Jared Spurgeon (born November 29, 1989) 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 ...

defenceman 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 ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of 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). Spurgeon was selected 156th overall by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

, from the major junior WHL's

Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadi ...

where he won both a WHL Championship and the 2008 CHL Memorial Cup.

Playing career

After drafting him 156th overall in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, the

failed to sign Spurgeon to a professional contract. After playing five seasons with the

in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL), where he won a Memorial Cup with the team, the

invited the unsigned defenceman to attend their

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

training camp. On September 23, 2010, Minnesota rewarded him by signing Spurgeon to a three-year, entry-level contract, assigning him to their

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, the Houston Aeros. Jared Spurgeon Wild

Spurgeon played 23 games in the AHL before being recalled to the NHL to make his debut on his 21st birthday. 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 The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. He scored his first NHL goal on February 22 against

Nikolai Khabibulin Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin (; rus, Николай Александрович Хабибулин, p=xəbʲɪˈbulʲɪn, born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", h ...

of 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 ...

. During the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...

Spurgeon and Tyler Ennis, best friends since boyhood, played together for the SCL Tigers of the

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

in Switzerland. On December 21, 2015, the Minnesota Wild announced they signed Spurgeon to a 4-year, $20.75 million contract extension. He played much of the season on the Wild's top defensive pairing with

Ryan Suter Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. Suter's father, Bob Suter, was ...

. On September 14, 2019, with one year remaining on his contract, Spurgeon signed a seven-year, $53.025 million contract extension with the Wild. He was named the franchise's second full-time captain in January 2021 before the start of the Covid virus-delayed season.

Personal life

Spurgeon and his wife Danielle have four children. Spurgeon's older brother, Tyler Spurgeon, is also a professional hockey player. At a young age, Jared grew up watching his brother play 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 hockey. Jared started skating at the age of 4.Athletes Nation TV. "Jared Spurgeon- AN Profile". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExCLZc8a5XI. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 15 Nov 2011. Web. 23 May 2016. Spurgeon and Tyler Ennis were born less than two months apart and grew up in the same

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

neighbourhood, playing on the same teams, often with their fathers coaching, and spending summers at the Spurgeon family's lake cabin. In the NHL, Spurgeon and Ennis were teammates on the Minnesota Wild for one season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spurgeon, Jared 1989 births Canadian ice hockey defencemen Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Alberta Living people Memorial Cup winners Minnesota Wild players New York Islanders draft picks SCL Tigers players Spokane Chiefs players Sportspeople from Edmonton Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland