature eight returning players, leaving room for plenty of new faces. Miura, last season’s captain, said returners need to step up in leadership. 

“I’m always trying to be helpful for the new guys, especially rookies, because the ECHL is a lot different than college or junior league hockey,” Miura said. 

Fresh names on the roster include forwards Brandon Schultz and Max Patterson. Schultz most recently competed in Germany, where he posted a 53-point season. Patterson played for five seasons at the University of Calgary before a short stint with the Komets. Defenseman Jacob Arsenault arrives for his first professional season after captaining Briarcrest College in Saskatchewan. 

Even though the roster has a lot of new faces, the locker room is full of excitement and anticipation.

“Expectations are high, and the guys who were here last year want to make a better push and get everybody on board,” William Rousseau, Heartlanders goalie, said. “The goal in the locker room is still to win the cup.”

All offseason long, the squad built chemistry by having dinners together and engaging in various other bonding activities. Weber said he can already see the bonds starting to form throughout the team. 

“We had 10 or 11 guys go to Iowa Wild camp in Des Moines, which allowed them to get to know each other there,” Weber said. “The guys have been getting up early to go to workouts and practices, so the team camaraderie has been fantastic so far.”  

Fans of the Iowa Heartlanders should expect a different looking team but one that is still hardworking, fast, and connected on the ice this season that scores goals and wins games. The franchise is just getting rolling as they continue to see more success in the standings. 

The Heartlanders have already played their preseason matchup against the Komets, claiming revenge in a 6-2 victory that saw two goals from forward Mike Koster. 

The Heartlanders opened their season with a 2-1 comback win over the Tulsa Oilers on Oct. 17, then posted a 6-5 shutout victory on the road a night later. Playing in its third contest in three days, Iowa fell, 5-4, in a rematch with Tulsa.

“Mistakes are going to be made, and my job as a coach is to correct those mistakes and build on things going forward,” Weber said. “The biggest thing for us is that, we want to be playing hockey in June of 2026, and if we can do that it’ll be a pretty successful season.”