NHL’s Norwegian “Hobbit” – Zuccarello’s Journey to the State of Hockey – Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

From the time he laced up his skates at the age of five, Mats Zuccarello was an underdog and his chances of making it to the big show were slim. He is less than 5-foot-8 and is from Norway, known as a hockey powerhouse, producing nine National Hockey League players.

Zuccarello’s Journey In Hockey And The 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 to play in Sweden with Modo in the Swedish Elite League for two seasons. In his second season, he won the league MVP. That put him on the radar of 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 full NHL action in 2012-13. He went on to play nine years in New York, becoming one of Madison Square Gardens’ all-time favorites and saying the same, if not more, for the rest of the Rangers. “He’s a good player, you know, boys like to play with him, he likes to have fun. To me he was kind of that annoying little brother,” Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist said on TNT radio. “He’s a good man, a good player.” During his time with the Rangers, he won the prestigious Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award three times (as voted on by the fans.)

Zuccarello never forgot where he came from. He played in five World Championships, two Winter Olympics, and three Olympic Qualifiers for the Norwegian 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 the many teams after Zuccarello. Fenton made a rare, positive decision by 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 roster and we are very excited to add him to our team.”

Within a month, Fenton was out as general manager.

Before he came to the “Hockey State,” he had scored 20 goals in one season, and his career high was 61 for the Rangers.

“You have a lot of teams calling you and you feel like you are the best person, the best player in the world. Every conversation you’re in, you’re like, ‘Damn, I’m good. Zuccarello told Michael Russo after signing a five-year contract.

His first season with the Wild was good but not great, as he continued to be a secondary player and didn’t get much time on the power play. As we all know, the team and Zuccarello’s fortunes will change next season after the arrival of Kirill Kaprizov.

Related: Wild’s Mats Zuccarello Defies Age and NHL Expectations

The two have since been inseparable, becoming the best one-two punch we’ve seen in Wild History. Kaprizov, in his short four-season career, broke all the team’s records with the help of Zuccarello. Over the past three seasons, 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, the jam that 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 of the fastest skaters in the NHL. Ask anyone at the Xcel Energy Center — he’s got to be one of their favorite players.