Parise's work ethic, love for game leads to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

The 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction is Dec. 10. This year's class includes Joe Pavelski, Zach Parise, Scott Gomez, Tara Mounsey and Bruce Bennett. Here, NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale profiles Parise.

Zach Parise just wants to be remembered as a "guy who played the game the right way."

His impact was far greater than he realizes.

"The thing we always said about Zach was he had the mentality of a fourth liner with first-line skill," former New Jersey Devils teammate and current Boston University coach Jay Pandolfo said. "That's how he approached the game. It's how he approached every practice."

It was a staple of his and something learned at a very young age while tagging along and listening intently to his hero and father, the late J.P. Parise.

"He taught me a lot about work ethic," Parise said. "He could teach me little things, like stick work, things that people just didn't know how to do, or did but just didn't understand."

Parise, who played more than 1,250 games with four teams over 19 NHL seasons and was an integral member of USA Hockey on an international front, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2025 at a dinner and ceremony in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday.

To know Parise is understanding his childhood.

It starts with J.P., who played 890 NHL games (1965-79) with the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota North Stars, New York Islanders and Cleveland Barons. Upon retirement, J.P. spent nine seasons as a North Stars assistant coach.

"I remember meeting Neal Broten and Mike Modano," Zach said. "When the Pittsburgh Penguins came to town, I'll never forget going to the Met Center and Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey chatted with us for five minutes. I couldn't even tell you what Mario said, but it was just incredible."

J.P. later ran the hockey program at renown Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. Zach attended Shattuck for two seasons, scoring 340 points (146 goals, 194 assists) in 125 games.

"If your most talented players are your hardest workers and your best people, you've got something," said Shattuck coach Tom Ward, who was there for Zach's two seasons. "Zach loves the game. Hockey is a strange deal because it's a sickness. It's a fever and once you get it and you find that you have some acumen for it, it's a sickness and you can't get rid of it. Zach had the fever and still does.

"He was a rink rat, willing to pay the price to get better. He stole keys off dad's kitchen table, opening up the rink and turning the lights on so him, his brother Jordan, and a bunch of their buddies could skate."

In his first season (2000-01), he scored 162 points (69 goals, 93 assists) in 58 games to help Shattuck win a national championship.

"Our scouts saw him often and the one common comment on the way he played was it was the same, night in, night out. He never left anything to be questioned," former NHL executive and coach Lou Lamoriello said. "His competitiveness and his desire were just incredible."

Parise is second all-time in points at Shattuck and holds the single-season record for goals (77), assists (101) and points (178) he set as a 17-year-old in 2001-02.

Parise had 116 points (49 goals, 67 assists) in 76 games over two seasons at the University of North Dakota under coach Dean Blais (2002-04).

"I think [Blais] really had us playing an NHL style of hockey," Parise said. "I had great assistance there with Brad Berry and Dave Hakstol. They were committed to helping their players develop so that was a big stepping-stone for me."

As general manager of the Devils, Lamoriello thought so highly of Parise that he obtained the No. 17 selection in the 2003 NHL Draft in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a first-round pick (No. 22; Marc-Antoine Pouliot) and second-round pick (No. 68; Jean-Francois Jacques).

"I had no idea because I didn't speak to the Devils at the 2003 NHL Scouting Combine," Parise said. "Lou told me they didn't think they were going to have a chance to select me, so they didn't even bother. I thought for sure the Islanders were going to draft me because they were picking No. 15 and my dad played there."

J.P. played 240 regular-season games with New York (1974-78), but the Islanders selected forward Robert Nilsson, who totaled 118 points (37 goals, 81 assists) in five NHL seasons (252 games).

"If you remember, 2003 was probably one of the best draft classes ever," Lamoriello said. "We had Zach ranked high and we were fortunate because it was a size and strength draft, and everybody was looking at the big players. But Zach was a consummate pro in the way he handled himself in the locker room and as a captain."

Parise ranks fifth all-time among Devils players with 194 goals and 12th with 410 points (216 assists) in 502 games over seven seasons (2005-12). The only time he advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in his career was with the Devils when New Jersey lost to the Los Angeles Kings in six games in 2012. He was captain in New Jersey in 2011-12.

"If you were asked, 'How should a pro handle himself with doing things and playing the game?', he'd be one of the top ones on my list," Lamoriello said. "Wherever he played and whoever played with him saw that, too."

