Jason Zucker

Zucker played in the 2009 World Juniors and 2010 World Juniors for Team USA, and won a gold medal in 2010.[14] He was also a member of Team USA's bronze medal-winning team at the 2011 World Juniors.[15]

Playing for the University of Denver in 2010–11, he was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Rookie of the Year, and was also named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team and 2nd All-Star Team.[16] In his two seasons playing for Denver, he had 45 goals and 91 points in 78 games. He turned pro following the 2011-12 season.

Zucker was drafted in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first Nevada-raised draft pick (and, subsequently, player) in NHL history.[17] Zucker signed his entry-level contract with the Wild on March 27, 2012. He made his NHL debut in a victory against the Florida Panthers on March 29, 2012. He scored his first NHL goal against Petr Mrazek on February 17, 2013, in a Wild win over the Detroit Red Wings.[18]

The lockout-shortened 2012–13 NHL season saw Zucker split time between the Minnesota Wild and the Houston Aeros. He appeared in 20 regular season games with Minnesota, and played mostly on the team's second line alongside Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi.

On May 5, 2013, Zucker scored at 2:15 of the extra period to give the Wild a 3–2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, to pull within 2–1 in the Western Conference quarterfinal series.

On March 26, 2014, Zucker underwent successful surgery on his left quadriceps to repair a tendon. He missed the remainder of the 2013–14 season, but was ready for the start of the 2014–15 campaign.[19]

In 2014–15 he scored 21 goals in 51 games, and was tenth in the NHL with a 16.9% shooting percentage. On October 25, 2015, he set a Wild team record by scoring 10 seconds into a 5-4 win against the Winnipeg Jets (Zucker later tied his own record in a game against the Colorado Avalanche in April 2017).[20] The only other NHL players who have scored within the first 10 seconds of two different games are Montreal's Bobby Rousseau (once in 1962–63, and once in 1965–66) and Yvan Cournoyer (both in 1973–74).

In 2015–16 he played in a career-high 71 games, and had 13 goals and 10 assists. In June 2016, the Wild re-signed him to a two-year, $4 million contract.[21]

During the 2016–17 season, Zucker set new career highs once again by playing in 79 games while recording 22 goals and 25 assists for 47 points. He finished tied for sixth in team scoring.

Zucker recorded his first NHL hat-trick on November 9, 2017 against the Montreal Canadiens.[22] On May 2, 2018, Zucker was named a finalist for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, along with P. K. Subban, and the Sedin brothers.[23]

On July 25, 2018, Zucker signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract extension with the Wild. Zucker scored his 100th NHL goal on October 13, 2018, in a home overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes.[24] He is the 7th Minnesota Wild player to record 100 goals with the team.[25] Zucker received the 2018-19 King Clancy Memorial Trophy as "the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."[26]

In his career with the Wild, in 456 NHL games he had 132 goals (4th on the Wild's all-time list), 111 assists, and 243 points (9th).[26]

On February 10, 2020, Zucker was traded by the Wild to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, Calen Addison, and Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[27] Zucker is under contract with the Penguins for three years, through the 2022-23 season, for an average annual value of $5.5 million.[28][26]