IOWA SENDS CAITO AND MICHALEK

(DES MOINES, IA) – The Iowa Wild, AHL affiliate of the Rapid City Rush, announced today that defenseman Matt Caito and goaltender Steve Michalek have been assigned to the Rush ahead of their weekend home-and-home series against the archrival Colorado Eagles. In an additional transaction, goaltender Breton Lindoff has been released.

Caito, a native of Coto de Caza, California, comes to the Rush on both an assignment by the Iowa Wild and a trade for his playing rights with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye in exchange for the playing rights of defenseman Kevin Gibson and future considerations. The 5’11”, 190-pound blue-liner had yet to see action with Iowa this season. Last season, he played with the reigning AHL Champion Grand Rapids Griffins for 13 games, and notched a goal and an assist before heading to Toledo, where he saw action in 23 games and scored 8 goals with 6 assists for 14 points and a +7 rating. Caito appeared in 17 playoff games as well with the Walleye, adding 9 points (1g-8ast) before falling to the eventual Kelly Cup Champion Colorado Eagles in the Western Conference Finals. Prior to playing professionally, the second-year defenseman played college hockey with the University of Miami-Ohio, registering 16 goals, 56 assists, 72 points, and a +25 rating in 151 games.

Michalek, a Hartford, Connecticut native, also comes to the Rush on an assignment from the Wild. The 6’3”, 205-pound net-minder had yet to see action in Iowa this season as well. Last year, he spent the full campaign in Des Moines, posting a 13-14-1 record, 2.63 GAA, and .919 SV% in 30 games. On contract with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, Michalek enters his third season of professional hockey, having played with Iowa and the ECHL’s Quad City Mallards over the last two seasons. In an Iowa uniform, Michalek has a 20-19-3 record in 44 appearances, and with the Mallards boasted a 12-8-4 record, 2.42 GAA, and .924 SV% in 24 games back in the 2015-16 campaign. Prior to turning pro, Michalek played three seasons in the NCAA with Harvard University, spent a season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Roughriders, and was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 2011 NHL Draft (6th Rd-#161).

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