Player Discussion Jared Spurgeon

[Nsjohnson]

That Havlat play 3/4ths through that video...so sexy with the stick handling. Havlat honestly is an amazing player WHEN HE IS NOT INJURED. He would still look fantastic on our second line (redundant, I know- he'd look great on any teams second line)

 

[Minnesota]

Havlat always left me frustrated. He played with no heart.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Heatley for Havlat trade worked out incredibly well for the Wild. Our 1st line is going to be so much more rockin' this year.

 

[Minnesota]

As requested by a couple guys on this board, here is a tribute that I put together of Jared Spurgeon. I hope you guys don't hate the song.

The editing on this one is a bit sloppy - not as good as the Parise video but that's because I had less to work with. You'll notice that I had to cut up the song due to the amount of footage that was available to me on YouTube.

Hope you guys like it regardless:

I like the song choice. Awesome hip-check clip.

 

[Teddy10Beers]

Mike Yeo Dec 2011: "I don't think people understand how good of a player Jared Spurgeon is, but this guy is our Shea Weber, our Nick Lidstrom ... "

Begs the question ... does Ryan Suter know that Spurgie is our Shea Weber? hehe

 

[Nsjohnson]

Mike Yeo Dec 2011: "I don't think people understand how good of a player Jared Spurgeon is, but this guy is our Shea Weber, our Nick Lidstrom ... "

Begs the question ... does Ryan Suter know that Spurgie is our Shea Weber? hehe

He's learning it slowly...every time Spurg teaches him something new.

 

[Northland Wild Man]

Mike Yeo Dec 2011: "I don't think people understand how good of a player Jared Spurgeon is, but this guy is our Shea Weber, our Nick Lidstrom ... "

Begs the question ... does Ryan Suter know that Spurgie is our Shea Weber? hehe

Glad we didn't have to pay as much for our Weber.

 

[Jarick]

I really don't see why we need to limit Spurgeon's ceiling. Most posters keep wanting him to be a bottom pairing defenseman but he's had a lot of success at a young age and improved from year one to year two, two traits of a high end player.

This is a player that Yeo described as "Boy Genius" and put him on the top pairing with Suter. Last year he was on the top pairing with Scandella.

I don't see any reason he can't get 40 points or more. The only real limiting factor for him is his shot, which is average at best.

Just ignore his height. Yes it will limit him from playing a punishing physical style, but it won't and obviously hasn't hurt his ability to play well in his end, move the puck up ice, and put up points. You don't have to be tall to be a high end defenseman.

 

[TaLoN]

I really don't see why we need to limit Spurgeon's ceiling. Most posters keep wanting him to be a bottom pairing defenseman but he's had a lot of success at a young age and improved from year one to year two, two traits of a high end player.

This is a player that Yeo described as "Boy Genius" and put him on the top pairing with Suter. Last year he was on the top pairing with Scandella.

I don't see any reason he can't get 40 points or more. The only real limiting factor for him is his shot, which is average at best.

Just ignore his height. Yes it will limit him from playing a punishing physical style, but it won't and obviously hasn't hurt his ability to play well in his end, move the puck up ice, and put up points. You don't have to be tall to be a high end defenseman.

If you're not big, you MUST be smart and have great hockey sense...and he has both of those qualities!

 

[bozak911]

Honestly, the reason why I want to see Spurgeon on the 3rd pairing is that is where I see him being the best fit, long term, not short term…

I want the kid to succeed. I like the kid. I am not “shorting†his talents in any way shape or form.

Think about it like this, though…

Future of our blueline:
Suter – Brodin (I predict that this will be an awesome combination)
Gilbert – Scandella (They showed a lot of great chemistry and dynamic play)
Dumba – Spurgeon (I also predict that this will be an awesome combination)

Am I slighting Dumba? No. If anything, this set up would give the Wild a definitive #1 pair and TWO dangerous and definitive #2 pairs.

