JASON ZUCKER
NHL EXPERIENCE AND PLAYER-FIRST TEACHING
MEET THE MINDS BEHIND THE GAME
Different players. Different positions. One standard. The way the game is read at the highest level in the world.
JASON ZUCKER
17 – BUFFALO SABRES – Left Wing
HEIGHT: 5’11”
WEIGHT: 198 lbs
SHOOTS: Left
BORN: January 16, 1992
HOMETOWN: Las Vegas, Nevada
“Hockey IQ is how you level up past skill, talent, and genetics. When you think the game, you’re a step ahead. You see the play before it happens, you predict what’s coming, and you make the right play more often.”
— Jason Zucker
Jason Zucker’s own journey is why Hockey Therapy exists. Raised in Las Vegas, not exactly a hockey hotbed, he became the fi rst player raised in Nevada to reach the NHL, but only after his family relocated him twice chasing better development: to Michigan for midget hockey, then into the U.S. National Team Development Program. Minnesota drafted him in the second round, 59th overall, in 2010, a good pick, not a guaranteed star.
Instead of jumping straight to major junior like most of his draft class, Zucker chose the college route, playing two seasons at the University of Denver, where he was WCHA Rookie of the Year before turning pro. His NHL career has been anything but a straight line since. He had stops with the Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes, and Nashville Predators before he found a home in Buff alo, where he signed as a free agent in 2024 and later agreed to a two year extension through the 2026/27 season. At ages 33 and 34, an age when most forwards are declining, he posted 24 goals and 45 points in 2025/26, one of the best offensive seasons of his career.
Hockey Therapy takeaway:
Zucker didn’t take the “typical” path (major junior) and he wasn’t a top 10 pick. He took the college route, got traded multiple times, and is still getting better in his 30s. He built Hockey Therapy on a simple belief: the players who last are the ones who keep learning to read the game, long after the “can’t miss” prospects have plateaued.
JASON’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
» Selected 59th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2010 NHL Draft
» Won gold with Team USA at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship
» First Nevada native ever drafted into the NHL
» Won the 2019 King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions
» Set a career high with 33 goals in the 2017–18 season
» Played 800+ NHL regular-season games
» Named captain of Team USA for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship
» Won gold at both the 2009 and 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships
» Became one of the first American men to win three IIHF gold medals in World Championship events
» Named WCHA Freshman of the Year at the University of Denver in 2010–11
» Named a Second-Team All-American at the University of Denver in 2011–12
» Finished his two-year University of Denver career with 91 points in 78 games
» Scored 20 or more goals in six NHL seasons
» Led Buffalo with 11 power-play goals in 2024–25
JASON’S CAREER STATS
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | MIN | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | MIN | 20 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | MIN | 21 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014–15 | MIN | 51 | 21 | 5 | 26 | 1 | 3 |
| 2015–16 | MIN | 71 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016–17 | MIN | 79 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 1 | 3 |
| 2017–18 | MIN | 82 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 7 | 7 |
| 2018–19 | MIN | 81 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 7 | 5 |
| 2019–20 | MIN | 45 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 5 | 2 |
| 2019–20 | PIT | 15 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| 2020–21 | PIT | 38 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021–22 | PIT | 41 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | PIT | 78 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 2 | 5 |
| 2023–24 | ARI | 51 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | NSH | 18 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | BUF | 73 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 11 | 4 |
| 2025–26 | BUF | 62 | 24 | 21 | 45 | 10 | 7 |
| CAREER | NHL | 832 | 241 | 227 | 468 | 55 | 41 |
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER PAGES
