photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Wednesday night in Saint Paul, Minnesota local hero Zach Parise will be one of five honourees inducted as part of the 53rd class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Born on July 28, 1984 in Minneapolis, Parise’s storied career included 19 NHL seasons and a pair of historic wins for Team USA on the international stage: the program’s first-ever gold medal at the U18 level in 2002 and at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2004, where he was named tournament MVP.
“For us to win both of those and to be the first U.S. team to win both of them — that was awesome,” Parise recalled in a recent interview with IIHF.com. “It wasn’t like we just showed up to the World Juniors that year. There was a foundation that started with that group on the Under-17s, then to the Under-18s. We had good harmony amongst the team and the coaching. The coaches were awesome for us.”
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
Parise’s passion for hockey was forged at the Met Center in Bloomington. His father, Jean-Paul Parise, spent nine of his 14 NHL seasons on left wing with the Minnesota North Stars, then served another six years as the team's assistant coach.
Zach was too young to see his dad in action, but witnessed the respect that J.P. still commanded after his retirement.
“Once he was done coaching and all that, he still had all the contacts,” Zach said. “We would drive up to the Met Center and give a wave to the parking guy, give a wave to another guy, then walk right in where the players walked in. It was like he was still part of the organization.”
In 1993, at nine years old, Parise watched his beloved North Stars relocate to Dallas.
“Our family had such a connection to the team and the organization,” he said. “From a kid’s standpoint, being sad to see your favourite team leave, sad to see them blow up the Met Center. All of a sudden, you’re trying to find another team you like, and it’s not in Minnesota.”
North Stars legends like Neal Broten and Mike Modano kept a place in his heart, but Parise also began to follow players like Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, whose games he admired.
In the late 90s, J.P. signed on as the hockey director at Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minn. In 2000, at age 16, Zach and his older brother Jordan, a goalie, joined the team.
“The first year he took the job, I was still in Bloomington,” Zach said. “I wasn't planning on going down there. But they started school two weeks before we started school in Bloomington and my dad was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you just come down and check it out? Go to school, then you can leave and go back?’
“I went down there and didn't want to leave.”
In 2000-01, Parise scored 162 points in 58 games, and Shattuck won the U.S. national U18 Tier I championship. In later years, the program gained great renown for developing future NHL stars including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Nathan MacKinnon, Clayton Keller and Macklin Celebrini.
“I don’t know if my dad did a really good job of recruiting, or what,” Parise said. “But after that, we ended up getting such a great group of talented players that wanted to be there.
“It's a unique spot. For a hockey player, the place is unbelievable. And for kids that want to develop, players want to play with good players. It’s a really good draw for a good player that's serious about hockey.”
Zach was too young to see his dad in action, but witnessed the respect that J.P. still commanded after his retirement.
“Once he was done coaching and all that, he still had all the contacts,” Zach said. “We would drive up to the Met Center and give a wave to the parking guy, give a wave to another guy, then walk right in where the players walked in. It was like he was still part of the organization.”
In 1993, at nine years old, Parise watched his beloved North Stars relocate to Dallas.
“Our family had such a connection to the team and the organization,” he said. “From a kid’s standpoint, being sad to see your favourite team leave, sad to see them blow up the Met Center. All of a sudden, you’re trying to find another team you like, and it’s not in Minnesota.”
North Stars legends like Neal Broten and Mike Modano kept a place in his heart, but Parise also began to follow players like Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, whose games he admired.
In the late 90s, J.P. signed on as the hockey director at Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minn. In 2000, at age 16, Zach and his older brother Jordan, a goalie, joined the team.
“The first year he took the job, I was still in Bloomington,” Zach said. “I wasn't planning on going down there. But they started school two weeks before we started school in Bloomington and my dad was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you just come down and check it out? Go to school, then you can leave and go back?’
“I went down there and didn't want to leave.”
In 2000-01, Parise scored 162 points in 58 games, and Shattuck won the U.S. national U18 Tier I championship. In later years, the program gained great renown for developing future NHL stars including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Nathan MacKinnon, Clayton Keller and Macklin Celebrini.
“I don’t know if my dad did a really good job of recruiting, or what,” Parise said. “But after that, we ended up getting such a great group of talented players that wanted to be there.
“It's a unique spot. For a hockey player, the place is unbelievable. And for kids that want to develop, players want to play with good players. It’s a really good draw for a good player that's serious about hockey.”
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
After two years at Shattuck, Parise then spent two seasons at the University of North Dakota. In 2003, he was drafted 17th overall by the New Jersey Devils. He finished with 1,254 NHL games played over 19 seasons, tallying 889 points, and reached the Stanley Cup Final as captain of the Devils in 2012.
