Wild’s Zach Parise Ranked 13th in Top 50 NHL Players

It’s the type of ranking that Minnesota Wild have come to expect despite not seeing Zach Parise play in a legitimate NHL game while dawning the ironclad red.  There is much hype around the Minnesota native since he signed a massive 13-year deal and now Wild fans can be reassured that the media feel the same way; Zach Parise is good, really good.

A panel of four TSN hockey experts ranked their top 50 players, a list that was then compiled based on a cumulative point system centered around individual rankings.  In their eyes, Parise is the 13th best player in the NHL at the moment and he belongs to the Minnesota Wild.

Much like the NHL power rankings that had the Wild at number 20, these lists don’t mean squat and are more for entertainment purposes.  But it is exciting when one of our own not only makes the list, but cracks the top 15.

Parise is coming off a fine year with the New Jersey Devils that saw him score 31 goals and add 38 assists for 69 points while playing in all 82 games last season.  It wasn’t his career year by any means.  That was in 2008-09 when he scored 45 goals and tallied 94 points again while playing in every game of the season.

Last season, Parise was ranked number 28 but it’s amazing what a fine bounce back season can do after missing most of the 2010-11 season, where he played in just 13 games.

His slick play making abilities and his laser like shot are some of the reasons Parise is ranked so high.  They’re also two reasons why the Wild jumped into the free-agent market head first last summer and pounced on Parise and Ryan Suter.  All in all, he’s an electrifying player who can change the game with one shift.

Wild fans will enjoy watching him and given he’s only 28, he is going to be the cornerstone of this franchise for many years to come.  If he can have another productive season, his first with the Wild, then a top ten appearance is not out of the question for next year’s list.