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Parise Learns from Trials as he Continues Title Chase

By Phil Ervin - Special to USAHockey.com, 09/17/15, 9:15AM MDT

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The Team USA Captain has High Hopes for His Minnesota Wild Team

The memories are still wedged in Zach Parise’s craw, not unlike the razor-sharp hooks with which he landed largemouth bass at Wild coach Mike Yeo’s annual charity fishing tournament earlier this month.

He’s churned forward. But they still hurt.

The fresh catch: an agonizing, second-round sweep at Chicago’s hands in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which Minnesota had reached by virtue of the NHL’s best record after the All-Star break. The Blackhawks have eliminated the Wild the past three seasons, each unsuccessful series bringing inflated disappointment as expectations balloon in the self-proclaimed State of Hockey.

“[I’ve] moved on,” the Twin Cities native and 2014 Olympic team captain said Monday after a two-hour captains’ practice alongside teammates, followed by another hour of private power play work with fellow Wild assistant captain, U.S. national team companion and close friend Ryan Suter. “Yeah, it was brutal. … That’s the way it goes, but I think you come in, you’re fresh and ready to play again this season.”

Almost as painful: a 5-0 loss to Finland in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games bronze-medal game, a day after Canada ousted the United States from gold-medal contention for the second Winter Games in a row.

“That was a tough experience,” said Parise, who had the game-tying goal in the Americans’ eventual overtime loss in the 2010 gold-medal game. “You talk about bad endings, that was a bad ending. It’s one of those things, who knows when you’ll get to play in it again? It only happens once every four years.”

And, of course, the closest Parise’s ever come to Lord Stanley’s Cup was a 2012 finals loss to Los Angeles. He played for New Jersey then, his last year as a Devil before signing a long-term deal with his hometown Wild.

Parise, then, is no stranger to heart-crushing setbacks. While discussing them outside the locker room at Edina’s Braemar Arena, he exuded the same passion and fury with which he forechecks and jostles his way to gritty goals — a team-leading 33 of them last season, matter of fact.

But Parise plays this way because of what he’s gained, not what he’s lost. His father, the late and former NHL player and coach J.P. Parise, embodied similar traits. The elder Parise passed away Jan. 7, 2015, and Zach’s spent every shift, every workout since attempting to honor his dad’s memory.

“There’s not a day that I don’t think about him,” Zach Parise said during last year’s playoffs.

As he does every year, Parise took some time off immediately following the season to give his 5-foot-11, 197-pound frame a rest. This offseason included a trip to Napa Valley for him and his wife Alisha.

Other than that, it was the usual: sessions with skating coach Diane Ness, refining his shooting mechanics, and strength and cardiovascular work. Parise said his training regimen rarely changes from year-to-year.

“From a hockey standpoint, I keep everything the same,” said the 10-year NHL veteran by way of the University of North Dakota and Minnesota prep school powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary’s. “The only thing that changes is life away from the rink. … You always try to broaden your game and do things a little better.”

Returning the vast majority of a roster that went 26-8-0 down the stretch last season, including red-hot goaltender and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner Devan Dubnyk, the Wild expect nothing less than a deeper playoff run in 2015-16. Minnesota covets a hot start this time around; the past two seasons, the Wild had to scramble during the season’s final weeks just to reach the postseason, then battled their way to second-round exits each time.

That’s where Parise’s focus is centered as he prepares for the start of training camp later this week. But he still carries an acute sense of national pride, having worn the Team USA sweater at two Olympic Winter Games and the 2004 World Junior Championship and 2002 Under-18 World Championship.

The United States claimed gold in both of those amateur events.

Donning the red, white and blue has always been rewarding, said Parise, who added he was thrilled about the prospects of playing in next fall’s World Cup of Hockey.

“I think it’s going to be a cool thing,” he said. “It’s good timing, right before the season, get yourself ready for the season.”

But that can wait. For now, there’s another fish to catch. It’s large, silver and weighs about 34 pounds.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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