Travis Zajac

Travis Zajac (born May 13, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre.

Zajac was selected in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he would go on to play for 15 years and over 1,000 NHL games.

He also briefly played for the New York Islanders.

Zajac began his junior ice hockey career with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).

One of his teammates was Brady Murray, who would briefly play in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, and his linemate was future Calgary Flames winger Kris Chucko.

In his second season with Salmon Arm, Zajac led the team in goals, assists and points, and finished second overall in the League in the latter two statistics.

At season's end, he was named the MVP of the BCHL's Interior Division, and he played in the BCHL All-Star Game.

His play attracted attention, and he was projected to be a potential first-round draft pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

The projection proved accurate, as the New Jersey Devils would take him with the 20th overall pick.

The Devils traded up to get Zajac, which "mean[t] a lot" to him, but was not a surprise, as the Devils scouted him more than any other team.

Zajac opted to play college ice hockey for the University of North Dakota rather than major junior hockey in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), as he wanted an education in addition to playing hockey.

Then-Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello commented that there would be room for Zajac on the North Dakota roster because the Devils were recalling forward Zach Parise, drafted the year earlier, to play professional hockey.

In his first season with North Dakota, Zajac scored 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points, while only accumulating 16 penalty minutes.

The Fighting Sioux, as the team's nickname was then known, advanced to the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament as the second seed in the East Regional.

Zajac scored two goals in the Regional Final, as the Sioux beat Boston College to make it to the Frozen Four.

He added two more in the semifinal game against the University of Minnesota as the Sioux won 4–2.

Although the Sioux lost to the University of Denver in the championship game, Zajac tallied a power-play goal to tie the game.

Despite the loss, he was named to the Championship All-Tournament Team, as well as the NCAA East All-Tournament Team and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Rookie Team.

The following year, Zajac finished the season with 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points.

That season, the Sioux featured several future NHL players, including Taylor Chorney, Brian Lee, T. J. Oshie, Chris Porter, Matt Smaby, Drew Stafford and Jonathan Toews.

The Sioux won the Broadmoor Trophy as the WCHA playoff champion, and advanced once again to the NCAA tournament.

After defeating the University of Michigan and Holy Cross, the Sioux were in the Frozen Four for the second-straight year, but lost to Boston College in the semifinals.

Zajac scored three goals and three assists during the tournament, including two assists and a goal against Boston College.

After North Dakota's season was over, Zajac signed an entry-level contract with the Devils, forgoing his last two seasons of college eligibility.

He scored one assist and earned two penalty minutes in two appearances with the Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Albany River Rats.

Despite being considered to have an outside chance at making the Devils' roster out of training camp, Zajac survived the first round of cuts and eventually made it to the roster on opening night of the 2006–07 season.

He scored his first career NHL goal in the second game of the season against the Dallas Stars.

Zajac was placed on the Devils' second line with former North Dakota standout Zach Parise and veteran winger Jamie Langenbrunner.

The line was dubbed "ZZ Pop(s)," owing to Zajac and Zach's initials and Langenbrunner's veteran status ("Pop(s)").

In the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, Zajac scored his first career NHL post-season point with an assist in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He would add two more assists in the series, as the Devils would win the series in six games.

In Game 1 of the Semifinals against Ottawa, Zajac would score his first career post-season goal; the Senators, however, won the game 5–4.

Although Zajac earned an assist on linemate Langenbrunner's overtime goal in Game 2, the Devils were eliminated in five games.

Zajac finished tenth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year, and won the Devils' Fan Club award for Rookie of the Year.

Zajac would miss two games in October due to a leg injury; as of the end of the 2010–11 season, they are the only two games Zajac had missed in his professional career.

Zajac would net three assists against the Ottawa Senators in a November game.

Midway through the season, to spark the Devils' offense, Zajac and Langenbrunner were placed on a line with then-captain Patrik Eliáš.

Later in the season, Zajac notched his first NHL two-goal game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and had an eight-game point streak in late March.

In addition, Zajac saw time on the power play unit, scoring six goals with the man advantage.

He would finish the season with 17 goals and 25 assists; his 42 points were good enough for seventh among NHL rookies, as well as seventh among all Devils players.