Off the ice, former Gopher Blake Wheeler is Mr. Mum during pandemic

Blake Wheeler was chatting with some of his NHL Central Division counterparts via Zoom on Wednesday, April 1, when his 7-year-old son Louie bashfully popped into the frame.

“You know any of these guys?” the Winnipeg Jets captain asked him, pointing to Zach Parise of the Wild, Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars.

His son shook his head no and hurriedly scampered away.

Such is life for the 33-year-old former Minnesota Gophers star amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Since the NHL suspended its 2019-20 season last month and subsequently instituted a self-quarantine period for players and staff, Wheeler has been confined to his home. He’s currently hunkered down in Winnipeg with his wife Sam and the couple’s three kids, making the most of these unprecedented circumstances.

“We are full-time teachers and nannies and everything else now,” said Wheeler, a 12-year NHL veteran who played for Breck in high school and then three seasons for the Gophers. “I’m more tired now than I was a few weeks ago. We’re cooking and cleaning and teaching. Just trying to keep it together as best as we can.”

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