Detroit – The Red Wings know how good Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are.
Now, not just NHL fans but sports fans all over the world realize how talented the three core players of the Wings are, with impressive performances playing for their home countries in the Winter Olympics.
All three played prominent roles during Tuesday’s quarterfinals, as Larkin and Team USA advanced to the semifinals with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Raymond’s Sweden team. Seider’s Germany squad was eliminated with a loss to Slovakia.
But all three have seen their profiles grow with eye-opening play in the Olympic tournament.
“Razor and Larks, the intensity that they played with, and in those games, it was really good for them to experience that,” coach Todd McLellan said Thursday. “They’ve played well on the international stage. All three of them have played to their capabilities and the roles they’ve been given really well.”
Larkin, the Waterford native who starred at Michigan and for the last 10 seasons with the Wings, scored USA’s first goal Tuesday and has been one of USA’s best overall players as the Olympics has progressed – much like he was at last year’s 4 Nations Face-off.
The USA plays Slovakia Friday in the semifinals (3:10 p.m./NBC, Peacock).
USA teammates have raved about Larkin’s drive and energy, and his ability to push the team to success.
“He just cares so much,” said forward Patrick Kane, who played on two world championships with Larkin. “You could see how badly he wanted to win there playing for the U.S. We get the chance to see it here every day, just how badly he wants to win here in Detroit, for the city of Detroit, for his teammates, for the organization.
“You couldn’t ask for a better representative of an organization. He does such a good job.”
James van Riemdsyk is another veteran forward who played on a USA world championship team with Larkin and enjoyed the experience so much that it was a contributing factor to when van Riemsdyk decided on joining the Wings in free agency last summer.
“He’s a guy you love being around,” van Riemsdyk said. “One of the reasons I signed here, I was looking forward to playing with him and getting to know him better. I had a ton of fun with him at worlds and a ton of respect for the type of player and leader and person he is. He’s definitely a guy you want in the fox hole with you when you’re playing some important games.”
It’s not surprising for van Riemsdyk that Larkin has an important role within the USA team.
“You could tell he is the heartbeat of that age group, and surrounding age groups,” van Riemsdyk said. “He trains with a lot of those guys here in the summer (Plymouth Township-based U.S. National Team Development Program) and a lot of them, especially some of the younger ones, look to him as a big brother and he commands a lot of respect from people.”
Raymond starred for Sweden during the Olympics, leading the team with nine points (one goal, eight assists), currently ranking second in tournament scoring behind Canada’s Connor McDavid (11 points). Raymond tied Tuesday’s game against USA with a brilliant pass to goal-scorer Mika Zibanejad in the final minute of regulation time.
As Raymond’s stature grows, so will the responsibility of having that sort of profile.
“He was good (at 4 Nations) but he’s really excelled here at the Olympics, and the world is watching,” McLellan said. “Anytime that happens, the broadcasts we have now and the stats that get thrown out, and you keep seeing Raymond in that situation, if you’re a hockey fan outside our market you go to the computer and see who this Raymond guy is and what he’s done.
“But as the profile grows, comes responsibility. You mention playoffs and driving a team as deep as possible and that falls on all of our shoulders. But Lucas will be a primary figure when it comes to that.”
Seider’s Germany team was an underdog heading into the tournament but reached the quarterfinals with Seider playing nearly half the game as a defenseman and being an integral part of Germany’s leadership group.
The fact the Wings haven’t made the playoffs for the last nine consecutive seasons has limited the exposure of Larkin, along with Raymond and Seider.
“You kind of prove your worth in playoff hockey when you get that opportunity and chance,” said Kane, who won three Stanley Cups in Chicago. “That’s what we’re all searching for this year here.”
McLellan feels playing and succeeding in a tournament such as the Olympics can help a player in many ways. But again, with that, comes a certain type of accountability.
“It should give you confidence and should help your standing in the hockey world, but with that comes and more and more responsibility,” McLellan said. “To drive your home club to where it needs to go and it’s unfair to put all the pressure on those three (Wings players), but eyeballs are going to go to those three by how well they’ve played.”
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