Life as a Wild lifer: Jared Spurgeon has built a Minnesota legacy, on and off ice, at 1,000 games
EDINA, Minn. — Walk into Jared Spurgeon’s home, and it’s immediately striking. There’s no evidence that a professional hockey player lives here, let alone the captain of the Minnesota Wild.
There are board games and puzzles. There’s a piano that his daughters are learning to play. There are pictures of his wife, Danielle, and their four children. There are three giant, gentle rescue dogs, snoring away.
But no hockey sticks, no hockey pictures, no Wild emblems are anywhere in sight.
“This house is about ‘us,’ not ‘me,’” Jared explains as he sips on a cup of coffee.
Downstairs, it’s the same. Jared and Danielle redid the basement a year ago, and the only thing Danielle could convince Jared to let her frame was his first game-worn Wild jersey, his two outdoor-game jerseys and his Wild captaincy sweater.
“I’d be completely fine if there was nothing,” Jared says.
“Well, we have to put up your silver stick,” Danielle says, referring to the award given to NHL players when they reach 1,000 games.
“Maybe,” Jared says, chuckling.
“What?” Danielle replies.
“I’d rather put the kids’ stuff up,” Jared says.
“We’ll put their stuff up, too,” Danielle says, rolling her eyes.
None of this will come as a surprise to Wild fans. Over the past 16 seasons, Minnesotans have gotten to know Jared, now 36, as a quiet, kind, team-first person with no interest in the limelight.
Danielle certainly isn’t surprised by her husband’s humility.
Danielle and Jared were high school sweethearts at St. Francis Xavier in Edmonton and have been together 21 years. They came to Minnesota in 2010, essentially as kids. They’ve grown up here and grown a family here.
On Saturday night, that family — Danielle; Zach, 16; Colbie, 11; Jayce, 8; and Myer, 7 — will watch with pride as Jared becomes the 76th player in NHL history and second in Wild history to play his first 1,000 regular-season games with the same franchise.
Considering where Jared came from, it’s a remarkable story.
He’s 5-foot-9, wears size 8 skates and went unsigned by the team that drafted him, the New York Islanders, before coming to Wild development camp as an invitee and then being asked back for the Wild’s Traverse City prospect tournament in 2010.
Players rarely earn contracts from those tryouts, which typically just help teams fill tournament rosters.
So Jared was within a hair’s breadth of joining his older brother, Tyler, in Austria and hoping to forge a hockey career overseas.
Instead, the Wild signed him, then shockingly — thanks to then-Houston Aeros coach Mike Yeo’s recommendation — two months later called him up to make his NHL debut on his 21st birthday.
No. 46, a number that will hang from the rafters at Grand Casino Arena one day, was assigned to him because it was the only jersey in equipment manager Tony DaCosta’s trunk that was Jared’s size.
Of the 40 Wild and Calgary Flames players who dressed in Jared’s debut, only two others are even still in the NHL: Brent Burns and Mikael Backlund. After that game, Jared never left, other than for an assignment to the Calder Cup playoffs, where he helped lead Houston to the conference final.
Now, 999 games and more than 225 teammates later, Jared is the Wild’s all-time leader in virtually every defenseman statistical category.
“It goes by really fast, too,” Jared says. “I remember going to Matt Cullen’s and Eric Staal’s and Zach Parise’s 1,000-game parties and thinking, ‘Holy crap, that’s a ton of games,’ and here it is for me. We’re very lucky to be in one spot the entire time, to have our family enjoy and put down roots, as well, in a place that we love to live. The people here are so great, whether it’s meeting them through the Wild or just now meeting people through our children.
“This is an awesome community and one we plan to never leave.”
There’s an open-door policy for Jared’s teammates at the family’s home, which hosts every team gathering, from Thanksgiving dinner to Christmas and Halloween parties.
This is because of the way Jared was treated as a youngster.
A month into his Wild career, Nick Schultz wouldn’t take no for an answer when he invited Jared to his Christmas party. And when Cullen found out that Jared and teammate Marco Scandella had nowhere to go on Christmas in 2010, he invited them to his house and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Jared still remembers the way he was treated by Clayton Stoner, the Wild defenseman who took Jared under his wing and drove him everywhere his rookie year. It was Stoner who actually gave Jared his nickname, “Little Jerry,” a “Seinfeld” reference. It’s stuck because DaCosta kept using it.
Jared and Danielle also have two-way contracted players (destined minor-leaguers) over to their house during training camp. And when Matt Boldy broke his ankle in training camp his first year and wasn’t technically a member of the team, Jared walked into the gym as Boldy was rehabbing and told him, “You’re coming to my house for Halloween.”
