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.\n', '

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.\n', '

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.\n', '

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