Zach Parise Zachary Justin Parise ( born July 28 , 1984 ) is an American professional ice hockey left winger and an alternate captain of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Prior to turning pro , Parise played two seasons for the University of North Dakota , where he was twice nominated for the Hobey Baker Award given to the top men ' s collegiate hockey player . He played high school hockey for Shattuck - St . Mary ' s in Faribault , Minnesota . Parise was drafted by the New Jersey Devils 17th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft . He turned pro after his sophomore season , and spent 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 league leader Alexander Ovechkin with 56 , while ranking fifth among all NHL players in points with 94 . Internationally , Parise has represented the United States at several different events . He helped the Americans win a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships , where he was named the Most Valuable Player , Best Forward and had a spot on the Tournament All - Star Team . Parise was an alternate captain for the American team at the 2010 Winter Olympics , and scored the tying goal late in the gold medal game to send it to overtime . Sidney Crosby scored during extra time , and Parise and his teammates won a silver medal . After the tournament , Parise was named to the Tournament All - Star Team . Parise ' s father , J . P . was a professional hockey player who played for Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series . His brother Jordan is a professional hockey goalie . Playing career . Amateur . Parise played high school hockey for four seasons for the Shattuck - St . Mary ' s Sabres in Faribault , Minnesota , where his father J . P . worked in the hockey program . During his final two years ( 2000 – 01 and 2001 – 02 ) at Shattuck - St . Mary ' s , he scored 146 goals and 194 assists in 125 games . While playing for the Sabres , Parise twice participated in the Mac ' s AAA Hockey Tournament held in Calgary , Alberta . In 2000 and 2001 , he was named the tournament Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) as well as being named to the tournament All - Star Team . He was the top scorer at the 2001 tournament . After his senior year at Shattuck - St . Mary ' s , Parise was named the school ' s Best All - Around Athlete . Parise played NCAA hockey for the University of North Dakota ( UND ) starting with the 2002 – 03 season . In his first game with the Fighting Sioux , Parise scored a three goals , becoming only the second freshman to record a hat trick since 1988 . During his freshman season at UND , Parise led the NCAA in rookie scoring ( 26 goals and 35 assists ) , and finished 8th in the national scoring race . He captured a number of awards during the season , including being named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association ( WCHA ) Rookie of the Week 4 times , and WCHA Offensive Player of the Week once . After the season he was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award , he was the only freshman nominated that year , and the first UND freshman nominee ever . Parise was named UND ' s Male Rookie Athlete of the Year after the 2002 – 03 season . In addition to these honors , Parise was named to the WCHA All - Rookie Team and the All - WCHA Third Team . Parise was also named the recipient of the Jeff Anderson Hockey Scholarship , given to the MVP as voted by his teammates . After his freshman season , Parise was eligible for the 2003 NHL Entry Draft . Heading into the draft , he was ranked as the 9th best North American skater by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau . Heading into the draft , teams had concerns about his size , but were impressed by his skill and work ethic . At the draft , the New Jersey Devils traded to obtain the 17th overall pick from the Edmonton Oilers and used it to select Parise . Parise returned to UND for his sophomore season after being drafted . Along with teammates Brandon Bochenski , Matt Smaby and Drew Stafford , Parise helped the Fighting Sioux to the MacNaughton Cup as the WCHA Regular Season Champions . Parise was named a First Team All - American after the season . He was named as one of the 10 nominees for the Hobey Baker Award , and was one of three finalists , losing out to eventual winner Junior Lessard . Parise was also named to the All - WCHA Academic Team , and the WCHA All - Tournament Team . After his sophomore season , Parise was named as the winner of the Cliff ( Fido ) Purpur Award , awarded by the coaching staff to the player who exemplifies " the characteristics of Purpur , a former UND coach , of hard work , determination and being a creator of excitement on the ice . " Professional . After his sophomore season at UND , Parise chose to forego his final two years of NCAA eligibility to sign a professional contract with the Devils . He signed an entry - level contract with the Devils on March 29 , 2003 . Due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , Parise spent his first professional season in the American Hockey League with the Albany River Rats . He was assigned to the River Rats on September 16 , 2004 . In his first professional season , Parise scored 18 goals and added 40 assists . He was chosen to play in the 2004 – 05 AHL All - Star Game . Parise made his debut in the NHL at the start of the 2005 – 06 season . In his rookie year , Parise played in all but one game , totaling 