Jake Middleton relishing NHL tenure after going last overall

Jake Middleton has signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Wild worth $7.35 million and the 26-year-old, who was the last overall pick in the 2014 draft, is relishing his secure NHL future.

Video Transcript

- How great does it feel to be able to resign? I know you talked about, at the end of the year, how fun this team was. But just how exciting is it to come back and be a part of this organization again next year?

JAKE MIDDLETON: Yeah, no, absolutely. You guys know how highly I spoke of this organization, and the team, and the guys. A little bit of security for myself and my fiancée as well. It's something nice. We're very happy to be here.

- I see a Maynards' sweatshirt then. So you've completely acclimated to the Minnesota environment.

JAKE MIDDLETON: Yep. Yeah, no, I made one stop here, and it won't be the last one. I really enjoyed that place. And they make a hell of a sweater, too.

- How long were the conversations going with Bill? Did you guys come to kind of an agreement fairly quickly?

JAKE MIDDLETON: As far as I'm aware, it was quick. My agent, Joel Reznikov, called me twice. And that was the length of my communication. And it was done after those two calls. So for me, it was pretty quick. I don't know what he went through or what he did. But he said it was pretty smooth.

- Perfect. Thanks. Congratulations, Jake.

JAKE MIDDLETON: Thank you.

- Go ahead, Sara.

- Hi, Jake. Just you know, going back even from the trade, why do you think it's fit so well? You know, you maybe never know how it'll work out, but it's just looks so seamless. What do you credit that to?

JAKE MIDDLETON: What-- I would credit to this the organization and the guys that they brought in and helped build this core around. Everyone from Moose, Spurge, everybody was-- they were some of the first guys to reach out yesterday and congratulate me, and just wish me all the best, and how happy they are to have me. So I think those are the guys in the room, the guys in the front office, everyone is just such a good person that it was a seamless fit, like you said.

- And then yeah, your partnership with Jared Spurgeon, obviously, on the blue line. Why did that click? And then just kind of your thoughts on pretty much the same blue line returning and if that can be an asset for the team.

JAKE MIDDLETON: Well, I think it's an asset. Yeah, absolutely. All of us played well together. It looks like everyone's got a partner they're comfortable with. And even with the eight guys we have-- seven guys-- it's a seamless fit for anyone who jumps in and out of the lineup, whether it's injuries or scratches. We all got a great camaraderie on the back end. We all do it together. We know not one guy is going to right the ship themselves.

And as far as Spurgeon and I go, it's kind of that yin and yang, right? What is it, 5' 10" with 6' 4"? And big and small. No facial hair, facial hair. I think it's just one of those opposites attract kind of thing and that's what's been working so well. And hopefully, it works well for the next couple of years as well.

- Thanks, Jake. Congratulations.

JAKE MIDDLETON: Sara, nice to hear from you.

- Go ahead, Dean.

- Hey, Jake, congrats on the contract.

JAKE MIDDLETON: Thank you.

- Yeah, just with the draft tonight, it's a good kind of segue. How much does this mean to you? You were the last pick in 2014. And you really-- I know you spoke about what it took to make it in the league. But the fact that now you have that security, going from being the last pick in the draft eight years ago to where you are now.

JAKE MIDDLETON: Well, I imagine there was some guys who are draft eligible this year who might have been looking at the draft and they might be fringe players or not drafted at all. And for a day before it to come out that a guy who was the last overall pick signed a three year extension with an NHL team, might give them a little added juice.

Whether they're drafted late, drafted early, they just know it's not an easy road. And they'll be able to look at that as something that they can run with. And if they put to work and they can do the same thing, they know it's feasible.

I actually I read something, too. I think my draft class, there's like five or seven seventh rounders that are all regular NHLers now. So that's something cool for these guys going into a pretty big weekend at 18-years-old.

- How much are you interested to see what this team looks like come fall? You know, obviously, there are a couple of guys with injuries right now. And obviously, Fiala was traded. You know, do you see it the way that Billy does that this team could be just as good?

JAKE MIDDLETON: I do. And that's not just a biased opinion. That's-- because I don't have too much of a biased opinion, right? I came in and, what, did I play 25 games or so? And even in those 25--

- Right.

JAKE MIDDLETON: --games we saw guys, like Moose went down, Greener went down. All these guys were in and out of the lineup for even the short amount of time I was there, and we still seem to excel and play the way that we wanted to.

That being said, you lose an 85-point guy, it's always gonna be hard on any team. But like, Matt Boldy's a year older, guys like that are gonna step up. And that's just what you hope for. Well, that's what you expect and then you hope for the best. And so like you said, I do agree with Billy in that sense that we will be a competitive team as well.