NHL’s Wild use 59th overall pick on Zucker

In a landmark year for local athletes, Jason Zucker of Las Vegas added his name to that special list Saturday.

Zucker, 18, became the first Nevadan drafted into the National Hockey League with his selection 59th overall by the Minnesota Wild. They traded up with the Florida Panthers to take Zucker with the 29th pick of the second round.

Zucker, a 5-foot-10-inch, 175-pound left wing, was complimented that Minnesota traded up to draft him.

"I was pretty excited about that," he said from Los Angeles, where the draft was held at Staples Center. "They have such a good fan base there in Minnesota, and I'm very excited to be a part of it."

Zucker, a former Bonanza High student who moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., to play in the U.S. National Team Development Program, attended the draft Friday and Saturday with 17 friends and family members.

One mock draft on NHL.com projected Zucker as the 29th overall pick by the Anaheim Ducks, but he wasn't selected during Friday's first round.

"I wanted to go in the first round, but it didn't happen," he said. "It's not the end of the world because there are guys who play full time in the NHL who were a sixth-round pick. (Detroit's) Pavel Datsyuk was a sixth-round draft pick.

"The draft number really doesn't mean anything. All that matters is what you do after the draft and if you make the lineup."

Zucker, who scored 29 goals and 53 points in 60 games this season for the U.S. Under-18 team, will report to rookie camp with the Wild on July 12 but won't sign with them this year. He'll play for Denver University, which has sent 14 players to the NHL since 2003.

He said Minnesota will determine when he's ready to play in the NHL.

"It's up to the Wild and what they need," Zucker said. "I'd like it to be sooner than later obviously, just like everybody else, but you really don't know.

"The NHL is such a tough league to play in. It all depends on how hard you work and how you develop."

Although Zucker met with Minnesota and 24 other teams at May's NHL combine in Toronto, he said he had no idea the Wild would draft him.

"Only when they announced it," said Zucker, who exchanged hugs and handshakes with his support group before going onstage and pulling on a Wild jersey with his name on the back.

Zucker became the second local teen to make draft waves this year. This month former Las Vegas High and College of Southern Nevada star Bryce Harper became the first player from Nevada chosen No. 1 overall in baseball's first-year draft, by the Washington Nationals.

Also, in late May, Las Vegas graduate Herculez Gomez became the first player from Nevada named to the U.S. men's soccer team, which was ousted in the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.