Northern Star

Zach Parise expected to have another Wild season.

- Stephen Laroche

Minnesota is a true hockey hotbed and over 200 of its home-bred players have gone on to make it all the way to the National Hockey League. One of the greatest of these talents is a second-generation star who also has the privilege of skating in front of his loyal local fans and Zach Parise may go down as one of the greatest the State of Hockey has ever produced.

Parise, who ranks seventh all-time in scoring among Minnesota natives, starts the 2016-17 season just one tally away from the 300-goal plateau and he is now in his fifth year with the Wild. Following a disappointing exit for the United States from the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, he will be looking to help his team return to postseason action as it missed the playoffs last year. While they finished in ninth place in the Western Conference, there is some promise moving forward thanks to solid core group of players that includes Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter, and Devan Dubnyk.

To date, Parise has appeared on over 2,000 cards and his rookie issues came out not long after his debut with the New Jersey Devils at the start of the 2005-06 season. A first round pick (17th overall) in the loaded 2003 NHL Entry Draft, he spent two years at the University of North Dakota after playing at the prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary’s school under his father, J.P.. Before being drafted, he led the NCAA rookie scoring race and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist as a sophomore – the same year he helped take the United States to gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship.