Larkin Earns Team USA 4 Nations Roster Spot

This evening, Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin officially earned his place on Team USA's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off.  USA Hockey announced its 23-man roster for the event, which will be held in February, and Larkin will be one of six Michiganders representing Team USA in the inaugural iteration of the 4 Nations, more than any other state.

Larkin has represented Team USA before at an international level, but only at the World Championships, which is to say not the true "best-on-best" competition hockey players and fans alike have yearned for since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.  At that tournament, Larkin—then just 20 years old—played for the cult classic Team North America.

With Team USA, he joins what is arguably the most talented roster the Americans have ever brought to a men's tournament.  As Detroit coach Derek Lalonde put it Monday, "It's special, and it's dynamic...They're in a spot of trying to build a team too, where you gotta build—it can't all look alike. You're looking for some depth...It's unique, but these are really good problems."  Larkin has 12 goals in 25 games for the Red Wings this season, but he projects to play a checking and penalty kill role for the Americans (though perhaps his lethal touch from the bumper spot this season will help Larkin find his way to the power play).

Lalonde also noted that as a coach, there is a dissonance in an announcement like this evening's, saying "Obviously, very excited the individuals who will be part of that, but have some empathy for those guys that don't make it, because I think we have a lot of guys in our room that are either gonna be in or right on that line."

Team USA's roster was announced alongside Canada's this evening, and while Larkin wound up on the right side of his nation's cutline, American forwards Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, along with Canadian goaltender Cam Talbot did not find their way onto their nation's respective roster.

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