Jared Spurgeon

Jared Spurgeon
Jared Spurgeon at Minnesota Wild open practice at Tria Rink in St Paul, MN.jpg
Spurgeon with the Minnesota Wild in 2019
Born (1989-11-29) November 29, 1989 (age 34)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 167 lb (76 kg; 11 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Minnesota Wild
SCL Tigers
NHL Draft 156th overall, 2008
New York Islanders
Playing career 2010–present

Jared Spurgeon (born November 29, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and captain of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Spurgeon was selected 156th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, from the major junior WHL's Spokane Chiefs where he won both a WHL Championship and the 2008 CHL Memorial Cup.

Playing career

Growing up in Alberta, Spurgeon played minor hockey alongside Tyler Ennis and the two were coached by both of their fathers.[1] Although he was originally a forward, Spurgeon was changed to defence at the age of 13 while in peewee.[2] Spurgeon then played with the Knights of Columbus Squires U15 AAA team in the Alberta Elite Hockey League alongside Ennis. In the 2004–05 season, Spurgeon recorded 35 points in 37 games and played in the 2005 Alberta Cup.[3]

Western Hockey League (2005–2010)

As a result of his strong 2004–05 season, Spurgeon was drafted in the tenth round of the Western Hockey League draft by the Spokane Chiefs.[3] He was also drafted by the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the United States Hockey League Futures Draft.[4]

After drafting him 156th overall in 2008, the New York Islanders failed to sign Spurgeon to a professional contract. After playing five seasons with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he won a Memorial Cup with the team, the Minnesota Wild invited the unsigned defenceman to attend their 2010–11 training camp. On September 23, 2010, Minnesota rewarded him by signing Spurgeon to a three-year, entry-level contract,[5] assigning him to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros.

Professional (2010–present)

Spurgeon warming up with the Wild in 2011.

Spurgeon played 23 games in the AHL before being recalled to the NHL[6] to make his debut on his 21st birthday.[7] Wearing number 46 for the Wild, Spurgeon played 14:42 minutes and registered one shot on goal in a 3–0 shutout loss to the Calgary Flames.[8][9] He scored his first NHL goal on February 22, 2011, against Nikolai Khabibulin of the Edmonton Oilers.[10]

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout Spurgeon and Tyler Ennis, best friends since boyhood, played together for the SCL Tigers of the National League A (NLA) in Switzerland.[11][12] In July 2013, he was re-signed to a three-year contract with the Wild.[13]

On December 21, 2015, the Wild announced they re-signed Spurgeon to a four-year, $20.75 million contract extension.[14] He played much of the season on the Wild's top defensive pairing with Ryan Suter.[citation needed]

On September 14, 2019, with one year remaining on his contract, Spurgeon signed a seven-year, $53.025 million contract extension with the Wild.[15] He was named the franchise's second full-time captain on January 3, 2021,[16] before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season.[17]

On February 19, 2023, during a game against the Nashville Predators, Spurgeon became the Wild's franchise scoring leader for defenceman with 370 career points.[18] On January 18, 2024, Spurgeon was ruled out for the rest of the 2023–24 season due to multiple injuries that required surgeries.[19]

Personal life

Spurgeon and his wife have four children.[20]

Spurgeon's older brother, Tyler Spurgeon, is also a professional ice hockey player. At a young age, Jared grew up watching his brother play ice hockey and he slowly began to idolize his brother. After seeing his brother enjoy his time on the ice, Jared credits his brother igniting his interest in the game and helping him transition into ice hockey. He started skating at the age of four.[citation needed]

