NHL
2026 Olympic
Hockey
This is Dylan Larkin’s first chance to win something on such a big stage, and he’s proving to be a big-game player who's willing to do anything for his team. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
MILAN — Dylan Larkin is almost embarrassed by the way his United States teammates talk about him.
They talk about him with respect and adulation.
“One of the greatest human beings I know,” fellow University of Michigan alum Quinn Hughes said. “A big mentor to me.”
“One of the great people in this sport,” Connor Hellebuyck said.
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“He just brings energy all day long,” J.T. Miller said. “Loves hockey. He’s a hockey nerd. He loves USA Hockey. His presence, it resonates in the whole room.”
“An off-the-charts good person and hockey player,” Jack Hughes said.
“Somebody you root for,” Jack Eichel said. “Somebody who deserves to win, to be on a winner more than anybody I know.”
Larkin, 29, may be the best player in the NHL who has won basically nothing.
He has won one playoff game, and that was during his rookie year a decade ago. He bleeds USA Hockey, yet his only gold medal was 12 years ago at the Under-18 Worlds.
Yet, everything about the Detroit Red Wings captain and his complete game screams winner.
That’s why so many of his teammates are so tickled that Larkin is playing such a huge part in this undefeated Olympic run so far for the United States. As Quinn Hughes said late Friday night, “We’ve been talking about having a fast start, and leave it to Larks to get us going … again.”
In a 6-2 rout over Slovakia to catapult the Americans into a gold-medal showdown with rival Canada on Sunday afternoon, it was Larkin scoring the first goal for the second time in two games.
“I’m just trying to chip in and, I think, prove myself playing in big games that I can do it,” Larkin said. “It means a lot to me because I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to do that.”
This is Larkin’s first chance to win something on such a big stage, and just like last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, he’s proving to be a big-game player who’s willing to do anything for his team.
Faceoffs? He has won a tournament-best 76.3 percent. Penalty kill? He’s part of 15 for 15 PK. Power play? He’s willing to start on the No. 2 unit even though he was moved up to the first unit when Tage Thompson missed the third period Friday with a lower-body injury.
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Defensively, offensively, special teams, the coaches trust putting Larkin out in any situation. He has scored two goals and an assist in five games and got chills Friday night thinking about the chance to win gold against Canada.
“It just feels right,” Larkin said. “It’s the matchup everyone wanted. It’s going to be a battle of the ages, I think.’’
Larkin is part of a star-studded summer skate that starts in July in Plymouth, Michigan. It includes the Hughes brothers, Zach Werenski, Kyle Connor, Hellebuyck, Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat, Trevor Zegras, Josh Norris, Jake Sanderson and so many others. It’s so good, so high-tempo, so competitive that players from all over the league, including Macklin Celebrini, pop in to join periodically. Jim Hughes, father of Quinn, Jack and Luke, runs the skates.
Larkin is one of the leaders of the crew and helped get it started.
“I know it’s a summer skate, but if people came and watched how intense they are and how competitive they are, they’d be shocked,” Werenski said. “We compete like we’re playing Game 7; we want to win. When we do battle drills, our team wants to win the day more than that team. It’s just like we go at it with each other.”
It’s there where Larkin really shows off his incredible speed, competitiveness and drive to win.
“There’s a reason he was named captain of an Original Six team at such a young age,” Werenski said. “He’s made for big moments like this. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had enough of them in his career. I feel like when he gets into the playoffs, you’re going to hear about him a lot more and see more things like this. But you look at the 4 Nations last year against Canada, a huge goal for us. (Against Sweden), a huge goal for us to get us going. I think the way he leads our group, he’s vocal, he leads us on the ice for warmups. And he’s just got so much energy coming out of the room, it’s incredible. I think it gets guys right into the game.”
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The one thing about the United States’ centers — Auston Matthews, Eichel, Brock Nelson and especially Larkin — is that none cheat the game.
“But I just love the way (Larkin) plays,” Werenski said. “I love the way he competes in all three zones.”
When you come to a tournament like the Olympics and play on a team as talented and deep as the United States, you have to be selfless. Larkin epitomizes that.
“That’s a guy who is one of the better offensive players in the league, and isn’t playing top power play here, and is just so happy to do whatever it takes to win, and it’s great to see him get rewarded, because he’s been playing so well for us,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “He’s been a very integral part of our team this year and last year, and it’s been very, very important for us. And he’s a hell of a leader, and guys love playing with him, and definitely listen when he speaks.”
“He always shows up in big moments,” brother Brady Tkachuk said. “He’s always the X-factor.”
Even coach Mike Sullivan says, “We root for all the guys, but Larks in particular, he’s gone through the experience that he’s gone through in Detroit. I think that team is becoming formidable at this point. I think they’re emerging right now, and he’s a big part of it. He’s a big part of this team. He’s a fierce competitor. He’s a terrific player on both sides of the puck. You can utilize him in so many ways. The thing that probably I’ve really grown to admire about him is getting to know him as a person, which you don’t get to do when you play against him in the NHL all the time.
“The 4 Nations experience and now the Olympics has given me an opportunity to get to know him a little bit as a person, and then you realize the intangibles that he brings to the table and why he is the player that he is. He’s a great teammate. All he wants to do is win. He’s willing to embrace anything we ask of him to do so, and he’s capable in so many ways. Am I rooting for him? Absolutely.”
Larkin is humbled by the way people talk about him.
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“I don’t know why,” he said. “We got a group in there that’s pretty special and look after each other and like to have fun. But when it gets down to the battle, we’re all in it together, and that’s the beauty of it.”
Larkin is soaking in every moment of this Olympic experience, from sightseeing in Milan to life in the Olympic Village to meeting celebrities such as Snoop Dogg.
“Probably one of the few people I’ve met that’s kind of larger than life, ” Larkin said. “ … Getting to meet him, I’ll probably remember forever.”
But Larkin and the U.S. are reaching the finish line, and Larkin wants nothing more than to go out with the biggest win of his career.
The most special win of his career.
“USA Hockey means the world to me, and I’m here because of USA Hockey,” Larkin said. “It’s (one game) for legacy. Sully’s talked about the number of guys that have won an Olympic gold medal in the U.S., and it’s a small number, and we’d like to be a part of that and inspire kids for generations to come.”
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Michael Russo is a senior writer covering the Minnesota Wild and the National Hockey League for The Athletic. He has covered the NHL since 1995 (Florida Panthers) and the Wild since 2005, previously for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Minneapolis Star Tribune. Michael is a five-time Minnesota Sportswriter of the Year and in 2017 was named the inaugural Red Fisher Award winner as best beat writer in the NHL. Michael can be seen on NHL Network; and heard on KFAN (100.3 FM) and the Worst Seats in the House podcast (talknorth.com). He can be found on Instagram and X at @russohockey and Bluesky at @russohockey.bsky.social. Follow Michael on Twitter @RussoHockey
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