Marty Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Zach Parise was an amazing player for the Sioux. He played his heart out every time he was on the ice. He was and is the most exciting hockey player I have ever seen. That said, Zach has done more than anyone to put Sioux hockey in the forefront. How could he not have? He was the best player in college hockey both years he played for the Sioux. I don't care if he didn't win the Hobey Baker, he was the best player in the country. Zach will continue to do more for the hockey program than he even knows. Other players are and will come to UND because "Zach Parise went there." Zach belonged in green. It wouldn't have looked right if he wore a puky gold jersey. He was born to wear a Sioux jersey and I will never be able to see him in anything else. Thanks Zach for the great memories and if the Wild ever offer you a contract TAKE IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Zach Parise was an amazing player for the Sioux. He played his heart out every time he was on the ice. He was and is the most exciting hockey player I have ever seen. That said, Zach has done more than anyone to put Sioux hockey in the forefront. How could he not have? He was the best player in college hockey both years he played for the Sioux. I don't care if he didn't win the Hobey Baker, he was the best player in the country. Zach will continue to do more for the hockey program than he even knows. Other players are and will come to UND because "Zach Parise went there." Zach belonged in green. It wouldn't have looked right if he wore a puky gold jersey. He was born to wear a Sioux jersey and I will never be able to see him in anything else. Thanks Zach for the great memories and if the Wild ever offer you a contract TAKE IT! Well said Marty just sad that we wont see him in a UND Fighting Sioux Jersey anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDFlyer Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Marty, Who is your favorite NHL team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 The first thought that will come to my mind when thinking of the Parise era is a lack of playoff success and unrealized potential. I almost would have bet the house that we would have hung #8 in the Parise era. I am glad I still have a roof over my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDFlyer Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 DAR is correct. The truly great ones produce when needed the most....ya know, as in the playoffs or a regional torunament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejm Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 The first thought ... of the Parise era is a lack of playoff success and unrealized potential. First, the "Parise era"? This is a now-19-year-old kid who came to Grand Forks directly from high school. He spent two hockey seasons here (less than two years). How can there possibly be a "Parise era"? He put on a heckuva show, made the players around him better (although with all the extra defensive attention his line attracted, this point might be arguable!), and may be the most well-rounded college hockey player I have ever seen. But I will stop short of calling this the "Parise era". I can't argue with a lack of playoff success, although in the scope of things, the Sioux were one of eight teams left on the ice. Perhaps this points out the fallacy of national polls and INCH Power Rankings. If the Sioux hadn't been top-ranked almost all year, would we still say they'd lack success? I think the bright sides of the story here are numerous: 1. Zach Parise, an American-born, high school-to-college (no junior) hockey player blessed UND fans for two years with delightful play, a beaming personality, and a poise beyond his years. He's now a millionaire, and fulfilling his boyhood dreams. 2. The 2003-2004 UND Fighting Sioux fought from fifth place in the WCHA and a one-and-done in the NCAAs last year to winning the MacLaughton Cup, second place in the Final Five, and lost a regional final for a trip to the Frozen Four. And with a very, very young cast of characters, I will continue to point out. 3. Parise's success at UND brought several apparently blue-chip schoolmates from SSM to Grand Forks. 4. Parise's time at UND gave us all almost two full years to listen to the whining, carping and general discontent from all our maroon and gold friends to the south! Yeah, I'm sorry to see him go, but we all knew it was going to happen. I'm sorry they're not going to Boston, but perhaps this was a year too soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 2. The 2003-2004 UND Fighting Sioux fought from fifth place in the WCHA and a one-and-done in the NCAAs last year to winning the MacLaughton Cup, second place in the Final Five, and lost a regional final for a trip to the Frozen Four. And with a very, very young cast of characters, I will continue to point out. Not only that, but remember '01-'02 and the eight seed for the WCHA playoffs. Sure Zach left before winning a title, but if Murray, Stafford and Smaby lead the Sioux to a title, Zach certainly will have contributed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted March 31, 2004 Author Share Posted March 31, 2004 Marty, Who is your favorite NHL team? I am a Wild fan and now I am hopping on the New Jersey bandwagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 The truly great ones produce when needed the most....ya know, as in the playoffs or a regional torunament. Let's put an end to this notion of "Parise didn't produce when we needed him" garbage RIGHT NOW. How does 12 points in UND's first four playoff games sound? How about being arguably the "true" WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player? How about being in on six of UND's eight Final Five goals? How about 14 points in six playoff games altogether? When the playoff smoke had cleared, UND scored 21 goals and Parise was in on 14 of them. Let's not forget that in addition to his offensive numbers, the kid was our best defensive forward, our best faceoff man, our best "ambassador" (for lack of a better term) and did all while carrying the burden of arriving at UND as the most hyped athlete in school history. I'm not sure what more he could've done as an individual to carry this team any further, short of driving the damn bus to Boston himself. In the end, it's still a team game, but he is one player who will be able to look in the mirror and see someone who did everything that was humanly possible to take his team as far as it could go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted March 31, 2004 Author Share Posted March 31, 2004 Let's put an end to this notion of "Parise didn't produce when we needed him" garbage RIGHT NOW. How does 12 points in UND's first four playoff games sound? How about being arguably the "true" WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player? How about being in on six of UND's eight Final Five goals? How about 14 points in six playoff games altogether? When the playoff smoke had cleared, UND scored 21 goals and Parise was in on 14 of them. Let's not forget that in addition to his offensive numbers, the kid was our best defensive forward, our best faceoff man, our best "ambassador" (for lack of a better term) and did all while carrying the burden of arriving at UND as the most hyped athlete in school history. I'm not sure what more he could've done as an individual to carry this team any further, short of driving the damn bus to Boston himself. In the end, it's still a team game, but he is one player who will be able to look in the mirror and see someone who did everything that was humanly possible to take his team as far as it could go. Thank you Canuck. People need to quit looking for an excuse on why we lost and just accept that we had an unlucky night. Without Parise we wouldn't have even sniffed the tournament let alone a national championship. He did lead us to a WCHA Championship lets not forget. To think we would have been better off without him is just plain stupidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmidtdoggydog Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Let's put an end to this notion of "Parise didn't produce when we needed him" garbage RIGHT NOW. How does 12 points in UND's first four playoff games sound? How about being arguably the "true" WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player? How about being in on six of UND's eight Final Five goals? How about 14 points in six playoff games altogether? When the playoff smoke had cleared, UND scored 21 goals and Parise was in on 14 of them. Let's not forget that in addition to his offensive numbers, the kid was our best defensive forward, our best faceoff man, our best "ambassador" (for lack of a better term) and did all while carrying the burden of arriving at UND as the most hyped athlete in school history. I'm not sure what more he could've done as an individual to carry this team any further, short of driving the damn bus to Boston himself. In the end, it's still a team game, but he is one player who will be able to look in the mirror and see someone who did everything that was humanly possible to take his team as far as it could go. Well said! If he wins the hobey, I wonder if the posters on this board that are bagging on the kid will demand that he give it back for being an undeserving recipient. . . . . . or will the naysayers THEN be singing his praises?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Boy Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 ...That said, Zach has done more than anyone to put Sioux hockey in the forefront. How could he not have? He was the best player in college hockey both years he played for the Sioux... Zach will continue to do more for the hockey program than he even knows... ...People need to quit looking for an excuse on why we lost and just accept that we had an unlucky night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streakygopher Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I've been around long enough to see many of the great players come and go. Your experience with Zach reminds me of Neal Broten. He was a star when he came to Minnesota, and everybody knew it. We also knew that he was good enough to play in the NHL...at almost anytime. I was glad