Spurgeon and Tyler Ennis were born less than two months apart and grew up in the same Edmonton neighbourhood, playing in the same teams, often with their fathers coaching, and spending summers at the Spurgeon family's lake cabin.[12][21] In the NHL, Spurgeon and Ennis were teammates for the Minnesota Wild for one season.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Spokane Chiefs WHL 46 3 9 12 28 — — — — —
2006–07 Spokane Chiefs WHL 38 4 15 19 16 — — — — —
2007–08 Spokane Chiefs WHL 69 12 31 43 19 21 0 5 5 16
2008–09 Spokane Chiefs WHL 59 10 35 45 37 12 2 3 5 10
2009–10 Spokane Chiefs WHL 54 8 43 51 18 7 0 4 4 2
2010–11 Houston Aeros AHL 23 2 7 9 10 23 1 10 11 10
2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 53 4 8 12 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 70 3 20 23 6 — — — — —
2012–13 SCL Tigers NLA 12 3 4 7 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Minnesota Wild NHL 39 5 10 15 4 5 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Minnesota Wild NHL 67 5 21 26 16 13 3 3 6 2
2014–15 Minnesota Wild NHL 66 9 16 25 6 10 1 3 4 4
2015–16 Minnesota Wild NHL 77 11 18 29 14 6 2 3 5 4
2016–17 Minnesota Wild NHL 76 10 28 38 20 5 0 1 1 0
2017–18 Minnesota Wild NHL 61 9 28 37 8 5 0 1 1 0
2018–19 Minnesota Wild NHL 82 14 29 43 20 — — — — —
2019–20 Minnesota Wild NHL 62 12 20 32 18 4 2 2 4 4
2020–21 Minnesota Wild NHL 54 7 18 25 6 7 0 3 3 0
2021–22 Minnesota Wild NHL 65 10 30 40 10 6 0 3 3 4
2022–23 Minnesota Wild NHL 79 11 23 34 14 6 0 2 2 4
2023–24 Minnesota Wild NHL 16 0 5 5 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 867 110 274 384 146 67 8 21 29 24

References

  1. ^ Kennedy, Kevin (October 15, 2011). "Tyler Ennis". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Wild Defenceman Spurgeon 10 Seasons Into Size-Deying Career". NHLPA. December 11, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Kierszenblat, Adam (November 28, 2023). "WHL Draft Day Steals: Jared Spurgeon". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  4. ^ "RoughRiders select 6 players in USHL futures draft". The Gazette. September 7, 2005. p. 19. Retrieved February 25, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Wild Signs Three Prospects". NHL.com. September 23, 2010. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Jared Spurgeon player profile". The Hockey News. October 22, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  7. ^ Russo, Mike (November 29, 2010). "Spurgeon to make NHL debut; Theodore starts; Backstrom works on game; Reason for Kassian shuttle". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "Miikka Kiprusoff stops 32 shots, Jarome Iginla scores in Flames' win". ESPN. November 30, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Calgary Flames - Minnesota Wild - Nov 29, 2010". NHL.com. November 29, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Brothers, Bruce (February 22, 2011). "Jared Spurgeon's first goal hits home in Wild win over Edmonton Oilers". Twin Cities. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  11. ^ "Tyler Ennis und Jared Spurgeon zu den SCL Tigers". scltigers.ch (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Prewitt, Alex (July 7, 2017). "From Edmonton to Minnesota, best friends Tyler Ennis and Jared Spurgeon reunited after trade". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Spurgeon re-signs with Wild". NHL.com. July 5, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Wild Re-Signs Jared Spurgeon To A Four-Year Contract Extension". NHL.com. December 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "Wild, Spurgeon agree on seven-year contract extension". NHL.com. September 14, 2019. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "Spurgeon named captain of Wild, replaces Koivu". NHL.com. January 3, 2021. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "With new contract in tow, veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon named Minnesota Wild captain". ESPN. Associated Press. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  18. ^ McLellan, Sarah (February 19, 2023). "Jared Spurgeon becomes Wild franchise scoring leader among defensemen". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  19. ^ "Spurgeon out rest of season for Wild with hip, back injuries". NHL.com. January 18, 2024. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  20. ^ Myers, Dan (July 14, 2017). "Spurgeon, Ennis Living Childhood Dream as Teammates". NHL.com. Retrieved June 7, 2018. Spurgeon, his wife Danielle, and their three children live.
  21. ^ Youngblood, Kent (March 7, 2011). "Best of buds can say, 'We made it' with Wild, Sabres". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2017.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Minnesota Wild captain
2021–present 		Incumbent