As the Minnesota Wild were wrapping up the preseason, Jason Zucker was in the midst of an intense competition just to make the team out of training camp.
But almost two months into the season, Zucker has risen from a fourth line player to the first line, from strictly 5-on-5 play to getting time on the penalty kill and power play. In the Wild’s 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday, Zucker played more than any other Wild forward except for Kyle Brodziak, registering 19 minutes, 31 seconds of ice time. Not bad, for a 22-year-old raised in Las Vegas.
Zucker, who was born in Huntington Beach, Calif., moved to Southern Nevada as a child when his father took a job in the casino industry. But to further his hockey career he left for Los Angeles when he was 11-years-old, before attending high school in Plymouth, Mich.
After two seasons with the University of Denver, Zucker left college and signed his first professional contract with the Minnesota Wild, even suiting up for them at the end of the 2011-2012 season.
Despite his many stops along the way, Zucker told KNPR before boarding a plane to Dallas that he considers Las Vegas to be home. But don’t expect Zucker to sign with a Las Vegas-based team should the NHL award the city a team in two years. He said Las Vegas is where he comes in the off season to get away from hockey, and that would be lost if he were to play in Sin City.
GUEST:
Jason Zucker, forward with the Minnesota Wild
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