NHL and Team USA star Zach Parise is featured in College Hockey Inc.’s new promotional spot that debuted Thursday on the NHL Network.

“I played college hockey, as did 30% of the players I now play with and against in the NHL,” says Parise, the former North Dakota All-American, in the spot. “Whether you are a fan or a player, nothing compares to college hockey.”

Watch the Spot on YouTube (also below)

Twitter: Zach Parise stars in new spot promoting @collegehockey http://youtu.be/TEHMBPr_W1U

The 30-second public-service announcement (PSA) was produced by College Hockey Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Division I men’s college hockey, in conjunction with Minnesota-based producer Patrick O’Connor. It features highlights and crowd shots from more than a dozen NCAA schools, including Bemidji State, Boston College, Boston University, Ferris State, Merrimack, Michigan State, North Dakota, Notre Dame and Quinnipiac.

The spot debuted – with the support of USA Hockey and the NHL Network – during the United States’ first game of the 2014 World Junior Championship on Thursday, a 5-1 U.S. win against the Czech Republic. It will continue to air throughout the NHL Network’s coverage of the tournament, which features 22 players with NCAA ties on the U.S., Swedish and German rosters. Team USA includes 19 current, past or future college players.

Social media reaction to the commercial was immediate and overwhelmingly positive, and the @collegehockey twitter feed added more followers after it aired than in any other 24-hour period in the last three weeks.

“Love the @collegehockey commercial on @NHLNetwork #WJC #NothingComparesToCollegeHockey,” tweeted user @icetime208.

User @CindyDemopoulos added, “@collegehockey Just saw your TV ad while watching the World Juniors. Loved it!!”