Jared Spurgeon sets Wild record for most games played by a defenseman

PHILADELPHIA — One game.

That's what Jared Spurgeon imagined as a kid, suiting up once in the NHL, but reality ended up surpassing the dream.

The Wild captain appeared in No. 744 on Thursday at Philadelphia, becoming the franchise's leader in career games played by a defenseman. He also moved into sole possession of second place for the most games overall in team history, trailing only Mikko Koivu at 1,028.

"You get older, you realize how lucky you really are," said Spurgeon, who is also the franchise leader in goals by a defenseman. "Maybe when you're young you sort of take it for granted that you're here. It's definitely pretty cool to look back on all the memories."

Spurgeon passed Nick Schultz (743) to claim the record among defensemen, and Schultz was on hand for the milestone game since he's an assistant coach for the Flyers.

When Spurgeon, who was drafted by the New York Islanders before signing with the Wild as a free agent, debuted in 2010 on his 21st birthday, Schultz was in his ninth of 10 seasons with the Wild.

"Schultzy was such a calming influence on me my first few years, just helping me feel included," Spurgeon said.

But Schultz wasn't the only familiar face from Spurgeon's past at Thursday's game inside Wells Fargo Center, which was the first between the Wild and Philadelphia in more than two years (Dec. 14, 2019).

Mike Yeo coached Spurgeon in the minors before taking over behind the Wild's bench for five seasons and is now the Flyers' interim coach, while assistant John Torchetti also previously coached for the Wild. Philadelphia General Manager Chuck Fletcher and assistant GM Brent Flahr also were in those roles with the Wild when the team acquired Spurgeon, who became the team's second full-time captain ahead of last season.

"Easily a top-three player I've coached who's been the most coachable player as far as hockey sense, intelligence, but also complete buy-in every time we say something to him," Yeo said. "Every time we have an opportunity to work with a guy like that, it's a real treat and a real pleasure as a coach. He's a guy that we don't cheer for when we're playing against him, and we don't enjoy playing against him because he's so effective in everything that he does.

"But when we're not, I'm definitely cheering for him because he's that high of a character person."

Defenseman Matt Dumba and winger Jordan Greenway are with the Wild, but neither will play on the road trip that wraps up Friday at Buffalo, coach Dean Evason said.

Both players skated Thursday morning, and it's possible they return Sunday when the Wild is back home for a matinee against Central Division rival Dallas.

Dumba, who's recovering from a lower-body injury, hasn't played since Feb. 12, while Greenway has sat out the past four games with an upper-body injury.

"Dumba is probably a little further along than Greenway," Evason said, "but very optimistic."

Kirill Kaprizov's assist on Marcus Foligno's goal Tuesday vs. Calgary was his 40th helper of the season. That was the 18th time in Wild history a player has reached that benchmark in a season, but Kaprizov is only the ninth to accomplish the feat.