Olympic Hockey: Zach Parise named Captain, Ryan Suter named Alternate Captain

Good Afternoon Wilderness... Today, Wild fans received some great news, Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise (University of North Dakota) has been named team captain for team USA. Also, Wild Defenseman Ryan Suter (Wisconsin) has been named alternate captain. The other alternate captain is L.A. Kings forward Dustin Brown.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Zach Parise (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Wild/University of North Dakota), who served as an alternate captain for the silver medal-winning 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, has been named captain of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team it was announced today by USA Hockey. Parise is in his second season as an alternate captain with the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild.

The XXII Olympic Winter Games will be held Feb. 7-23 in Sochi, Russia. The United States plays Slovakia in its first game Feb. 13.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Parise tied for the team lead in both goals (four) and points (eight) and was named to the media all-star team.

Parise, who served as both captain and alternate captain over the course of his tenure playing for the New Jersey Devils, was an alternate captain on the gold medal-winning 2004 U.S. National Junior Team, as well as the 2008 U.S. Men's National Team. He also competed at two other International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championships (2005, 2007), the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship and was a member of the gold medal-winning 2002 US. Men's National Under-18 Team at the IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship.

Dustin Brown (Ithaca, N.Y./Los Angeles Kings) and Ryan Suter (Madison, Wis./Minnesota Wild/University of Wisconsin) have been tabbed as alternate captains for the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team.

You can find the Team USA Olympic team roster (here). Team USA will face off against team Slovakia on February 13, 2014. The game will be shown on NBCSN live at 6:30 a.m. central. For the fans that aren't morning people, that game will also be rebroadcast at 4:00 p.m. central. Team USA will then play the host team Russian on February 15, 2014, at 6:30 a.m. central. For the games times, you can view the full schedule by going to the team USA webpage.

Parise - "It's a special thing to be named captain of any team, but when it's an Olympic team it's extra special."

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 31, 2014

Here's what fellow teammate Ryan Suter had to say about Zach Parise being named team captain for the American squad.

He’s very capable of being the captain, too," Parise said about Suter. "Ryan does a really good job here, leading the D and leading this team. We communicate well and we’re on the same page about a lot of things. It’s nice to have someone who thinks the game the same way and pulls the rope the same way you do."

I think it's an awesome honor to have two Minnesota Wild players as part of the leadership for team USA. Also, this s a strong statement for US College Hockey, as two of the three captains played for division I college hockey teams during their amateur hockey days.

Dan Bylsma - "We think leadership is a strength on our team. Can't think of better captain than Zach Parise."

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 31, 2014