he stuck around for the two years he did. He helped the team on to win a national title against (gasp) North Dakota (sorry, but it was perhaps the tournament's all time best GWG), but then was part of a team that failed the following year against a much weaker Wisconsin team (the Gophers beat that team something like 7 out of 8 times leading up to the title game!) Just be thankful that Zach chose to go to school at all. I would have loved to see guys like Langenbrunner and Housley play for Minnesota, but they went straight to the pros. Like Broten, you guys will follow Parise wherever he goes in his career. Hopefully, like Broten, that may include an olympic gold medal and a stanley cup. That he was once a Sioux, will make those experiences even better for his fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Look, I'm not ready to proclaim him the next Travis Roche, but before everyone starts hopping on the Devils bandwagon because of Z's sudden relocation there, we had better take a collective deep breath if only to see if there is NHL hockey next season. Also, it sure would have made his stay here a lot more memorable had they won a title. Someone said they had an unlucky night. Dave Tippett, Tony Hrkac, Ed Belfour, et al had unlucky nights, too, but that didn't keep them from the title. I don't blame Z for no title, but I don't claim him to be the "god" others think. He was here for only two years. C'mon! shep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetch Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I've been a Sioux fan for around 30 yrs & have had season tickets for 15 Zack was very good both ways & had hustle that was something to behold. He will be ok in the pro's & I think he has along ways to go -in maturity & strength (as in will get alot better) & I wish we could have watched it happen Live. But like others have said we have had lots of Great players & many were better either offensively or defensively - Much better !!! I don't blame him one bit for taking the offer It's too bad we never got to see this group at their best - they were close many times, but never reached their full potential. Could you imagine this team all with the hustle & constant competitive drive that Zack has ? That is what made him so special & a joy to watch. But did he dominate & have the same skills as many of the former Sioux Greats ? I can name 6 that in my opinion were alot better offensively -S Johnson - G Johnson - Panzer - Blake - Joyce - & Hrkacs & Bo has potential to be in that same elite group (maybe already is) & a couple others IMO on this team may be as good or better I have trouble following these guys in the pros It is fun to see them while their here & hopefully we will always keep getting special players I worry alittle about why we are so good & seem to peak (at not our truely best level) & not have the formula to finish as strong as is possible ? - Can't complain - But teams like the Goophers seem to have what I'm talking about ? ? ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Fetch: In TC_Transplants world your season ticket status and being a Sioux fan for 30 years would classify you as a "bandwagon fan" because you just joined SS.com in Dec 2003. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I've been a Sioux fan for around 30 yrs & have had season tickets for 15 Zack was very good both ways & had hustle that was something to behold. He will be ok in the pro's & I think he has along ways to go -in maturity & strength (as in will get alot better) & I wish we could have watched it happen Live. But like others have said we have had lots of Great players & many were better either offensively or defensively - Much better !!! I don't blame him one bit for taking the offer It's too bad we never got to see this group at their best - they were close many times, but never reached their full potential. Could you imagine this team all with the hustle & constant competitive drive that Zack has ? That is what made him so special & a joy to watch. But did he dominate & have the same skills as many of the former Sioux Greats ? I can name 6 that in my opinion were alot better offensively -S Johnson - G Johnson - Panzer - Blake - Joyce - & Hrkacs & Bo has potential to be in that same elite group (maybe already is) & a couple others IMO on this team may be as good or better I have trouble following these guys in the pros It is fun to see them while their here & hopefully we will always keep getting special players I worry alittle about why we are so good & seem to peak (at not our truely best level) & not have the formula to finish as strong as is possible ? - Can't complain - But teams like the Goophers seem to have what I'm talking about ? ? ? You left out Mr. Dixon Ward.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Brandon Bochenski is just 46 points from becoming just the sixth member of the UND 200 point club. If those 46 come as 21 goals and 25 assists, he'll be just the second member of the "100 Goals - 100 assists for 200 points" club (with Dixon Ward). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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