Wild's new odd couple makes for perfect match on the blue line

Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton haven't known each other a month yet, and the Wild's new defensive top pairing is already flourishing.
It's a unique combination.
Spurgeon is the baby-faced captain who doesn't look a day over 15 years old.

Middleton, a virtual Cal Clutterbuck clone, looks like a character straight from an old western film who has been growing facial hair since he was about 15.
(The baby-faced Spurgeon is actually six years older, by the way.)
One is an NHL captain and one of the best players at his position in the National Hockey League.
The other has only established himself as a regular in the league this season.
And while their current situations couldn't look any more different, their journeys to the league are actually remarkably similar.
Both were drafted and cast aside by those clubs before ever playing a game for those teams.
Spurgeon was a sixth-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2008 who never signed an entry-level deal.
Middleton was the last pick of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He played two games for the Manchester Monarchs in 2015-16, the only times he'd ever suit up for that organization.
Both paid their dues to finally reach the NHL, with Spurgeon earning his way to the Wild by acing his tryout at a development camp, then excelling in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament and as an NHL training camp invitee before earning a contract.
Middleton played five seasons in the American Hockey League, mixing in 14 NHL games over three seasons before finally sticking in the league with 45 games in San Jose before his trade to Minnesota at last month's NHL Trade Deadline.
Most importantly for the Wild, both Spurgeon and Middleton are in Minnesota now, helping guide the club towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin in just a couple of weeks.
"I think just getting that comfort level for each other and knowing where each other is for certain situations. You only get that through games," Spurgeon said. "I think it was a little feeling out process, and obviously for him coming to a new team with new systems was a bit different as well. I can't say enough good things about him."
It's especially gratifying for Middleton, who had heard his name mentioned in rumors for weeks heading up to the deadline. But when he woke up the morning of the big day and he was still in San Jose, he wasn't sure it was going to happen.
Suddenly, his phone rang and his life changed. Instantly, he was going from having his season likely ending in just over a month to a club with high hopes of winning a Stanley Cup this season.
"It's been quite a whirlwind, honestly. I couldn't have asked for anything better," Middleton said. "You know, trade deadline morning, when you wake up and get a phone call at 8:30, you're not sure the grass is always greener, how things are gonna work out. I've called my parents every 48 hours here saying this is some of the most fun I've ever had playing hockey, so I couldn't be happier."
Neither could the Wild.
Middleton played with two of the NHL's most offensive-minded defensemen in the league in San Jose this season, seeing regular minutes with both Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns.
And while Spurgeon doesn't have that kind of pedigree in the offensive end, Middleton is keenly aware that Spurgeon is the more offensive-minded of the two.
He's also perfectly comfortable playing a more defensive-defenseman's game, which has allowed Spurgeon to be more of a two-way threat.
Spurgeon went without a point in the Wild's 5-1 win over Edmonton on Tuesday night, a rare feat for the team's captain of late. He entered that game on a seven-game point streak, the longest such streak by a Wild defenseman in nearly five years.
He also had an assist in seven consecutive games, which tied Ryan Suter's franchise record for a defenseman.
It's no coincidence that the streak began at nearly the same time Middleton was acquired from the Sharks and inserted to Spurgeon's left side on the blue line.
"I think we just read off each other," Spurgeon said. "Like I told him, if he sees an open chance to go, go and I'll stay back. But I think that's the hardest thing to do right now, when you have to defend four guys coming up the ice.
"We're just reading off each other. But yeah, with how good he is in the D zone and to get pucks out quick, it's easy to turn the offense."
Middleton admits it took him a few games to find his comfort level in the offensive end. He tallied his first point in his ninth game with Minnesota, a third-period goal in St. Louis last Friday. He followed it up with a two-assist night against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.

But Evason has always been one to encourage his defensemen to jump into the play if they see an opportunity, and playing next to a guy as sound as Spurgeon would undoubtedly yield those chances sooner rather than later.
"I was a little lost [the first eight games]. I wanted to read off my players. These guys, the forward group and the D corps, you can trust them so easily," Middleton said. "You know they're always going to be in a good spot. "And if you jump, as long as you're with your guy, you can make those plays and kind of read and react to things.
"It took me a handful of games, but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable doing it especially in the offensive zone here."
Middleton's bread-and-butter though is in the defensive zone, where he's using his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame to do the dirty work in the middle of the ice in front of the Wild's goaltenders.
And even though Spurgeon isn't one to shy away from that contact, he doesn't possess the physical threat that Middleton does either.
"Just let him throw guys around I guess," Spurgeon said. "I think we're both pretty simple players as well. Try and get the puck up to the forwards as quick as possible and not overcomplicate things."
Middleton agreed, mentioning that simplicity as a big reason why the pair has been a big hit so far.
"Spurge is a highly skilled player, but he's a little more simple than [Karlsson and Burns]," Middleton said. "Those two being Norris Trophy defensemen, they got a long, long leash and it's because they were so good at the game for so long and still are. As far as that goes, Spurge, like I said, is highly skilled. He's just a little more simple, which I can run with that too."
Like the other players acquired by the Wild around the Trade Deadline, Middleton's easy-going personality has been a breath of fresh air in the team's dressing room.
Adding new players to a tight-knit group can sometimes damage chemistry in the room, but Middleton's sense of humor and demeanor has fit right in.
"Everyone in there is an unreal guy that I would go for beers with or hang out with any day of the week," MIddleton said. "So I'm just enjoying fitting in with them."