Parise to captain U.S. hockey team
Zach Parise of the Minnesota Wild will be the captain of the U.S. men’s hockey team at the Sochi Olympics.
Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter and center Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings will be the alternate captains, U.S. general manager David Poile announced Friday.
Parise, 29, was an alternate captain four years ago at the Vancouver Olympics, scoring a goal that sent the gold-medal game into overtime. He has experience on U.S. national teams since 2002, and he welcomed the chance to take a leadership role in his second Olympics.
“It’s a special thing to be named captain of any team, but when it’s a national team, an Olympic team, it’s extra special,” Parise said. “We’ve got a lot of players who are great leaders. I’m going to get a lot of help. I’m going to need a lot of help. It’s very humbling.”
U.S. coach Dan Bylsma of the Penguins said Parise’s work ethic and no-nonsense playing style are exemplary of the attitude he wants for his team. The Americans aren’t considered a gold-medal favorite, but a roster packed with NHL star power is expected to keep them in contention.
“We’re a team that’s got a blue-collar mentality, and Zach embodies that,” Bylsma said. “Every time [the Penguins] play against Zach Parise, there has been a work ethic, a never-quit, a determination, an abrasiveness about a hardto-play-against type of player. And it’s every time regardless of the score [or] the situation our respective teams might be in. That is exactly how we want our team to play.”
Parise’s alternate captains have extensive leadership experience, as well. Brown and Suter were alternate captains to Jamie Langenbrunner on the U.S. team at the Vancouver Olympics.
Brown is the longtime captain of the Kings and an international veteran, while Suter and Parise are alternate captains of the Wild. Suter’s father, Bob, won a gold medal with the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980.
“There’s plenty of guys that wear letters with their own teams, so I don’t think our team is going to be lacking in leadership at all,” Parise said. “There are plenty of guys that are capable of doing that.”
Snowboarding
Gold-medal favorite Mark McMorris of Canada said he’s feeling “pretty good” nearly a week after breaking a rib in a crash at the Winter X Games slopestyle final. McMorris will snowboard in a few days to “see how it goes.” He recently arrived in Sochi and has a few days before slopestyle qualifying begins Thursday. Last weekend, McMorris caught his snowboard on the lip of a rail and landed hard on the bar, then slid down on his right side before hitting the snow. He stayed on the ground for a few minutes before riding down the hill.
Ski jump
The Austrian ski federation said three-time Olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern has made his first training jumps since recovering from a ski flying crash and is determined to compete in Sochi. The federation said Morgenstern jumped “without complications … [His focus] is still on Sochi.” Morgenstern, 27, was hospitalized with skull and lung injuries after a training crash Jan. 10 in Tauplitz, Austria, four weeks after suffering facial cuts, bruises and a broken finger from a bad landing in a World Cup event in Titisee-Neustadt, Germany. The federation said Morgenstern will continue training today and will travel Tuesday to Sochi.