Said former Devils teammate Travis Zajac: "He went to the dirty areas, and I think that's part of the reason why he scored so much. He wasn't afraid going to the net to get second, third chances, battle for pucks, tips, deflections. For not being a big guy, he scored a lot of goals the hard way. He tried to make guys around him better, always practicing and doing things the right way.

"He really pushed me to become the player I was."

Not until Bryce Salvador was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the Devils on Feb. 26, 2008, did he fully grasp Parise's value.

"I didn't appreciate how passionate and genuine he was about being a student of the game until I got to see him firsthand, respecting and truly loving the game of hockey," said Salvador, who was Devils captain for three seasons (2012-15). "This was a guy that came to the rink, wanted to be the best he could be. He led by example. His offense came the hard way, and he worked for everything."

On July 4, 2012, Parise, along with childhood friend, defenseman Ryan Suter, each signed a 13-year, $98 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.

"When this decision was made, you respect it because of the conversations you've had," Lamoriello said. "I never looked at it (negatively). He was going home with his dad in Minnesota. I mean, somehow these things just take over but there was never any animosity."

Parise ranks third all-time among Wild players with 199 goals and fourth with 400 points (201 assists) in 558 games over nine seasons (2012-21).

"I had intentions of going back to New Jersey; I loved it there and we were fresh off the Cup Final," he said. "But then you start talking with other teams and you're curious what else is out there. It was a stressful time because you have so many pros and cons of different spots. I remember there being a big excitement about the young players that were coming up in the (Minnesota) organization so I thought it would be a great place to play.

"I could be closer to my parents and that's really what it came down to."

Zach was indeed there for his mom and family when his dad died after a lengthy battle with lung cancer on Jan. 7, 2015.

"He had a fantastic upbringing with tremendous experience and what he took from his dad certainly was how to play the game," Lamoriello said.

Lamoriello, inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, recognized the value Parise had even in the twilight of his career. When he became a free agent after having the remaining four seasons of his 13-year contract bought out by the Wild on July 13, 2021, Lamoriello, then GM of the Islanders, wasted little time in signing him.

He was reunited with former Devils captain Andy Greene, who also was acquired by Lamoriello in a trade on Feb. 16, 2020. Parise and Greene were Devils teammates for six seasons (2006-12).

"You saw the skill he had but the tenacity and the way he played ... you would have thought he was a fourth line player with how hard he worked and that's what I think just made him so successful," Greene said. "I was fortunate to be able reunite with him with the Islanders. It was just a great opportunity to be able to play with him for so many years."

Parise had 69 points (36 goals, 33 assists) in 164 games in two seasons with the Islanders, before signing a one-year contract with the Avalanche on Jan. 27, 2024. He played 30 games with Colorado in 2023-24, and had 10 points (five goals, five assists).

"When you're young, you think you're just going to have all these chances to win the Stanley Cup ... you don't really understand how hard it is," Parise said. "It was an incredible experience to play in Colorado, especially where I was in my career."

Parise finished his NHL career with 889 points (434 goals, 455 assists) in 1,254 games. He had 83 points (39 goals, 44 assists) in 122 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Internationally, Parise won a gold medal with the United States at the 2002 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. He was a member of the U.S. National Junior Team that won the country's first gold medal at the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship, when he was named tournament MVP after scoring 11 points (five goals, six assists) in six games. He also won a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

"Having the chance to coach him at U-18 Worlds and World Juniors was special," said Minnesota coach John Hynes, who was an assistant for the U.S. team. "He was always a tenacious competitor, very skilled. I think the way he played the game, the compete, the care for the team, his wanting to win but playing a style of game that was conducive to winning, was something that really stood out to me."

Parise looks forward to the induction ceremony, seeing old friends and sharing the experience with his family, including wife Alicia and children, twins Jackson and Amelia, and Theo.

"My kids were so excited when I told them the news," Parise said. "First and foremost, Alicia is incredible. Just the ability to do what she did with all the traveling, her at home with the kids, getting them around to where they needed to be at pretty important times in their lives. It wasn't ideal for me to be gone, but the support she's given me has been through the roof.

"I joke around with my kids, saying to them, 'I know you don't think so, and you didn't see it, but your dad used to be a good player.' It's great to share that with them."