The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, Arpon Basu, Fluto Shinzawa and Michael Russo offered observations on each of the Four Nations Face-Off teams with the 2026 Olympics just a year away, and here’s what they had to say about Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and Minnesota Wild winger Matt Boldy:
Larkin, Boldy solidify their spots
Dylan Larkin and Matt Boldy scored the winning goals against Finland and Canada (the first game), respectively, and were as consistent as they come in the tournament.
Boldy got better and better as the tournament went — and got to the dirty areas, which has been the biggest criticism of him in the playoffs for the Minnesota Wild. The World Juniors gold medalist from 2021 was a threat in each game. It was vindication after some criticized U.S. general manager Bill Guerin for putting him on the team, saying it was favoritism for a player Guerin also manages as Wild GM.
Larkin, meanwhile, could be in line for an elevated role in the Olympics.
The Red Wings captain started as a fourth-line winger, accepted that role and ended up as third-line center between J.T. Miller and Boldy. When Matthew Tkachuk left the final, Larkin showed how handy he is by popping up to the top six.
He’ll just keep getting more responsibility because he’s so fast and versatile.
Continued (paywall); it turns out that Larkin is more than just a star player–he’s also a Swiss Army Knife, endlessly adaptable.