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points . He became just the 12th player for the Devils to score a goal in his first NHL game . Parise scored his first career playoff goal against the New York Rangers in game three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . To open the following season , Parise set a franchise record for scoring the quickest season - opening goal , 26 seconds into the first game . For the season , he nearly doubled his scoring output of the previous season , totaling 62 points . Parise was chosen to play in the NHL YoungStars Game during the All - Star weekend , where he scored two goals and four assists and was named the game ' s MVP . Heading into the 2007 – 08 season , Parise and the Devils agreed to terms on a new , 4 - year contract on August 1 , 2007 . Parise led the Devils in scoring during the 2007 - 08 season with 65 points . On November 30 , 2007 , in a game against the Montreal Canadiens , Parise got his first National Hockey League natural hat trick . On October 3 , 2009 , Parise was named an alternate captain for the Devils . Parise had a breakout season during his 4th year in the NHL , which saw the Devils increase their scoring output by nearly half a goal per game , breaking away from the team ' s image as a mostly defensive team . While playing in all 82 games , Parise scored 45 goals and added 49 assists for 94 points . Parise finished 5th overall in league scoring , and was 3rd in goal scoring , behind only Alexander Ovechkin and Jeff Carter . During the season , Parise was selected to represent the Eastern Conference at the 2008 – 09 NHL All - Star Game . After the season , Parise was chosen as one of three nominees for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy . He was also chosen to the NHL ' s Second All - Star Team , and named the Devils team MVP . During the 2009 – 10 season , Parise played in 81 games for the Devils , finishing with 38 goals and 44 assists . Parise struggled at times , going 12 games without scoring at one point before recording two goals against the Atlanta Thrashers on December 28 , 2009 . During the playoffs , Parise and the Devils were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarter - Finals by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games . Parise scored one goal and added three assists in the five playoff games . At the end of the season , Parise was selected as the Devils team MVP , for the second year in a row . On July 4th , 2012 , Parise signed a 13 - year , $ 98 million contract with the Minnesota Wild along with another top free agent , defenseman Ryan Suter . Parise was born in Minnesota and his father J . P . Parise was once the captain of the Minnesota North Stars . Due to the 2012 NHL Lockout , Parise ' s debut was delayed until January 19 , 2013 . In his debut , Parise recorded two assists to Dany Heatley . Parise got his first goal with the Wild on January 20 during a 1 - 0 win over the Dallas Stars . International . Although Parise ' s father J . P . played internationally for Canada during his hockey career , Zach and his brother Jordan are American citizens . Parise ' s international career started at the Under - 18 level , where he played for the United States during the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships . Parise finished the tournament 14th overall in scoring with 7 goals and 3 assists in 8 games and the United States won the gold medal . Parise next represented the United States at the Under - 20 level , playing at the 2003 World Junior Championships . Team USA finished in fourth place and Parise scored 4 goals and added 4 assists to finish 8th in tournament scoring . The following year , at the 2004 World Junior Championships , Parise led the Americans to their first ever gold medal at the tournament . He scored 5 goals and added 6 assists and was awarded the Tournament MVP , Best Forward and was named to the Tournament All - Star Team . In 2005 and 2007 , Parise played for the United States at the World Hockey Championships , although he did not suit up for the full slate of games in either event . In 2008 , Parise served as an alternate captain for the American team at the World Championships . He was named Team USA ' s Player of the Game against Germany during this tournament , and he was also selected as one of the team ' s Top Three Players at the end of the tournament by the coaching staff . On January 1 , 2010 , Parise was named to the 2010 Men ' s Olympic Hockey Team , and was later named as one of the team ' s alternate captains . Parise scored both of Team USA ' s goals in 2 - 0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland . In the final against Canada , Parise scored a game - tying goal with 24 seconds left in the 3rd period to send the game into overtime , although Parise and his teammates had to settle for the silver medal after a goal by Sidney Crosby during overtime . For the tournament , Parise finished third in the tournament in scoring , and he was named to the Olympic All - Star team with countrymen Ryan Miller and Brian Rafalski . Personal life . Parise ' s older brother Jordan is a goaltender who has played in the Devils system in the past . He is sponsored by Easton Hockey . Parise gives his time to New Jersey ' s public library system , and serves as a Library Champion , a program which promotes the importance of reading to children . Career statistics . Regular season and playoffs . " Statistics Source " International statistics . " Statistics Source "