Kevin Allen

USA TODAY Sports

Zach Parise%2C an alternate captain in Minnesota%2C was Devils captain before joining the Wild

Forward Dustin Brown %28Los Angeles%29 and defenseman Ryan Suter %28Minnesota%29 are alternate captains

Parise scored the tying goal in the 2010 gold-medal game against Canada

Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise learned how to be an NHL captain by watching Jamie Langenbrunner and now will succeed him as captain of the U.S. Olympic team.

Parise had a dressing room stall next to Langenbrunner, then the New Jersey Devils captain, and was one of Langenbrunner's alternate captains at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

"(Langenbrunner) was not an overly vocal guy in the locker room," Parise said. "But you know he was going to play hard and play the right way every game, and he leads by example."

That's essentially the same description that U.S. coach Dan Bylsma used to explain why the coaching staff chose Parise as captain. Left wing Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings) and defenseman Ryan Suter (Minnesota) were named alternates.

"When it comes to a captaincy, you are looking for people who embody who you are and how you want to play," Bylsma said. "I can't think of a better group or better captain than Zach Parise to lead our team."

Brown and Suter were also alternate captains on that 2010 team. Last summer, Team USA general manager David Poile selected a leadership group of Parise, Brown, Suter, David Backes (St. Louis Blues) and Ryan Callahan (New York Rangers), and then Bylsma's staff picked the captains from that group. Callahan and Backes are captains of their respective NHL teams.

"I will have a lot of help," said Parise, noting that he was thrilled and humbled by the selection.

"It's a special thing to be named captain of any team," Parise said. "But when it's a national and it's an Olympic team, it's extra special."

Parise, 29, is coming off his best two-game span this season, totaling seven points (three goals, four assists) and a plus 4 rating in games at Anaheim and Colorado. Parise had the game-winner against the Ducks and had four points and nine shots against the Avalanche. He has 16 shots in his past three games.

"Every time we have played against Zach Parise, there was a work ethic that never quits, a determination, an abrasiveness about being hard to play against," Bylsma said.

According to Bylsma, that's the identity he wants the U.S. team to adopt. Parise is one of 13 returnees on this Olympic team.

"We saw the way we needed to play (in 2010)," said Parise, who scored the tying goal in that year's gold medal game against Canada. "One of the things is you have to get better every game."

He said the Americans have to be dominant in special teams and must make fewer mistakes as the tournament progresses.

"I've always found that with these short tournaments, that's one of the keys to winning," Parise said.

Parise, the son of former NHL player J.P. Parise, was captain of the Devils before signing with the Wild, where he is an alternate captain.

Brown's leadership effectiveness is well-established: He was captain of the Kings team that won the 2012 Stanley Cup championship. Suter leads by example. As a potential 30-minute defenseman, he could be the USA's most indispensable player.