A hockey player's son born and raised in Minnesota, the "State of Hockey," Parise seemed destined to take the sport by storm.

At 5-foot-11, somewhat undersized for an NHL winger, the Minneapolis native was selected No. 17 by the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 NHL Draft. A Hobey Baker Award nominee in each of his two seasons at the University of North Dakota, the son of longtime Minnesota North Stars player and assistant coach J.P. Parise quickly proved himself to be a gifted scorer with great speed in the pro game.

In October of 2006, Parise scored 26 seconds into New Jersey's season opener, a team record for fastest goal to start a season. He earned MVP honors with a two-goal, six-point performance at the 2007 YoungStars game and finished the season with 31 goals and 62 points in 82 games.Sent to the American Hockey League for 2004-05 during the NHL lockout, he scored 18 goals and 58 points in 73 games during an all-star season with Albany. After the NHL labor dispute was settled, Parise joined the Devils as a rookie for the 2005-06 season and had 14 goals and 32 points in 81 games.

It was the first of four straight 30-plus goal seasons for Parise. He was named an alternate captain for the Devils to start 2008-09, when he would finish third in the League with 45 goals and fifth in scoring with 94 points while being named a second-team All-Star.

Parise was remarkably healthy during seven seasons with New Jersey; knee surgery that limited him to 13 games in 2010-11 marked the only time Parise missed more than one game for the Devils. It was also the only time New Jersey missed the playoffs during his time there.

Named captain to start the 2011-12 season, Parise had 31 goals and 69 points in the regular season and helped lead New Jersey to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2003. The Devils lost the Final to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. Parise tied for first in the League with eight playoff goals and tied for sixth with 15 points.

A free agent after the season, Parise signed a 13-year, $98 million contracts to join his hometown Minnesota Wild. With 18 goals and 38 points in 48 games during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Parise helped the Wild return to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.

A high school national champion at the renowned Shattuck-St. Mary's School where his father served as director of hockey, Parise won gold with the United States at the 2004 World Junior Championships and silver at the 2010 Olympics.