Shy at the time, Boldy tried to politely decline, but Jared wouldn’t let him. So wearing a boot, he arrived at their home with Brandon Duhaime in costumes, and next thing you know, Boldy was down in the basement doing his go-to karaoke song, “Ice Ice Baby.”
“He and Duey were two of the last to leave,” Jared says. “As a young player, you remember that stuff — how you could be feeling lonely and then a veteran lets you into their life. Having that confidence to go to Schultzy’s house and Cully’s house, you feel like you’re part of it, and it really makes a difference.
“Now, when you go to the rink, you feel so much more comfortable.”
That’s why in Denver last weekend, the day after the trade deadline, Jared invited all the recent acquisitions to dinner. That dinner ultimately included 13 teammates.
When Quinn Hughes told Jared recently that he hadn’t gotten to experience Minnesota much yet because the Wild have been on the road so much since he arrived via trade and, of course, because of Hughes’ Olympics and post-Olympics schedule, Jared told Danielle they needed to have Quinn over for dinner.
“But we waited for spring break this week because Zach would die inside if we invited Quinn over and he wasn’t home,” Danielle, laughing, says of their oldest child, a defenseman for Northstar Christian Academy’s Under-18 AAA team in Alexandria, Minn.
“A week before Quinn got traded here,” Zach says, “I was like, ‘Dad, you’ve got to get me Quinn’s stick when you’re in Vancouver. … You’ve gotta get something from him.’”
“I told him I wasn’t able to, and he was disappointed,” Jared says. “But I actually got the stick and brought it home with me and surprised him with it.”
“And then I was in New York, and the next day I see it on my phone, like, ‘Quinn Hughes is a Wild,'” Zach says. “I was so excited when he got traded here because he’s my favorite player, and now he’s playing here, so it still kind of feels weird. The other day, I brought a couple of my buddies down to the game, and then we saw him. I couldn’t believe it was him. He came out, walked by, so we got to meet him, say hi. I just can’t believe he plays for the Wild.”
Zach, who is about to get his driver’s license, was born two weeks before Jared’s 20th birthday.
When Jared made his NHL debut in Calgary, Zach was in Danielle’s arms after just turning 1.
“Zach doesn’t know a day without Jared’s career,” Danielle says. “We were at a game recently and (Wild mascot) Nordy sat beside us, and I looked at Zach and said, ‘Do you know this is the same Nordy since we started?’ So we took a picture to go with the picture we took with Nordy when he was just a baby. It’s crazy to think Nordy’s known Zach since he was tiny.”
Not many children get to watch every second of their dad’s professional playing career.
In fact, pro athletes’ children usually don’t get the chance to be in one city long enough to make lifelong friends.
Zach and his best friend, Dylan Donnay, who plays hockey at Edina High School, have been friends since preschool.
“Watching them be friends is my favorite thing,” Danielle says. “It’s like a mini-Jared and (best friend and former NHLer) Tyler (Ennis). Dylan’s the same type of hockey player. Same personality.”
“Just blond hair,” Jared says of Dylan.
Zach Spurgeon and his best friend, Dylan Donnay, have known each other since preschool. (Photos courtesy of the Spurgeon family)
“When your husband is in the NHL, I never thought I’d be able to give that to our kids — a lifelong, childhood friend,” Danielle says.
“That’s why when we’re done … done, we’ll stay here,” Jared says.
But when it comes to Zach and Dylan, Jared says, “They’re so funny together. Like, they’re saving up to buy a car together … to share.”
“We’re like, ‘How does that work?’” Danielle says.
“You don’t even live together,” Jared says. “They’re a funny little pairing. They’re always looking for a quick little adventure to find ways to make money. Like laying mulch or washing windows.”
“Zach’s like, ‘We’re gonna get squeegees and Windex.’ I’m like, ‘That’s not how it works.’ His latest thing is selling his hockey cards on eBay.”
Zach realizes how unique it is that he can have a best friend like Dylan and be part of the same friend group that gets to go to Homecoming together.
“I’ve seen so many kids have to move away when their dad is traded or signs somewhere else,” Zach says. “And they don’t really get to hold relationships. Me and my siblings are extremely lucky that our dad’s been one place his whole career.”
Zach only plays hockey.
Colbie is volleyball and soccer.
Jayce is hockey and soccer, but he’s about to start squirts, so he’ll likely start really focusing on hockey.
Myer loves gymnastics.
