Read bides time, aims for one more NHL opportunity

During the NHL's All-Star break, Wild.com's Dan Myers has joined Minnesota's American Hockey League affiliate, the Iowa Wild, on a two-game road trip, sharing stories from inside the organization's minor-league team.

MILWAUKEE -- Iowa Wild forward Matt Read sat back in his locker stall inside UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and reflected on the state of his hockey career, one that has brought him success at the highest levels of the sport.
The 32-year-old native of Ilderton, Ontario -- about halfway between Toronto and Detroit -- played collegiately at Bemidji State University and has lived in the Twin Cities during the offseason for more than a decade.
Before signing with Minnesota over the summer, Read played 437 games over seven seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.
At the conclusion of a four-year, $14.5 million contract, the Flyers didn't offer him a contract to return, making Read an unrestricted free agent for the first time since he signed as an undrafted forward following four years at BSU.
Nearly a month into free agency, Read agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Wild, knowing full well he could end up in the AHL.
But that doesn't mean he's satisfied here.
"I'm not ready to give up hockey, one, and two, I still feel like I can play in the NHL," Read said following Friday's morning skate prior to Iowa's game against the Milwaukee Admirals. "I think about it every day, what I have to do to get back up there. I'm doing as much as I can, having fun and trying to enjoy it and help this team as much as I can.
"But my ultimate goal is to be back in the NHL."
Read was a bit of a surprise breakout player early in his NHL career.
An All-American as a Beaver, Read signed with the Flyers following his senior season and scored seven goals and 13 points in 11 AHL games. The following season, he spent the entire year with Philadelphia, scoring 24 goals and 47 points in 79 games.
He added 11 goals and 24 points in 42 games during the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign and followed that with yet another 22-goal, 40-point third season in 2013-14.
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The Flyers rewarded him with a four-year contract extension.
Things weren't as easy during that stretch, however.
Read scored just 30 goals during the life of that deal, seeing his games played in Philly drop from 80 in the first year, down to 79, then 63 and finally, 19 last season, when he played more games for the club's Lehigh Valley farm team.
Role was a big part of it.
When he was in the lineup, Read often found himself in a bottom-six spot or on the fourth line -- not conducive to scoring points.
"My ice time started to decrease, role started to decrease," Read said. "I feel like my game hasn't changed at all; they just wanted to give young guys opportunities, and it was time to move on."
Read said the time in Lehigh Valley last season showed him just how much he loved the game. He spent four months in a hotel away from his family, so it was his passion for the sport that often kept him going.
He's brought that same perspective this season to Iowa, which is having its best season since moving north from Houston, Texas six years ago.
"Theres a good group of guys down here," Read said. "There's not many teams where there's a group of guys in the locker room that you can hang out with off the ice every day. We know we have a special group in here."
On the ice, Read has been a valuable contributor, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 37 games. Off of it, he's been an invaluable mentor for first-year head coach Tim Army.
"He's been terrific and he's been completely invested in how we approach things here," Army said. "He's made some adjustments to his game that have helped ... and his game has gotten better and better as the year has gone on. He's played some good hockey for us."
When he was in the NHL, Read was a guy who could slot up and down the lineup depending on need. He was a regular on both the power play and penalty killing units, something that hasn't changed with Iowa.
Army said Read plays anywhere from 16 or 17 minutes to 21 minutes per night.
"He plays 6-on-5, he plays 5-on-6, he plays in every situation conceivable," Army said. "As a veteran guy who's played a lot of hockey, he brings a veteran stability for us, but he also brings an emotional stability. When you get in the moments where you feel like the momentum is shifting, he knows the right thing to say and how to approach the team."
That was a problem for Iowa last season, which got off to a hot start and put itself in a quality position to make the postseason for the first time. It stumbled down the stretch, however, as the games and the stakes got bigger.
Iowa got off to an even better start this season and has had to weather just one down stretch so far this year. After beginning January with consecutive wins, Iowa lost its next four games, losing in back-to-back contests in regulation for just the second time all year.
But instead of watching its season go sideways, Iowa returned to Des Moines and won three of its next four games entering this weekend, when it will hit the road once again for games in Milwaukee and Rockford before the AHL All-Star Game on Monday in Springfield, Mass.
Read, along with another veteran, captain Cal O'Reilly -- the two oldest players on Iowa's roster -- have helped keep the locker room more balanced.
"They're able to sort of reset our minds as a group of players and send a message that everything is going to be OK," Army said. "He's a guy that has helped guide our younger players, and his experience has been invaluable."
The AHL provides a unique backdrop for players like Read, who is always willing to help a younger teammate, but is also competing with that same person for the next available call-up to the NHL.
Injuries happen; guys have stretches where they aren't playing well or deals get done to change the look and feel of a roster. All of that can mean an opportunity for a player in the AHL, and for someone like Read, at age 32, who knows how many of those opportunities are left.
Read says all he can do is put his best foot forward and see what happens. In the meantime, he's going to have some fun.
"It's a healthy competition, and it's who has been playing the best at that moment when someone gets called up," Read said. "It keeps you on your feet, it keeps you honest and keeps you playing hard every game."