Newark Star-Ledger re. J.P. Parise

[JESUS,family,rutgers]

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. The Newark Star-Ledger, the largest paper in New Jersey, had an article about J.P. Parise on November 23. Thought most of you probably did not see it in North Dakota.

www.nj.com/devils/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1101194204103080.xml

[redwing77]

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. The Newark Star-Ledger, the largest paper in New Jersey, had an article about J.P. Parise on November 23. Thought most of you probably did not see it in North Dakota.

www.nj.com/devils/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1101194204103080.xml

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I was unable to view it.

[Cratter]

I was unable to view it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was able to view it, and it's a good article.

[ozone]

The Star-Ledger

Devils: Son of NHLer has own goals

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

BY RICH CHERE

Star-Ledger Staff

J.P. Parise has seen it dozens of times in hockey rinks across North America.

It is the obsessed parent living his own dream of reaching the NHL through a son who probably has less of a chance of playing professional hockey than he does of winning millions in a lottery. The sight always causes Parise to cringe.

"I see some of these parents and, good Lord," Parise said, "they're all upset because their kid is not leading the team in scoring. You'd think the world was coming to an end. I'm not obsessed with Zach making it to the NHL. Of course, he may be."

Zach Parise, the 20-year-old center who was the Devils' first pick (17th overall) in the 2003 entry draft, is not far from making it to the NHL.

After two productive seasons at the University of North Dakota and an MVP performance in the last world junior championships, Parise bypassed his final two years in college to sign with the Devils on March 29. He is now playing in Albany, N.Y., for the Devils' minor-league affiliate in the AHL.

J.P. Parise, who has only seen his son play one exhibition game as a pro, plans to attend a River Rats game within the next week or so. He is excited but not crazed about his kid's career.

Having had his own success in the NHL during a 14-year career with the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota North Stars, Cleveland Barons and New York Islanders, the elder Parise wants Zach to live up to his own standards.

"My dad doesn't have to live through our dreams," said Zach, whose younger brother, Jordie, is a goalie at North Dakota. "Never once did he pressure us to play hockey. When we were growing up, he really stressed to us to play other sports like baseball, soccer and tennis. Obviously, we always had hockey sticks around the house, but there was never that pressure.

"My dad has been unbelievable. He's been in the NHL and he's experienced everything I hope to experience."

There are many who believe Zach would be playing in the NHL today were it not for the lockout that wiped out training camp and has already claimed six weeks of the regular season.

Parise was supposed to be the center of attention in Devils camp, with a realistic chance of earning a job. If he hadn't become one of the team's centers behind Scott Gomez, he might've been nursed along as a winger because of his impressive offensive skills.

Instead, Parise will develop his game in Albany, where he is the team's second-leading scorer, with four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 14 games.

"Obviously I would have wanted a chance to make the team. Unfortunately, that chance wasn't there," Parise said. "I'd like to see the lockout get settled, but it's none of my business. It would be nice if there was an NHL at Christmas or in January. Just to have an opportunity. If I make it, great. If I don't, I'm enjoying it here."

His father feels it is all for the best.

"I think it's a good way for him to go," the elder Parise said. "It's an adjustment. He's working hard. Sometimes he makes mistakes that wouldn't be as prevalent in college. And you can't make those mistakes in the NHL.

"You always want to wish the best for your kid, such as playing in the NHL, but this gives him a chance to get stronger," J.P. said. "I don't have any regrets about what has happened. He may."

It did not come easy for the elder Parise. Born in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario, four days after Pearl Harbor was attacked, he played 21 games for the Boston Bruins and one for the Toronto Maple Leafs before finally making it to the NHL for good with the Minnesota North Stars in 1968.

"I played five years in the minors," J.P. said. "Zach is going to have a good chance to play in the NHL. I think he'll play in the NHL, but it's hard. You've got to get in."

River Rats coach Robbie Ftorek, who coached and played in the NHL, is passing his knowledge along to Zach Parise in Albany. The young skater calls Ftorek "awesome."

"He's playing well," Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said of Parise. "I'm pleased with his progress."

Zach inherited his hockey genes from his dad, but no demands along with them.

"When Zach and Jordie were kids, I made a promise we'd never talk hockey on our way to games and on the way back home," J.P. recalled.

No criticism about lost chances or mistakes on the ice.

"My brother and I were both pretty smart," Zach said. "If we did something wrong in hockey we were hard on ourselves. My dad knew that."

J.P. Parise has a successful NHL career, scoring 238 goals with 356 assists in 890 career games. He played in 86 Stanley Cup playoff games and scored the overtime goal against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 11, 1975, that gave the Islanders their first playoff series triumph.

He was also instrumental in Team Canada's victory over Russia in the 1972 Summit Series. When he returned from Russia, the mayor of Smooth Rock Falls declared it a holiday and put up a sign reading: "Home of J.P. Parise."

Zach and Jordie never got to see their dad play in the NHL, but they've watched the Summit Series DVD many times.

"He was a good player," Zach said. "He scored over 70 points one year. He was doing something right. He was a good linemate to have. He would dig the puck out of the corners."

Former Islanders teammate Ed Westfall commented: "I hear players today say, 'I've got to work harder, work harder.' They're good at saying it. I don't know if they're very good at doing it. Those guys-- Bert Marshall, Jude Drouin, J.P. Parise -- they said it and did it."

J.P. was a 5-9, 175-pound left winger. Zach is 5-11, 185, and says of his father: "He'd be the first to tell you he had less skill than I do."

"I stayed in the NHL because I worked hard," J.P. said. "Zach has much better vision and hands than I ever had. But the game changes. They're going back to the no-scoring era. You try to tell him it's not like playing chess. You've got to be patient. One thing you can control is being the hardest worker on the team."

If there is pressure on Zach, it is self-imposed.

"Someone was talking at the world juniors about the pressure of having a dad who played in the NHL," Zach said. "I talked to Eric Nystrom (son of former Islander Bob Nystrom and a Calgary Flames draft pick). I don't want to say there is pressure, but more is expected of me when I put on a hockey sweater. I don't want to disappoint the name. It makes you have to show up and play every night."

There is no doubt that the day is coming when Zach Parise follows in his father's footsteps and plays in the NHL. The sooner NHL owners and players come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, the sooner that day may come.

Until then, J.P. Parise won't be one of the obsessed hockey parents he pities.

"I've been in the NHL. I'm not obsessed with it," he said. "I'm just elated about where Zach is now. And I'm proud of Jordie, too. The way Zach has been brought up, he has high expectations of himself."

[sioux rube]

Thanks OZONE. Great article.Sounds like J.P. is a down to earth Dad.