Spurgeon, Ennis Living Childhood Dream as Teammates

ST. PAUL -- It's often been said that a person has a better chance of winning the lottery than making it to the highest level of professional sports.
Imagine not only beating those odds, but having your best friend also do it.

Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon has
eclipsed numerous hurdles
to reach hockey's grandest stage. So did his good buddy and neighbor Tyler Ennis, who will join Spurgeon this fall on the ice of Xcel Energy Center.
Both Spurgeon and Ennis have been told their whole lives they'd likely never make it to the League. If it wasn't the incredibly long shot to begin with, it was their diminutive statures. Neither fits the physical definition of a professional hockey player; each stands just 5-foot-9, with Spurgeon weighing in at 164 pounds (according to the Wild's official roster). Ennis checks in at 175 pounds.
Born 54 days apart in 1989, the two grew up across the street from each other in West Edmonton and have been close since childhood. As each moved up the hockey ladder, both have made a career of proving the doubters wrong.
Now, they'll do it as members of the same team.

"I know when I play my best, it's when I have that chip on my shoulder," Ennis said. "I kind of got stuck in Buffalo, on a team that [didn't have] plans to win for awhile. It was tough. So now, I have a chip on my shoulder and I'm ready to go. I want to have a great season and get back to playing the way I should."
Ennis burst onto the scene as a 20-year old with the Sabres in 2010, scoring three goals and adding six assists over 10 games getting his first taste of the NHL. The following year, he played in all 82 contests and posted 20 goals and 29 assists, adding two goals and two assists in seven playoff games that year.
It was the last time Ennis and Buffalo played in a postseason game.
Despite a lengthy and -- at times -- frustrating rebuild, Ennis was still posting quality numbers, scoring 34 points in 48 games in 2011-12, and 31 points in 47 games during the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
Back-to-back 20-goal seasons followed. Then his career hit a significant stumbling block. A concussion limited Ennis to just 23 games in 2015-16 before double hernia surgery last season capped his year at 51 games.
But Ennis said he feels good now and that a change of scenery is exactly what could be needed to get his career back on track.
"I'm feeling great we've been skating a lot, Jared and I," Ennis said. "I'm feeling really good. I'm excited to go, I can't wait to get started. Life is good and it's a fresh start; I'm really motivated and looking forward to playing for the Wild."
Of course, it'll be much easier having his good buddy around to help ease the transition to the Twin Cities.
Drafted by the Sabres with the 26th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, he spent his entire career with the Buffalo organization before being dealt to Minnesota, along with forward Marcus Foligno, on June 30.
"Growing up with Jared, it's going to be pretty special to play together," Ennis said. "I know a couple of other guys on the team, and it's nice to bring Moose (Foligno) -- he's a great guy and a great teammate."
Ennis, in town this weekend to participate in the Wild on the Water Fishing Tournament on Mille Lacs Lake, arrived in St. Paul on Thursday and met Wild fans at the team's block party following the final scrimmage of the 2017 Development Camp.
Spurgeon already has a few tips on where to live. Don't be surprised to see Ennis settle in, not far from where Spurgeon, his wife Danielle, and their three children live.
"Maybe I'll just move into the basement," Ennis quipped.
"It's pretty crazy how it all worked out," Spurgeon said. "We were talking about the fishing tournament and how I would have to leave when I got back [to Edmonton earlier this summer]. We weren't talking about doing it together, but when [he got traded], it was perfect timing for him to come down and check things out and I could show him around the city."
The two found out the news of Ennis' trade while working out together last month when Eustace King, the agent for both players, phoned to let Ennis know that he and Foligno were on their way to the State of Hockey.
"It was my first time being traded, so there were a lot of different emotions," Ennis said. "A lot of people helped me along the way in Buffalo, so I'm definitely going to miss them a lot. The city was great for me. But to have the ability to play for a team that is contending for a Stanley Cup and has that mindset, and the opportunity to play with my best friend growing up, it was a pretty special moment."
Spurgeon too was excited, but was sad to see Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella head to Buffalo. Perhaps no other player on the roster was closer to Spurgeon than Scandella, a relationship that developed nearly a decade ago when the two were a defensive pairing at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament and for several seasons in Minnesota.
"It was exciting, but at the same time, you're losing two good people in Marco and Jason," Spurgeon said. "But for myself, there was a personal [positive] with me growing up with Tyler. We've been best friends for a long time."
In Ennis, Spurgeon sees a guy ready to have a breakout season in 2017-18. He credited Ennis' offseason work ethic, and said he was already skating three to four times per week by the time Spurgeon joined him earlier this summer.

"He looks good," Spurgeon said. "He always works hard in the gym. It's just been some unlucky breaks he's had with injuries. He's a shifty player with a lot of skill, and I'm sure the fans are going to love him when they see him on the ice."
Having grown up on many of the same teams, played knee hockey in basements and travelled to the lake together for vacations, Spurgeon and Ennis dreamed of one day reaching the NHL and playing on the same team again.
"I think you always talk about playing and winning a Stanley Cup together when you're playing road hockey or out on the outdoor rink," Spurgeon said. "Then when you get a little older, you realize how hard that might be just to reach the NHL or be on the same team in general.
"When it happened, it was pretty crazy. Our families are good friends, and my brother and his brother were all close. It's obviously exciting and we're excited to get it started in September."