Pair of Red Wings commit to Team USA for World Championship

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and goaltender Alex Lyon will play for Team USA at the World Championship next month in Czechia.

USA Hockey on Wednesday revealed the first 15 players on the roster for the tournament that runs from May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava.

This will be Larkin’s fifth appearance in the event (he played in it from 2016-2019). He has 10 goals and 23 assists in 35 career games at the Worlds, winning the bronze medal in 2018.

Larkin tallied a career-high 33 goals among his 69 points this season. He missed 14 games due to injuries and a personal reason.

This will be Lyon’s first appearance in the tournament. He played a career-high 44 games, going 21-18-5 with a 3.05 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman last week said he supported any of his players participating in the World Championship.

“I played in them; I’ve been a part of them in management. I think they’re great opportunities for guys, great experiences,” Yzerman said. “To play international hockey is a lot of fun. To get a chance to win a gold medal is very exciting.”

The U.S. has lost in the bronze medal game in each of the past two years after bronze in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2021.

Team USA will train in Bratislava, Slovakia, starting May 5 and play a pre-tournament game there against Slovakia on May 7. The U.S. will open pool play against Sweden on May 10 in Ostrava (2:20 p.m. ET). All U.S. games will air live on the NHL Network.

Here are the first 15 players selected to the team:

Forwards (9): Matt Boldy, Minnesota; Cole Caufield, Montreal; Joel Farabee, Philadelphia; Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus; Luke Kunin, San Jose; Dylan Larkin, Detroit; Shane Pinto, Ottawa; Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa; Trevor Zegras, Anaheim.

Defensemen (5): Luke Hughes, New Jersey; Seth Jones, Chicago; Jake Sanderson, Ottawa; Alex Vlasic, Chicago; Zach Werenski, Columbus.

Goaltenders (1): Alex Lyon, Detroit.