In addition to his championships from U18s and World Juniors, Parise also suited up for Team USA at three IIHF World Championships. A funny memory from 2007 stands out.
“I was playing for the Devils and we got knocked out early in the second round, in five games to Ottawa,” Parise said. “I got a call the next day: ‘Hey, our U.S. team is in Russia. We’ve got the quarterfinals tomorrow against Finland. Will you come over and play?’
“I said okay. So I literally flew over there, landed, took a quick nap, played, missed twice in the shootout. We lost, and then I came right back home.”
Parise had another highlight-reel moment wearing the Stars and Stripes at the 2010 Winter Olympics. With 25 seconds remaining in regulation and the U.S. trailing Canada 2-1 in the gold-medal game, Parise beat Roberto Luongo to send the game to overtime — only to settle for silver after Sidney Crosby ended it in sudden death.
“In hockey, everyone knows anything can happen, so we were very confident,” Parise said. “We beat them in the round robin, so we're like, ‘Yeah, we can beat them again.’
"Unfortunately, it didn't go that way, but what a hockey game that was — what a game to be a part of. It was incredible — the atmosphere and that rink and just how unique it was. You could feel it as a player, the importance of every play, every puck that got chipped out of the zone, everything. There was so much emphasis on it, and it was such a fun game to play.”
In Sochi in 2014, Parise returned to the Olympic stage with the ‘C’ on his jersey, but Team USA settled for a fourth-place finish.
Parise retired from the NHL in 2024, but still laces up his skates regularly. He has followed in his father’s footsteps by passing his love for the game on to his own kids. This winter, he’s coaching both of his 11-year-old twins — son Jaxson and daughter Emelia. He also helps out with seven-year-old Theo’s mite program.
“A lot of time in the rink once they get done with school,” he said. “Life is great.”
In addition to his championships from U18s and World Juniors, Parise also suited up for Team USA at three IIHF World Championships. A funny memory from 2007 stands out.
“I was playing for the Devils and we got knocked out early in the second round, in five games to Ottawa,” Parise said. “I got a call the next day: ‘Hey, our U.S. team is in Russia. We’ve got the quarterfinals tomorrow against Finland. Will you come over and play?’
“I said okay. So I literally flew over there, landed, took a quick nap, played, missed twice in the shootout. We lost, and then I came right back home.”
Parise had another highlight-reel moment wearing the Stars and Stripes at the 2010 Winter Olympics. With 25 seconds remaining in regulation and the U.S. trailing Canada 2-1 in the gold-medal game, Parise beat Roberto Luongo to send the game to overtime — only to settle for silver after Sidney Crosby ended it in sudden death.
“In hockey, everyone knows anything can happen, so we were very confident,” Parise said. “We beat them in the round robin, so we're like, ‘Yeah, we can beat them again.’
"Unfortunately, it didn't go that way, but what a hockey game that was — what a game to be a part of. It was incredible — the atmosphere and that rink and just how unique it was. You could feel it as a player, the importance of every play, every puck that got chipped out of the zone, everything. There was so much emphasis on it, and it was such a fun game to play.”
In Sochi in 2014, Parise returned to the Olympic stage with the ‘C’ on his jersey, but Team USA settled for a fourth-place finish.
Parise retired from the NHL in 2024, but still laces up his skates regularly. He has followed in his father’s footsteps by passing his love for the game on to his own kids. This winter, he’s coaching both of his 11-year-old twins — son Jaxson and daughter Emelia. He also helps out with seven-year-old Theo’s mite program.
“A lot of time in the rink once they get done with school,” he said. “Life is great.”
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
With this year’s U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame ceremony taking place in the Twin Cities, Parise’s honour gives him the opportunity to bring together his family, friends and teammates to express his gratitude and share special memories in the city where he grew up and where he spent nine NHL seasons with the Minnesota Wild.
“There’s so many people that you want to make sure get the acknowledgement and the credit that that you want to give them,” he said. “I could be up there for 45 minutes going through that list.”
This year’s other inductees into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame are Joe Pavelski, Scott Gomez, Tara Mounsey and photographer Bruce Bennett. Ray Shero will also be honoured posthumously with the NHL’s Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
“There’s so many people that you want to make sure get the acknowledgement and the credit that that you want to give them,” he said. “I could be up there for 45 minutes going through that list.”
This year’s other inductees into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame are Joe Pavelski, Scott Gomez, Tara Mounsey and photographer Bruce Bennett. Ray Shero will also be honoured posthumously with the NHL’s Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.