Spurgeon’s Rise Turned A Long Shot Into Minnesota’s Tone-Setter

Jared Spurgeon’s path to the top in Minnesota did not look like the usual NHL blueprint, and that is exactly what makes this story worth the read. The Wild captain has built his reputation the hard way, turning a player many teams would have overlooked into the kind of steady presence coaches trust when the game tightens up. There is a reason people inside the room talk about him differently than the box-score crowd does, because leadership in this league is usually earned in the quiet stuff.