No more of the concept of a scrub 3rd pair. That set up would be completely legit.

 

[geowild]

My concern with Spurgeon is one of these days someone is going to light him up along the boards, and he'll be Bouchard. I'd just have a hard time committing to him for more than two years at a stretch. He certainly doesn't look like 185lbs to me. His shoulders and neck don't look nearly as developed as I'd like to see.

He's a great story, and I hope he has a long, mostly healthy career. I just find it hard to count on it.

 

[grN1g]

My concern with Spurgeon is one of these days someone is going to light him up along the boards, and he'll be Bouchard. I'd just have a hard time committing to him for more than two years at a stretch. He certainly doesn't look like 185lbs to me. His shoulders and neck don't look nearly as developed as I'd like to see.

He's a great story, and I hope he has a long, mostly healthy career. I just find it hard to count on it.

im not. one of spurgy's best assests as a smallish dman is his ability to avoid, and absorb checks in the boards.

bouchard was never good at absorbing hits, and decent at avoiding hits. a good example was the WPG game when bouchard turned his body to take a hit rather than facing him and trying to avoid or prepare for the hit. in result he was seriously injured, he just doesnt have that confidence of taking hits so he puts himself in dangerous positions when he cant dangle or avoid it.

 

[Jarick]

Chris Pronger is 6'6 and his career ended with a concussion. Brent Burns is 6'5 and he had that nasty concussion a few years back. Eric Lindros is 6'4 and his career ended due to concussions.

Spurgeon wouldn't be playing if he couldn't avoid or absorb hits in the corners. His concussion was due to a boarding/hit from behind that was completely illegal:

Unless he was 7' tall he'd still probably get a concussion from that hit.

 

[OpRedDawn*]

Chris Pronger is 6'6 and his career ended with a concussion. Brent Burns is 6'5 and he had that nasty concussion a few years back. Eric Lindros is 6'4 and his career ended due to concussions.

Spurgeon wouldn't be playing if he couldn't avoid or absorb hits in the corners. His concussion was due to a boarding/hit from behind that was completely illegal:

did he get concussed from that hit? For some reason I was thinking that only ended up being a lower body injury... unless that was just the initial reporting.
Unless he was 7' tall he'd still probably get a concussion from that hit.

 

[this providence]

How anyone could watch both Spurgeon and Scandella play and then place Scandella in the top four while is Spurgeon on the third pairing, either now or long term, is beyond me. Their play and decision making are miles apart. Then take into account of actually being able to stay healthy. Frankly, up to this point Scandella should be looked at as nothing more than a disappointment and unless he completely transforms his game, his trajectory is that of a missed selection.

 

[rynryn]

I really don't see why we need to limit Spurgeon's ceiling. Most posters keep wanting him to be a bottom pairing defenseman but he's had a lot of success at a young age and improved from year one to year two, two traits of a high end player.

This is a player that Yeo described as "Boy Genius" and put him on the top pairing with Suter. Last year he was on the top pairing with Scandella.

I don't see any reason he can't get 40 points or more. The only real limiting factor for him is his shot, which is average at best.

Just ignore his height. Yes it will limit him from playing a punishing physical style, but it won't and obviously hasn't hurt his ability to play well in his end, move the puck up ice, and put up points. You don't have to be tall to be a high end defenseman.

i think you're a little wrong about that but its a knock against the whole team...we couldn't get the puck off of guys in our own end. for some of them it was just getting outworked, but not Spurge. Spurgeon was smart, but there's only so much you can do against a guy with mass on you who is also smart with the puck. That and getting people off Backs in front.

 

[geowild]

His concussion was due to a boarding/hit from behind that was completely illegal:

It's a good thing that illegal hits are so rare in the NHL. Oh, wait, they aren't.

The Wild have several more years to make a long-term decision on him, so I guess we'll see. I just don't see any 4+ year contracts in his future, and I suspect that Brodin is the Wild #2 of the not-too-distant future.

