Allen: Larkin Role Vital to American Gold Medal at Olympics

When Jack Hughes was extolling, in a postgame interview, the importance of the American brotherhood to USA’s Olympic gold medal triumph, he was preaching the gospel according to Dylan Larkin.

No member of the U.S. team believes in the USA Brotherhood more than Larkin. You ask anyone who ever played with Larkin on any team, and he will confirm that Larkin believes in the concept of teammates for life. He is the ultimate team guy.

That was evident in Milan, Italy, when the soon-to-be-six-time-30-goal scorer embraced the No. 3 center role like he was born to play that position. He checked hard, won big faceoffs, and killed penalties as if those were the most important jobs on the team.

There are American players more talented than Larkin (although not all that many), but no one cares more than Larkin.

In the gold medal game, he got walloped behind the net by Canadian forward Tom Wilson. He was caught in a vulnerable position and sent crashing into the boards.  Larkin shook that off to play more than 16 minutes. He logged more than seven minutes in the third period, the most by any American forward. At that point, the Canadians were soaring, and the Americans were just trying to hang on until overtime. The work included Larkin helping to kill off a Jack Hughes penalty with less than four minutes left in regulation.

Key on PK

In the second period, when the Americans killed off a 5-on-3 power play for 1:32, Larkin won a key defensive zone faceoff to start the process. The puck was sent down the ice to take the first 15 seconds off the time. It was enough time for the U.S. players to settle down and be ready for the Canadian attack.

He scored two goals in the tournament, and each was the first goal of the game. He was plus-3 in his role as a defensive specialist.

Larkin was also one of the four Americans on the ice (counting Connor Hellebuyck) when Jack Hughes netted the winner at 1:41 of the three-on-three overtime format.

What isn’t talked about enough is how close he is to everyone on this team. If you were starting an association of former U.S. National Team Development Players, Larkin could easily accumulate enough votes to be the group’s first president.

The Larkin Factor

Larkin wore no letter on his jersey at the tournament, but he was one of the team’s leaders because that’s who he is as a human being. If you watched the start of the game on Peacock, you saw U.S. players lined up in the tunnel behind Connor Hellebuyck. Then you saw Larkin come up and station himself behind Connor Hellebuyck.

Let’s go, boys.

And Hellebuyck took his team on the ice. Those moments matter to this American group. Larkin is an inspirational player.

Larkin’s popularity is noteworthy. He is good friends with the Tkachuk brothers, the Hughes brothers, Zach Werenski, and Jack Eichel, among others.  Guys respect his ability and the positivity he brings to the dressing room. Quinn Hughes told a story at these Olympics about Larkin befriending him at a Michigan frat party and instilling in him that whatever you receive from the game, you always try to pay it forward.

The American players took the brotherhood theme to heart, carrying Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey around the ice after the win. Gaudreau and his brother were tragically killed last year when they were hit by a truck while bicycling. Gaudreau was a top candidate for this U.S. team. The Americans dedicated their effort to Johnny Hockey.

In preparation for the team photo, Werenski and Larkin went into the stands to collect Johnny Gaudreau’s children to appear in the photo. Larkin and Werenski are among the many American players who believe the American brotherhood is a binding obligation.

The Americans had plenty of goal scorers. They picked Dylan Larkin for a different reason.