St. Louis Blues captain David Backes says asking him whether he would rather win a Stanley Cup or an Olympic gold medal is like “asking a mother to choose between two kids.”

Backes is a glib, confident, charismatic leader and plays hockey with hyper-intensity. He’s also the No. 1 center on a Blues team that has the potential to compete this spring for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

The Minnesota native played on the 2010 silver medal-winning U.S. team and since then his reputation as a player has expanded exponentially. Backes, 29, is known as a game-changing presence on offense and a physical force.

That’s why Backes is considered a favorite to be named captain of the U.S. Olympic team.

Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings) has been named captain of the Swedish team, and Red Wings teammate Pavel Datsyuk will be captain for Team Russia. Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins), the Slovakian captain, has been excused from his NHL duties early so he can carry the flag in the opening ceremonies. Tomas Plekanec (Montreal Canadiens) will lead the Czech Republic team.

The Americans are not expected to name their captain until closer to next month’s Olympics.

Here are the other top U.S. candidates, all of whom have games scheduled tonight:

Ryan Callahan (New York Rangers)

Callahan, 28, has proved himself as captain of one of the highest-profile sports teams in the U.S. He is a fiery competitor, always willing to charge into the eye of a storm. He is widely respected around the NHL for how he plays and how he carries himself as a leader. He is consistently among the league leaders in hits and possesses enough skill to be a scoring factor.

Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings)

Brown, 29, is the only candidate who has been captain of a Stanley Cup champion. He led the Kings to the championship in 2012.

He has plenty of bite to his game and he looks after his teammates. He is a core player for this group.

Zach Parise (Minnesota Wild)

Parise, 29, is the kind of player that coaches love because of his consistency. He’s a 30-goal scorer, a model citizen, and he leads by example with his work ethic. He has been out of the lineup with a bruised foot, an injury he attempted to play through before it became too much. He is practicing again with his team, but it is unknown when he will return to the lineup.

Ryan Suter (Minnesota)

Suter, 28, might be the team’s most indispensable player outside of the goalies. He likely will play 30 minutes a game and will on the ice in key situations such as power plays and penalty kills. He will be matched up against the top players on the opposing team.Although Suter isn’t vocal, he is an important leader by virtue that coaches and teammates will be always be looking to him to make the right play at the right time

Your games today:

New York Rangers at Ottawa, 2

San Jose at Tampa Bay, 2

Edmonton at Winnipeg, 2

Columbus at Buffalo, 7

Montreal at Toronto, 7

Los Angeles at Detroit, 7

Florida at Carolina, 7

New York Islanders at Philadelphia, 7

Anaheim at St. Louis, 8

Colorado at Nashville, 8

New Jersey at Phoenix, 8

Dallas at Minnesota, 9

Calgary at Vancouver, 10