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Minnesota introduces Parise and Suter -- its new alternate captains

Parise Suter

The Minnesota Wild introduced Zach Parise and Ryan Suter today and, in doing so, introduced their two newest alternate captains as well.

After putting on the No. 11 and 20 jerseys, Parise and Suter revealed they’d both be wearing an “A” for 2012-13 -- something that initially caught Parise off-guard, with Wild head coach Mike Yeo joking, “We probably should have talked about that.”

The joking was only temporary, though. Yeo quickly got serious about what Parise and Suter mean to his club.

"[You don’t make] the type of commitment for these types of players unless you bring in two quality human beings,” Yeo said. “What they do on the ice speaks for itself, but what they will add to our group from a leadership and character standpoint -- they’re going to play a huge role for us, and we’re expecting them to be leaders for a long time.”

Parise described the leadership qualities he and Suter bring to the table.

“Bot of us are lead by example type of guys,” he said. “I don’t think either of us are rah-rah guys but at certain times we’ll say something if things need to be said.

“We lead by example on the ice and off the ice.”

Parise and Suter will join a big leadership group in Minnesota, headed by captain Mikko Koivu and last season’s alternates, Matt Cullen and Dany Heatley. The Wild also have several long-serving members in the room, like Pierre-Marc Bouchard (who’s been with the club since 2002) and Nicklas Backstrom (the franchise’s all-time wins leader.)

(Photo courtesy the Minnesota Star-Tribune)