He was drafted by the Devils 17th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and turned professional after his sophomore season, spending one year playing for the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League (AHL). Parise joined the Devils for the 2005–06 season. Parise's best NHL season was in 2008–09, when he was the League's third-leading goal scorer (45) behind Jeff Carter with 46 and NHL leader Alexander Ovechkin with 56, while ranking fifth among all NHL players in points with 94.