Jared will help with Jayce’s hockey team in the spring, but he doesn’t coach. He doesn’t mind pushing pucks around the ice or helping on the bench, but he thinks it’s important his kids get guidance from other people.
When Zach decided to go to Northstar Christian, a couple of hours outside the Twin Cities, it was much harder on Mom than Dad. Maybe, Jared says, because he also left home as a teenager to play junior hockey. Plus, it’s so close that Zach comes home a lot on weekends.
Like his dad, Zach is a defenseman. In fact, he’s going to WHL Portland next week to practice for four days after going to their camp last summer.
The extended Spurgeon family, from left: Jared, Myer, Danielle, Jayce, Zach, Colbie and Jared’s parents, Debi and Barry. (Photo courtesy of the Spurgeon family)
“He hopes to be like Quinn,” Jared says, laughing. “He’s very offensive. He’s very quick, smooth, smart.”
“Sorta impulsive,” Danielle says.
“Yeah, he’s a riverboat gambler out there,” Jared says. “I cringe sometimes.”
But Jared says Northstar Christian coach Rylan Galiardi — former NHLer T.J. Galiardi’s brother — and assistant coach Joe Cullen, who runs the defense — one of Matt Cullen’s brothers — are accepting of Zach’s high-risk style.
“That’s the game now,” Jared says.
Jayce’s game is different.
“He’s like a bull in a china shop. Works his butt off,” Jared says. “It looks hard for him out there, but he gets stuff done. He’s good. They’re both very smart.”
Around the house, Jared’s a lot like at the rink. Quiet, soft-spoken, nice as can be.
When he’s in town, he gets up with the kids so Danielle can catch up on sleep.
“I could sleep through everything, but I never hear them screaming with Dad,” Danielle says of the kids. “But every time it’s just me in the morning, it is chaos. I always ask them, ‘How are you guys so quiet with Dad?’ Maybe I just breed stress.”
Perhaps it’s the captain in Jared. He can handle a big room.
“Colbie helps, too,” Jared says. “Now that she’s older, if she’s in a good mood…”
“The whole household is fine,” Danielle says, finishing Jared’s sentence as both laugh. “She dictates the energy. If she riles the other two up, then everybody is fighting. If she’s in a good mood, they’re all in a good mood.”
It’s been quite a journey from the 20-year-old camp invitee to the second full-time captain and building this beautiful family in this beautiful home.
“At 20 years old, to be obviously having Zach and at that time not having a contract or anything either, was obviously tough for us to go through,” Jared says. “But Danielle held the fort down and encouraged me to keep going and keep chasing it. We’re very fortunate that it worked out in such a special place, and obviously, having the support of her behind me, and then obviously Zach, too, being that age, and our families helping young parents, it’s an amazing story.
“Just getting here and making our own life, too, away from our families, it’s been awesome. This is a special place for us. It’s similar to home, but not quite home.”
When Jared moved to Minnesota, he lived in an apartment by the Mississippi River in St. Paul.
Then he rented a townhome in Bloomington, then a house in Bloomington.
Then, as a lot of Wild players do, he and his family moved to Edina, purchasing this home shortly before COVID-19.
That’s when they really started to feel that Minnesota wasn’t just a place Jared played but a place they lived.
“Everyone says it’s sort of a curse once you buy a house and settle in the city — that usually you get traded — but I think for us, we just loved it here,” Jared says.
“We decided, regardless of what happens, we’ll probably still stay,” Danielle says. “We just can’t pull the kids out now. They all have friends. They’re settled. This is home.”
The Spurgeons have a sport court in their basement. It has a basketball court, so teammates will often end up downstairs playing BUMP at gatherings. Jayce loves when Dad’s Wild teammates come over. He puts on the goalie gear and has Boldy, Brock Faber, Kirill Kapizov and the rest shoot on him.
The downstairs has black marks and holes in the drywall from years of hockey in the basement.
The one thing Jared does now is collect sticks from opposing players for his kids. He got the Quinn Hughes one for Zach, a Jack Hughes stick for Jayce, a Connor Bedard one for Colbie, “who, for some reason,” Jared says, loves Bedard.
He’s gotten sticks from everybody from Roman Josi and to Hutson to Nathan MacKinnon to Sidney Crosby to Auston Matthews.
“Ever since I was 1 year old, my dad’s been playing here,” Zach says. “He’s the best dad in the world. I’m going to miss it for sure when he’s done. There has been a lot of games, but it’s crazy to think that it’s at 1,000 now because this is a little bit of my life, too. It’s crazy to think that I’ve seen every one.”
After making his NHL debut on his 21st birthday, Jared Spurgeon poses for a photo with his father-in-law, Norm; aunt Wendy; wife, Danielle, holding 1-year-old son Zach; and sister, Breanne. (Photo courtesy of the Spurgeon family)
A few years ago, Jared wondered if he’d get to 1,000 games. He was limited to 16 games in 2023-24 because of severe back and hip injuries that eventually resulted in season-ending surgery.
He remembers being dejected because he couldn’t tie Jayce’s skates. He remembers one time lying on athletic trainer John Worley’s table and saying, “Worls, I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.” There were many calls to his wife, in which he broke down and vented.
He tried three different types of injections that didn’t work. All types of rehab that didn’t work. He worried about his life after hockey.
“I wanted to be healthy for my family,” Jared says. “I don’t know how many times I called Dani just to say I was done. That’s why I’m so grateful to be healthy and on this team. This team is so good. This group of guys is so good. I think being healthy just brings you back to appreciating what you’ve got and enjoying every aspect of it.
“We have so many leaders on our team — young guys like Brock and Bolds and the amount they’ve been through, to Moose (Marcus Foligno) and Ekky (Joel Eriksson Ek) and Quinn and Kirill and Brodes (Jonas Brodin) and Zuccy (Mats Zuccarello).
“Every day I come to the rink, I have a blast. Early in my career, I’d come home grumpy. I don’t know when that changed, but when you have a family and young kids, they only care if you win or lose. They don’t care what I’m doing out there, so I now leave it at the rink.”
Approaching 1,000 games has allowed Jared to become very introspective lately.
He thinks about how lucky he’s been to play with guys such as Brodin, Foligno and Eriksson Ek for so long. How lucky he was that Chuck Fletcher even signed him, that Yeo campaigned for him as a recall, that Bill Guerin entrusted him with, at the time, the highest salary ($7.575 million) in Wild history and then the captaincy.
“I know there’s a lot of spots that they wouldn’t even have given me a shot because of my size, because I wasn’t a draft pick or one of their own,” Jared says. “And then to have (an assistant coach) like Rick Wilson, who really took me under his wing. I think I was out there every practice, no matter if it was game day or a practice day, for at least half an hour after with him, just working on little things he thought would help me stay up and help the team and help my career.
“Myself, (Matt) Dumba and Scandy would call him Papa Wills. He was such a great coach for all of us and great mentor.”
Jared has one year left on his seven-year contract. He has seen, through 200-plus teammates that in pro sports, that life can change with one phone call in one day.
He realizes how fortunate he has been to play for one organization his entire career.
He doesn’t even want to think about playing somewhere else. Mikko Koivu is the only other Wild player who played his first 1,000 games for Minnesota. His first 1,028 games were with the Wild. Then he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, played seven games and abruptly retired.
Koivu couldn’t stomach playing elsewhere.
“I know I’m older, but I don’t really feel that much older,” Jared says. “I would like to play forever if my body lets me, so it’s tough to think of playing anywhere else when your heart’s in one place for so long and you just want that ultimate thing to happen in this one place.
“We owe everything to Minnesota. It would definitely be hard to be on another side. I’ve never thought about it once.”
Jared looks at Danielle and says, “I’m not sure if I texted you or my brother after the trade deadline, but I was like, ‘Well, I made it one more.’ What Billy has done here to bring in the guys he did, the team we have this year, we’re really looking forward to getting to April and getting into the playoffs. I think this is our closest team we’ve had to being a contender. We’ve had really good teams, but I think this one is the most rounded, deep — in every way — and with guys that know what it takes with their role to get things done. Even the guys that have been here for a while, we know what it takes to win games.
“So if I ever had to move on, I think the hardest part for me would be to really decide if it was, not worth it, but worth it for my sanity, because my family wouldn’t come.”
Jared looks at Danielle, who has been at his side since age 15, again.
“If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be here in all honesty,” Jared says.
Jared’s 1,000th-game ceremony will take place before the March 21 game against the Dallas Stars. His parents, Debi and Barry, and sister, Breanne, will be there, along with other family members. Tyler, 39, will be in attendance only if his team’s out of the playoffs by then.
They’ll have a party in downtown Minneapolis. Maybe Danielle will even take a picture she can hang in their house.
“Nah,” Jared says.
“What about all your team pictures when you’re done … done?” Danielle asks. “I want to put them on plaques and hang them.”
“Nah,” Jared says.
“Well, I have some ideas,” Danielle says, rolling her eyes.
