CALGARY, ALBERTA — With the Minnesota Wild lounging around Newport Beach, Calif., last week, Zach Parise had to step out when his cellphone buzzed with Dan Bylsma’s name coming up on the caller ID.
CALGARY, ALBERTA — With the Minnesota Wild lounging around Newport Beach, Calif., last week, Zach Parise had to step out when his cellphone buzzed with Dan Bylsma’s name coming up on the caller ID.
Parise, the Wild star competing in his second Winter Olympics with the United States, figured it was just a routine update being provided to the five-player leadership group, which includes himself, Wild teammate Ryan Suter, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown, St. Louis Blues captain David Backes and New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan.
It wasn’t.
Parise was informed by the U.S. coach that he will captain the red, white and blue hockey team in Sochi.
“We’ve got a lot of players that are great leaders,” said Parise, 29. “I’m going to get a lot of help, and I’m going to need a lot of help. It is a special thing, though. It’s very humbling.”
While Parise was named “Captain America,” Suter and Brown were chosen as alternate captains.
Suter was a no-brainer. No player on the U.S. team has worn an American sweater in international competition more than him (64 games).
Along with Parise, Suter was an alternate captain during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and previously captained the U.S. at the 2005 world junior championship.
“A lot of guys on the team could have had it, so I just feel honored to be one of them,” Suter said.
Wild captain Mikko Koivu is expected to captain Finland during the Olympics.
Koivu has missed the past 12 games because of a broken ankle, so Finland is waiting for Koivu to officially be declared good to go before making the announcement.
Parise, the former captain of the New Jersey Devils, tied for the team lead in both goals (four) and points (eight) for the silver medalists in Vancouver.
He forced overtime in the gold medal game by scoring with 24.4 seconds left in regulation.
He previously was alternate captain on the gold medal-winning 2004 world junior championship team.
Bylsma coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins, so his team faced off against Parise often when he played for the Devils. Bylsma said Parise embodies the blue-collar attitude he wants from his team in Sochi.
“Every time we played against Zach Parise, there has been a work ethic, a never quit, a determination, an abrasiveness about a hard-to-play-against type of player — and it’s every time,” he said.
“Regardless of the score, regardless of the situation our respective teams might be in, that’s what you see and that’s what you get every time I’ve coached against Zach Parise.”
The Americans open the tournament Feb. 13 against Slovakia.