 

[DeuceMN]

How anyone could watch both Spurgeon and Scandella play and then place Scandella in the top four while is Spurgeon on the third pairing, either now or long term, is beyond me. Their play and decision making are miles apart. Then take into account of actually being able to stay healthy. Frankly, up to this point Scandella should be looked at as nothing more than a disappointment and unless he completely transforms his game, his trajectory is that of a missed selection.

I agree with this viewpoint on Scandella.

For a couple years now there has been this great hope for him, but he never achieves it. There have been flashes of what could be his true "potential," but the only thing I have consistently seen him do is be inconsistent.

I'll give him this year to see if he at least becomes a little more consistent in his play. He can be penciled into the bottom 3 if he does not improve this season. There have been more than enough opportunities for this kid to excell if he had the ability.

 

[State of Hockey]

I really don't see why we need to limit Spurgeon's ceiling.

It's because observers can see the limits to his game. We all know how undersized he has. But then add on poor speed relative to his size and mediocre puck skills? Not a high ceiling. What we're seeing is what we're going to get. And if Spurgeon sees playoff action, that extra rough and tough will get to him. We started seeing this last year. Teams were learning how to pressure Spurgeon and take advantage of his small stature. Wouldn't be surprised if 2011-12 was the high point in Spurgeon's career. Don't expect anything more than 3rd-line duty on a decent defense.

 

[Jarick]

I think you're right on that one, wrong hit.

Scandella is interesting. He was drafted as a "nobody" and a reach in the second round. But he had some nice growth as a player/prospect and expectations were raised, maybe a little too high.

He's just not able to stay healthy and as a result his growth and progress has been slow. Not as bad as Cuma, who lost multiple seasons and has barely been able to hold his own in Houston.

I still think he's got the upside to be a #4 defenseman in the NHL, which would be the kind of defenseman to complement a player like Spurgeon. He has plenty of size and reach and his puck skills and skating are good (not excellent, but a hell of a lot better than your average defenseman from 10 years ago i.e. Nick Schultz).

But he's going to have to get and stay healthy to do so. Two concussions, a broken finger, a wrist injury, and now the groin. Yikes.

 

[geowild]

But he's going to have to get and stay healthy to do so. Two concussions, a broken finger, a wrist injury, and now the groin. Yikes.

Falk and Stoner have been injury-prone as well, that's a big part of what is so worrisome about our D corps right now. And Spurgeon had a groiner too over in Europe, didn't he? It just didn't impact us because of the lockout.

Suter and Gilbert have a solid history of being 75+ game guys. . . and nobody else on that D does right now.

 

[WildisLaw]

Just get Spurgeon to grow his hair out, grow 2 inches in height and get to 200lbs.....then we'll have Kris Letang.

Are there any clips of him attempting to defend vs Malkin from last season? That was the highlight of the season for me

 

[thestonedkoala]

The concern is the wear-and-tear on Spurgeon. He's going to be placed against the top lines and I have major concerns if he can stop a guy like Dustin Brown or Gabriel Landeskog or if they will just run him over. He can play the puck well and I would love to have him out on the PP unit but I just see him between 4-7. A guy that doesn't get the top line minutes but a good chunk of the 2nd or even 3rd pairing minutes and some PP minutes for his offense.

I'm looking long term on Spurgeon. It took how long before Bouchard broke down?

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Martin St. Louis is 2 inches shorter than PMB and has only missed a significant amount of games once, due to a broken leg. You can't predict concussions, and you can't say that since one person of X height has injury problems all players of X height will have injury problems.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Martin St. Louis is 2 inches shorter than PMB and has only missed a significant amount of games once, due to a broken leg. You can't predict concussions, and you can't say that since one person of X height has injury problems all players of X height will have injury problems.

St. Louis was also a journeyman and a rarity. One concussion can start the whole process