Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/8/2015 (1855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Jets defenceman Mark Stuart is headed for wedding vows next summer. His journey there with fiancée Christina Caligiuri is more evidence that love will not be denied.

When the Rochester, Minn., native arrived in the Manitoba capital with the 2011 relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers, he found an unofficial professional boundary, somewhere in the category of office romances. Only it wasn’t exactly an office.

TWITTER Mark Stuart with fiancée Christina Caligiuri.

Caligiuri was in the employ of Jets owners True North Sports & Entertainment as a communications co-ordinator with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and then with the arriving NHL Jets. Day-to-day dealings with players and media are regular parts of the job.

"I met her four years ago now, when I first got to Winnipeg," Stuart said in an interview last week, gracious in sharing a glimpse into his personal life that is infrequent in professional sports. "It was a unique situation. I couldn’t really pursue it, I guess you could say, but there was always an attraction there. It was just something that neither of us could pass up for obvious reasons."

After two-plus seasons, the couple’s connection simply won the day.

"Yeah, that was a little bit of a tough situation with her position and with mine but people were supportive and it ended up working out," Stuart said. "So you’re right, there was some walking on eggshells for a while but now that’s passed pretty quickly it seemed and we’re pretty comfortable."

Comfortable is just a start, Stuart added, explaining why it’s been so easy for him to forfeit his single life.

"For sure she’s definitely the one for me so it was pretty easy," he said. "I moved in with her after last season, last summer. She bought a house here a couple of years ago and we lived there.

TREVOR HAGAN / FREE PRESS FILES Mark Stuart celebrates a first-period goal against the Washington Capitals.

"It was an easy transition and we enjoy each other. You could tell right away we were comfortable. Sometimes you talk to couples and when you live apart it’s easier and once you move in, your little quirks can get on each other’s nerves. But that’s been a pretty smooth transition for us."

But it’s far more than just living arrangements for Stuart.

"To be honest with you, when Christina and I first got together, it helped to have somebody around to talk to," he said. "Usually, I tend to, after losses, take them pretty hard and be just kind of in my own little bubble then you move on from there.

"But it’s been so nice to have a sounding board, somebody who knows the schedule and knows the grind and can understand that and be supportive. I think a lot of guys would say that, that it’s nice to have that support."

Caligiuri, a St. Mary’s Academy alumna, continues to work at True North but now in the communications department for the entertainment side. The couple has spent a good part of the summer organizing wedding plans for next July.

He popped the question during last winter’s NHL all-star break.

"We took a trip to Aspen," Stuart said. "I had never been there and Christina had never been there so it was a pretty nice setting for that, obviously. It was fun."

The planning, he said, comes with an anticipation that increases as the wedding date grows closer.

"We’re pretty low-key but we’re excited about it because all of Christina’s family is here and my family is either in Minnesota or Illinois around the Chicago area and that’s not too far for people to have to come," Stuart said. "We both have grandparents and we don’t want to make them travel too far. That will all be good."

Among the added benefits of his relationship and upcoming marriage are that Stuart now knows what the vast majority of NHL players — including most of his teammates — don’t about Winnipeg.

That it’s not a full-time frozen tundra.

The defenceman, heading for his 11th pro season this fall, has more or less adopted Winnipeg as his full-time base.

"I’ve been here a lot more this summer than last," he said. "Last summer, Christina and I took off a lot more on the weekends, mainly to go to my parents’ cabin but that’s about a nine-hour drive to Wisconsin.

"So this summer we didn’t really do that as much. It’s so nice going out there and it’s great seeing everybody but it’s just such a haul. We were leaving on Fridays and coming back on Sundays.

"This summer we stuck around here a little more."

The couple did get to Minnesota to see Stuart’s family in June when his sister had a baby.

But mostly it’s been Winnipeg’s hot summer for the couple, though Stuart has noticed the fans do cool off some during the off-season.

"Not as intense," he chuckled. "You run into people and they’re still very passionate and they enjoy talking about it but people are very respectful.

"I kind of get the feeling in the summer when I run into people that they almost feel bad talking about hockey too much. You don’t quite get it as much as you would during the season. But that doesn’t bother me at all. People are very respectful. You can tell you get noticed around town for sure but I do get the feeling people almost don’t want to bother you."

Stuart sometimes comes off as a game-faced, hard-nosed competitor, even off the ice. But he wants fans to know he loves encountering the hockey chatter.

"I have to say it’s been a good experience for me," he said. "I had a chance to do some different golf tournaments and things like that and it’s kind of when you have more of a chance to talk about the hockey side of it. For the most part, you live in a place in the summer and doing what you do and that’s kind of how it goes."

He said some fans have been startled to find him here in the last two summers.

"I get that question a lot," he said. "People are almost surprised that I live here. They don’t really believe it at first. And they ask who else, and I answer that one quite a bit: ‘Just me.’

"But this has been great. Christina and I enjoy it here. Her family is close and we see them quite a bit. My family’s been up, just here a few weekends ago and whenever I want to head back, I can just jump in a car."

Want more sports? Get news and notes from the local amateur sports scene in your inbox. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Stuart said it’s also been an ideal off-season as far as his job goes. He came out of 2014-15 without any nagging injuries.

"A few bumps and bruises but no injuries or surgery or anything like that," he said. "I was able to jump right back into training pretty quickly. That was nice, to be able to get a head start."

And now that the off-season training includes three or four on-ice sessions a week, Stuart said he’s starting to get that bug for the season.

He believes it’s likely to be more intense than usual.

"It was great to make the playoffs but it ended much too soon," he said. "I think once it’s over, you look back a little bit and dwell on it but then you look forward right away. We’re excited about our group. Last year was a good stepping stone and the expectations are continuing to build and that’s exciting. Once August hits, you get really antsy. This is kind of the time the anxiety and excitement really kick in."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca