Welcome back to "Who Is That Player? Today we profile that famous
Iowa Wild defenseman,
Dakota Mermis.
Mermis, 29, has spent 426 games of his career in the AHL, most recently serving as the Captain of the Iowa
Chops Wild. The undrafted American is of course now in the NHL and about to play his 40th game at the top level. Mermis has impressed to such a degree that he surpassed Jon Merrill and the late, the great, Calen Addison on the Wild's depth chart.
It would be a bit like if the Stars suddenly decided Alex Petrovic was an NHL regular.
Ah, but why you ask. As with most things Wild, one could argue the answer can be traced back to truculence. Mermis has tallied a sizeable 409 PIMs in those 426 AHL contests. Along with his on-ice leadership he's won numerous AHL awards for community service involvement in Des Moines. Pretty cool!
Unfortunately the advanced stats have not been kind to our Mer-Man. He grades out in most areas even worse than Jani Hakanpaa which should give you some idea of where the Wild find themselves.
This has been, "Who Is That Player?"