Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise Should Captain Team USA

With final preparations being made for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, Team USA is very close to reaching a decision on who will be the captain of their squad. Looking up and down the lineup you can see worthy players, but Zach Parise of the Wild is still the best choice to wear the “C”.

The World Cup dominos are starting fall as the tournament training camps starts draw close. The rosters have been set for weeks now, but recently many of the teams have been force to make line up adjustments due to injuries. Additionally it seems that the team captains are now being named as well, with Sidney Crosby taking the “C” for Canada, and the Minnesota Wild’s own Mikko Koivu set to sew on a “C” to his Suomi jersey.

Team USA has yet to name their captain for the tournament, but if Canada and Finland’s announcements are an indication we can expect that announcement any day now. Who that captain will be is the source of some conjecture with rumors of the Sharks Joe Pavelski taking that job to be the most prevalent right now. But their still exists a strong case that the name called to wear the “C” for the USA could be Zach Parise.

Why not? After all Parise was the captain for the Sochi Olympic team which was the last time a full-fledged US team was fielded for a major international tournament. Sure the US did not medal in Sochi, but they came in a very respectable fourth after almost advancing to the Gold Medal game in a tight 1-0 loss to Canada. The leadership and experience of Parise was certainly a reason for the USA’s solid finish.

Feb 19, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; USA forward Zach Parise (9) controls the puck against Czech Republic defenseman Tomas Kaberle (7) in the men’s ice hockey quarterfinals during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Shayba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

The World Cup will offer about the same level of competition that the Olympics did, so experience will be key to leading this team. Parise has it at the international level in the form of three World Junior Championships, three World Championships, and two Olympic Games. In those tournaments he’s tallied 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) in World Juniors, 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in Worlds, and 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in the Olympics. The results have earned him two World Junior Golds and a Silver Medal in the Olympics.

There’s no doubt that Parise has put his time in international for the US, and is the most experienced international player on Team USA’s roster. In a short period like this having an experienced leader like Parise is key. He’ll know that the team needs to do be a unit better than any player on the roster, because he’s done it so many times before. Perhaps even more importantly he’s done it as a captain in this large of a stage, and he’s been the captain of a squad with most of the current roster so he know the ins and outs of most of the guys skating for this team.