If you create a list of top National Hockey League (NHL) players, your list will never be filled without mentioning Zach Parise. The field hockey star is one of the long lists of those who have carved out a niche for themselves thanks to his exceptional ball skills. He is currently associated with the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League and has also played for the New Jersey Devils.
After being selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 NHL draft, Zach led the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup tournament. Although his team advanced to the final, they eventually lost to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. In addition, Zach was part of the United States national field hockey team and participated in various international competitions. Learn more about his biography, NHL career, and family below.
Zach Parise Bio
The hockey star was born on July 28, 1984, in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States as Zachary Justin Parise. He is one of the two sons of J.P. Parise and his wife Donna Parise. Zach’s father and brother come from a sporting family and also played in the National Hockey League. This prompted young Zach to follow the same path from an early age.
ALSO READ: Michael Stevens Biography, Wife, Height, Weight, Net Worth
Zach Parise attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres in Faribault, Minnesota. There he began his youth career under the guidance of his father. In the last two seasons of his youth career, Zach played for the school team and scored 146 goals in 125 games, setting a record of 194 assists. He led the team to participate in the Mac’s AAA Hockey Tournament, where he was named MVP of the tournament. In addition, Zach finished the 2001 season as the best scorer and was honored with the title of Best All-Around Athlete in School.
Shortly after graduating high school, Zach enrolled at the University of North Dakota where he continued his college career. In his first season, the school’s left-winger was voted Male All WCHA Rookie of the Year and was appointed to the All WCHA Rookie Team. He was also awarded the Jeff Anderson Hockey Scholarship after scoring 26 goals and playing 35 assists during the season. After his impressive performance in his first year, Zach was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2003 NHL Draft. He was the 17th player to be selected in total; however, he decided to return to North Dakota for his second season.
As a sophomore, Zach led the North Dakota team to victory in the regular WCHA season and also led them to participate in the MacNaughton Cup competition. At the end of the season, the star received the Purple Award for his outstanding performance. He was also appointed to the WCHA All-Tournament Team as well as the All-American First Team and the WCHA All-Academic Team. In the meantime, Zach decided to give up the rest of his career as a colleague while he joined the New Jersey Devils in the professional league.
NHL Career
Zach Parise, who joined the New Jersey Devils team, signed his contract as a rookie in March 2004. He finished his first season with the Albany River Rats team. There he scored a total of 18 goals in the 2004/05 season, with 40 assists. The following season Zach returned to the Devils, making his NHL debut in the 2005/06 season. By the end of his rookie season, the player had scored 14 goals for his team.
In the 2006/07 season, Zach participated in the All-Star Weekend, where he was named MVP of the game. He also scored a total of 62 points during the season. In August 2007 and in the 2007-08 season he signed a four-year contract extension with the Devils; the player scored his first hat-trick and also had a total of 65 points at the end of the season. At the end of his four-year contract with the Devils, Zach signed another one-year contract with the team, and after the 2011/12 season, he left the Devils and signed with the Minnesota Wild.
Zach signed a contract with the Minnesota Wild in 2012 and has signed with the team for four seasons. He has probably become one of the most important stars on the Wild team and has made progress in the league. In their 2016 game against the New York Islanders, he scored the 300th goal in the league.
ALSO READ: Who is Ben Platt, Is He Gay, Who is He Dating? The Boyfriend or Girlfriend
Zach Parise Family: Dad, Wife, and Kids
As we have already mentioned, Zach came from a sporting family. His father, J.P. Parise, was a former hockey star who played professionally in both the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. Like Zach, he was a left-winger and played professionally from 1963 to 1979. Most notably, he was part of the Canadian team that played in the 1972 Summit Series. As a coach, Zach’s father considered him and his brother to be everything they knew in the game from the beginning of their amateur career.
His older brother Jordan Parise also made giant strides during his time as goalkeeper in the field hockey league. He ended his professional career with the Waterloo Blackhawks and Chicago Steel as well as the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Sadly, his father died on January 7, 2015, after suffering from an advanced stage of lung cancer. Apart from Jordan, Zach has two stepbrothers and stepsisters from his father’s first marriage.
While pursuing a flourishing career, Zach Parise is also active off the field. The star is a happily married man and father of two children. The left-winger married his long-time lover and the love of his life named Alisha Woods in 2012. Two years after their wedding, the amazing couple welcomed a pair of twins named Emelia and Jaxson in January 2014. They live happily ever after and there are no signs of marital problems between them.
