Minnesota Wild rookie has ties to Bemidji area

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Last Updated on Sunday, 27 May 2012 23:31

By Ben Karkela
Bemidji Pioneer

As Jeff Palmer drove from Bemidji to St. Paul eight days ago, he had to pinch himself to make sure everything was real.

Palmer was on his way to see something that would make any parent delighted. He was going to watch his son, Jarod, make his National Hockey League debut Dec. 17, with the Minnesota Wild. “He’s worked very hard to be able to play at this level,” Jeff said. “He appears to have a bright future ahead of him.”

Jarod impressed in his first game wearing the Wild sweater, recording a game-high six shots and came close to scoring in overtime.

Approximately 100 family members and friends attended the game.

The call up was unexpected. Though Jeff could make it to the game, his wife, Amy, and 6-year-old twin sons had prior engagements and had to stay home in Bemidji.

After the game, Jeff got to meet with his son for about 20 minutes and talk about the experience.

“Everyone was still a little bit stunned,” Jeff said.

The moment was a happy one for Jeff, who has watched Jarod play hockey since he was 4 years old.

The Palmers are an athletic family and very fond of hockey. Jarod grew up playing on outdoors rinks with his older siblings in Fridley, Minn.

His sister, Candace, played on the boys’ varsity team and was a candidate for the women’s Olympic team. His brother, Jason, went on to play hockey for two years with the Bismarck Bobcats of the North American Hockey League.

It was that rough, uneven ice and pressure to perform from his siblings that helped Jarod develop his skills.

“He was a rink rat,” Jeff said.

It also didn’t hurt to learn the game from his father, who coached women’s hockey at Bethel University for eight years before coaching high school hockey at St. Francis for two years.

After his sudden call up to the NHL, Jarod gave credit to his father who “taught me everything I know.”

As an eighth-grader, Jarod led his varsity hockey team in scoring. During his junior and senior years, he played with the U.S. National Under-18 team.

Jarod played a couple seasons in the United States Hockey League before playing college hockey with the Miami University (Ohio) Redhawks for four years.

With the Redhawks, Jarod helped end Bemidji State’s Cinderella run in the Frozen Four semifinals with a 4-1 victory. In the NCAA championship game, Palmer recorded an assist, but Boston University staged a rally in the final two minutes to win the game in overtime.

It was a game that Jeff says his son still refuses to talk about.

“That just about tore Jarod’s heart out,” Jeff said.

Jarod is a highly skilled and versatile player. He has good size, listed at 6 feet, 200 pounds, but was never drafted. Jarod signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on Aug. 24, 2010.

Before he was called up to the NHL, Jarod was playing with the Houston Aeros, an American Hockey League affiliated with the Wild.

Wild head coach Mike Yeo worked with Jarod last year when Yeo was the head coach of the Aeros.

After Jarod’s debut Yeo had positive things to say about the rookie.

“He’s a guy that’s going to play well without the puck, pay attention to detail and be reliable and in good position,” Yeo said. “But he understands where his bread and butter is – down low in the offensive zone.”

Palmer became the 12th Minnesotan to play for the Wild. He is also the 10th rookie to play for Minnesota this season, tying a team record.

Jeff is expecting Jarod to play in his fifth-straight game on Monday against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Palmers moved to Bemidji more than three years ago. Jeff works for Farm Bureau Financial Services while Amy operates Northstar Swim Club at Bemidji State University.

Since Jarod left to play junior hockey, the Palmer family doesn’t have as many opportunities to see their son play.

That’s what makes his call up to the Minnesota Wild extra meaningful. The Palmers can always watch the Wild play on Fox Sports North, or they can drive to St. Paul to watch a game in person.

When asked about how it feels to watch his son play in the NHL, Jeff had one thing to say, “We are very blessed.”

This article originally appeared in the Dec. 25, 2011 issue of the Bemidji Pioneer and is reprinted with permission.

AP Photo/Paul Battaglia