Getting To Know Your 2010 U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team: Zach Parise

Just like that it's Friday again. And as expected, we're examining the young men that will represent your United States of America in the 2010 Olympic Games. Get on past the leap for today's kid.

Zach Parise is a 24-year-old left-handed-shooting left winger who logs his NHL ice time in a New Jersey Devils sweater. Taken in the first round (17th overall) of the 2003 draft, Parise has the honor of having been named an alternate captain for the upcoming games in Vancouver. The Devil has demonstrated consistent improvement in point totals since entering the game, tallying a career-high 45 goals and 49 assists a season ago. Like a number of his olympic teammates, Parise is a native Minnesotan, but he spent his college years at the University of North Dakota. Parise's father played at the professional level for the Minnesota North Stars, and Parise himself was voted MVP of the U-20 International Ice Hockey Federation Junior championship. He, like several others on the roster, has a hot girlfriend.