Tag: Craig Leipold

The minor league Houston Aeros of 1994-2013 were a brand revival of the popular World Hockey Association club of the 1970’s, who famously featured ageless Hall-of-Famer Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty. During the 1990’s, the Aeros operated as a non-NHL affiliated independent club in the ambitious International Hockey League. The Aeros were always a strong club and won the IHL’s Turner Cup championship in 1999 and the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup in 2003, following the IHL’s demise in 2001. In their final decade, the Aeros were acquired by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and became the Wild’s top farm team in the AHL. After 19 seasons in Houston, the franchise moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 2013.