From the moment he laced up his skates at five years old, Mats Zuccarello was an underdog and the chances of him making it to the big show were slim to none. He is undersized at 5-foot-8 and from Norway, which isn’t known as a hockey factory, producing to date nine National Hockey League players.
Zuccarello’s Journey Into Hockey And NHL
Zuccarello — better known as “Zucc” or “The Hobbit” — played three seasons with Frisk in the Elite Hockey Ligaen (Norway’s top league); he then went on go on to play in Sweden with Modo in the Swedish Elite League for two season. In his second season, he won league MVP. That put him on the radar for NHL teams and he signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers. And the rest, they say, is history.
He played the next two years between the Rangers and their American Hockey League teams, making the NHL full-time in 2012-13. He went on to play nine years in New York, becoming one of the Madison Square Gardens all-time favorites and meaning just as much, if not more, to his fellow Rangers. “He’s a great teammate, you know, guys like to play with him, he loves to have fun. To me he was kind of that annoying little brother,” said Rangers goalie legend Henrik Lundqvist on a TNT broadcast. “He’s a great guy, great player.” During his time with the Rangers, he won the prestigious Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award three times (as chosen by the fans.)
Zuccarello never forgot about where he came from. He played in five World Championships, two Winter Olympic Games, and three Olympic Game Qualifiers for Norway’s national team.
Zuccarello Signs With Minnesota
Paul Fenton had one of the shortest tenures as a general manager (GM) ever in the NHL. In the 2019 offseason, the Minnesota Wild were one of many teams after Zuccarello. Fenton made a rare, good decision in signing him to a five-year $30 million contract. “Mats is a very competitive, high-energy player,” Fenton said. “He brings a high level of skill and character to our lineup and we’re very excited to add him to our team.”
Not even a month later, Fenton was out as general manager.
Before he arrived in the “Hockey State,” he’d scored 20 goals in a season one time, and his career high in points was 61 with the Rangers.
“You have so many teams call you and you feel like you’re the best person, best player in the world. Every conversation you’re in, you’re like, ‘Damn, I’m good.” Zuccarello told Michael Russo after signing the five-year deal.
His first season with the Wild was good but not great, as he continued to be a second-liner and not get much power-play time. As we all know, the team and Zuccarello’s fortunes would change the next season after Kirill Kaprizov‘s arrival.
The two since have been inseparable, becoming the best one-two punch we’ve ever seen in Wild History. Kaprizov, in his short four-season career, has smashed every team scoring record with Zuccarello’s help. In the past three season, Mats has accumulated 79, 67, and 63 points and has posted two 20-goal seasons.
With so much success in his first five years, current Wild GM Bill Guerin signed him to a two-year extension.
“It’s the energy, it’s the jam he brings every night,” Guerin said. “He does everything.“
Despite being 37 years old, Zuccarello looks like he’s in his prime, stays healthy, and is still one the fastest skaters in the NHL. Ask anyone at the Xcel Energy Center — he’s got to be one of their favorite players.
