How Jared Spurgeon Holds Down the Fort in Minnesota
How Jared Spurgeon Holds Down the Fort in Minnesota
The veteran defenseman's play often flies under the radar
Disclaimer: In order to even out any peaks and valleys, the clips in this article were pulled from six randomly selected games.
Minnesota’s start to the 2022-23 season wasn’t pretty. Kirill Kaprizov’s line was bleeding goals against, Jonas Brodin wasn’t performing to his shutdown standards and Marc-Andre Fleury was erratic at best between the pipes.
One constant, however, has been the reliable play of Jared Spurgeon.
Despite a 5-6-1 record through 12 games, he never panicked. He didn’t fly off the rails in order to generate more offense or cover up for his teammates. He merely provided the steadiness he’s become synonymous with, and his quiet showings have proven vital to the club’s current 14-5-1 hot streak.
Here’s how the Wild’s captain defuses threats on a nightly basis.
Gap Control
You might expect a 5’9”, 166-pound blueliner to err on the side of caution, dropping back a bit deeper to ensure that he reaches the good ice before the opposition can.
As an undersized defenseman, your margin for error is paper-thin.
Spurgeon opts for a more proactive approach instead. On the back of his excellent skating and sense of timing, he keeps a tight gap in the neutral zone to nip attacks in the bud. As long as he isn’t outnumbered, he’ll gladly push up to pester puck-carriers and pass recipients alike:
His play recognition is central to his success. He quickly susses out where offenses intend to drive the action and crowds their path, acting as a thorn in the side of every entry attempt.
In more isolated situations, Spurgeon gauges the proper distance to deter puck-carriers with his stick while still giving himself enough cushion to turn and burn if a race breaks out. It’s a tricky balance to maintain at speed, but the 33-year-old has learned to master it.
As a result, opponents can seldom pass or skate the puck into the offensive zone when he’s out there. They often resort to simply dumping it in because it’s the only way they’ll cross the blue line.
Those aren’t quality touches, but Spurgeon offers you absolutely no room to breathe.
Angles
Gapping up doesn’t happen in a vacuum, though. It relies on a sound five-man structure—and that basically never holds for an entire 60 minutes. Opponents might gain entry by attacking the other side, recovering a dump-in, catching the Wild on a line change or converting a turnover into an odd-man rush.
Even when the other team establishes zone time, Spurgeon stays glued to his assignment and harries them until they settle for a suboptimal decision. They’re usually forced to chip the puck deep or dish it to the point.
That’s in large part due to his angles. He’s equally comfortable defending the man and the puck, which allows him to make cunning split-second reads:
If any of the puck is exposed, he’ll figure out how to poke it loose. He alternates between backward and forward skating in order to find the most disruptive tack. If he’s in pursuit, he’ll focus on center mass and use the boards as an additional defender in order to reduce your runway.
Again, this is difficult to achieve as a smaller player, but Spurgeon routinely paints opponents into a corner.
It should come as no surprise, then, that they don’t manufacture many Grade A looks against him. Among the 142 defensemen who have played at least 400 minutes at 5-on-5 this season, he’s conceding:
The 15th-fewest scoring chances.
The fewest high-danger chances.
The 10th-fewest expected goals.
For a Wild outfit that occasionally gets fast and loose, its captain’s dependability is essential.
Compete Level
Spurgeon is a true technician on the ice, minimizing any of his—ahem—shortcomings with a higher level of craft than his counterparts.
With that said, defense isn’t always tidy. There are times when you just have to…gut it out. Fortunately for Minnesota, its lynchpin is also equipped with the relentlessness required to handle such instances.
Opponents may unlock the Wild’s defensive posture from time to time, but Spurgeon refuses to quit. Ever:
He’ll throw his body in front of shots, he’ll lay out to block backdoor passes and he’ll battle his ass off to clear the puck from the slot area. Whether he’s defending one player or totally outmanned in the trenches, he’ll stiffen his spine and dig in. If you want to score on him, you’re going to have to earn it.
That’s why Spurgeon fares so well in both expected and actual goals. He combines defensive acumen with competitive zeal to give up the 14th-fewest goals in the league (1.69 GA/60).
While he isn’t necessarily a matchup rearguard like Brodin, his ability to keep Minnesota’s zone clean for 21 minutes per game while controlling a team-best 63.2% of the goals scored is a huge asset for head coach Dean Evason.
This isn’t to suggest that Spurgeon’s contributions are strictly defensive. He takes smart shots from the point and pinches effectively to extend his team’s shifts on offense.
But this year, his understated defense has stolen the show. His positioning regularly stymies opponents. When the team’s system does break down, he makes sure they never outwork him either. He’s a gamer through and through. The type of leader you rally around.
No wonder the Wild are now soaring after stumbling out of the gates.