Despite playing during the lockout year, when some younger NHL skaters were stacking AHL rosters, Harding managed to go 21-16-3 with a 2.01 GAA and a save percentage of 0.930 in 42 games, including 4 shutouts. Outstanding numbers for a player playing his first season in the pros. Wild fans should be very excited about the future of this kid in net for the Wild.

It hasn’t been all goaltending helping the Aeros though. They’ve had some offensive contributors as well. Erik Westrum, acquired from the Phoenix Coyotes before the season in a trade, leads the team in scoring with 8 goals and 19 assists in 19 games. Veteran AHLer Kirby Law is right behind him with 9 goals and 12 assists in 19 games. Recent draft pick Roman Voloshenko leads the team in goal scoring and is third in points with 12 goals and 6 assists in 19 games. Defensemen Kurtis Foster and Curtis Murphy are 4th and 5th in the team with 15 and 14 points each, and Houston is even getting production out of some other recent Wild picks such as Patrick O’Sullivan (5-6-11, 17GP), Peter Olvecky (6-2-8, 19 GP) and defenseman Clayton Stoner (2-5-7, 19 GP).

The Aeros have been successful on the power play as well. Westrum and Voloshenko are tied for the team lead with 5 PP goals each, while Law and Olvecky have 4 a piece. Law and Olvecky have also contributed short-handed goals this season to help the Aeros.

Overall, the Aeros are second in the AHL in scoring, behind only Pitssburgh’s farm club. They have played more games than any other AHL team though, so it remains to be seen where they truly stack up offensively. In the standings, Peoria is the closest team to the Aeros in their division, with 18 points in 13 games.

Westrum is tied for the league lead in scoring with Jiri Hudler of Grand Rapids. Kirby Law is 4th in the AHL, and Voloshenko is 9th in scoring. Voloshenko is also tied for 3rd in the AHL in goals scored so far. Jason Pominville leads with 15 goals on the season. Harding’s 2.50 GAA ranks him 14th among AHL goalies, with Marc-Andre Fleury in the lead at 1.49 GAA. Harding’s save percentage is tied for 5th in the league though, an indication that he’s just facing more shots than most of the goalies ahead of him in the leaders.

You have to give the Aeros credit. With a new head coach in Rob Daum, who replaced Todd McLellan after McLellan took a job on the Detroit Red Wings coaching staff, it very well could have been a year of adjustment, but they have adapted to their new coach and gotten on a roll. You also have to give credit to Tommy Thompson and the Wild scouting staff. They are filling the Aeros with quality players. The question now becomes, are they NHL caliber players, or just good AHLers? Only time will tell.