Jacob "Jake" Middleton (born January 2, 1996) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was originally drafted 210th overall (the last pick in the draft) by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in the

2014 NHL Entry Draft The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia), Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, ...

Playing career

After being drafted by the

Owen Sound Attack The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J.D. M ...

in the 2012

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

Draft, Middleton played 14 games for the team before being traded to the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's Canadian Centennial, centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's c ...

on January 7, 2013. On January 8, 2016, in his fourth season with the 67's, Middleton was named captain of the team. After concluding that season, on April 8, 2016, Middleton signed an amateur try-out agreement with the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. He played seven games for the Monarchs before joining the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliate of the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, the

San Jose Barracuda The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team will play at Tech CU Arena beginning in the 2022-23 season. The Barracuda is a relocation of the ...

, for the 2016–17 season. On September 7, 2017, Middleton signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. He subsequently played the 2017–18 season with their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. While attending the Sharks' training camp prior to the 2018–19 season, on September 23, 2018, Middleton was reassigned to Barracuda. On January 5, 2019, Middleton was recalled from the Barracuda, and made his NHL debut that night against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. He recorded his first point on April 4, 2019, in a 3–2 victory against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. On October 5, 2019, he was placed on injured reserve. In the season, while remaining on the Sharks roster, Middleton scored his first NHL goal in a 6–3 win against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

on November 24, 2021. He compiled career best marks of 3 goals and 9 points through 45 games. While in the midst of his first full NHL season he was traded by the Sharks, along with a

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

fifth-round draft pick to the

in exchange for Kaapo Kahkonen on March 21, 2022. As a pending free agent, Middleton opted to remain with the Wild in signing a three-year, $7.35 million extension on July 6, 2022.

International play

On May 5, 2023, Middleton was named to

Canada men's national ice hockey team The Canada men's national ice hockey team (popularly known as Team Canada; french: Équipe Canada) is the ice hockey team representing Canada inter ...

at the 2023 IIHF World Championship where he recorded five assists in ten games and won a gold medal.

Personal life

Jake formerly played alongside his brother, Keaton, for the AHL's San Jose Barracuda between 2018 and 2020. Keaton currently plays within the rival

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

organization.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Jacob 1996 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Los Angeles Kings draft picks Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) players Minnesota Wild players Owen Sound Attack players Ottawa 67's players San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks players Ice hockey people from Stratford, Ontario