Jason Zucker

Did You Know?

• Zucker played for the United States junior team in the 2009 World Juniors.
• He was the first Nevada-raised draft pick in NHL history.
• He scored within the first 10 seconds of two different NHL games, a feat matched only by Bobby Rousseau and Yvan Cournoyer.

Early life

Jason Zucker came into the world in Newport Beach, California, into a Jewish family. His mom, Natalie, used to compete as a figure skater, while his dad, Scott, worked as a general contractor and built both ice and roller rinks when Jason was young. He grew up with two older brothers, Evan and Adam, a younger sister named Kimmie, and another younger brother, Cameron. When he was just two months old, his family packed up and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.

As a kid, he played in the 2004 and 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a Los Angeles minor hockey team. At 15, he relocated to Plymouth, Michigan, to skate for the Compuware AAA Minor Midget Team, then spent two years in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he attended Pioneer High School. Zucker’s tattoos carry personal meaning: “USA” across his back, “Game Time” on his chest to honor his best friend Nick Scheafer, who died in a 2010 car crash, and Hebrew script on his left arm that says “In pursuit of perfection.”

In 2016, he added a young cancer patient named Tucker’s name to his wrist, along with “shoot more,” after the boy passed away on July 2, 2016.

Playing career

At the University of Denver in 2010–11, Zucker was named WCHA Rookie of the Year and earned spots on the WCHA All-Rookie Team and 2nd All-Star Team. Over two seasons with Denver, he recorded 45 goals and 91 points in 78 games before turning professional after 2011–12. Drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NHL entry draft, he became the first player raised in Nevada to be drafted in NHL history. He signed his entry-level contract on March 27, 2012, and made his NHL debut in a victory against the Florida Panthers two days later.

During the 2012–13 lockout, he was assigned to the Houston Aeros of the AHL, where he registered 50 points in 55 games, played in the 2013 AHL All-Star Classic, and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team after leading the Aeros with 24 goals. Recalled by Minnesota, he appeared in 20 regular season games, mostly on the second line with Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi, and scored his first NHL goal against Petr Mrázek on February 17, 2013. On May 5, 2013, he scored an overtime goal to give the Wild a 3–2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, though the Blackhawks eliminated Minnesota in five games.

After undergoing surgery on his left quadriceps tendon on March 26, 2014, he missed the rest of the 2013–14 season but returned for 2014–15, scoring 21 goals in 51 games with a 16.9% shooting percentage. On October 25, 2015, he set a Wild team record by scoring 10 seconds into a game against the Winnipeg Jets, a record he later tied against the Colorado Avalanche in April 2017.

Personal life

Zucker married Minneapolis-based sports and entertainment journalist Carly Aplin in mid 2016. She hosts for the Minnesota Timberwolves Entertainment Network and reports for CBS Sports and Fox Sports North, and in February 2018 premiered a sports talk radio show, “Overtime with Carly Zucker,” on KFAN 100.3 FM. The couple have a son and a daughter; they filed for divorce in 2023. Zucker is Jewish but not religious; he did not have a bar mitzvah because he never wanted to miss hockey, though he celebrates Hanukkah.