McLellan, Red Wings talk Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

DETROIT -- One of the great things about the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 was the invaluable experience it provided to some of the world’s most talented athletes – including the Detroit Red Wings’ leadership trio of captain Dylan Larkin and alternate captains Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

According to head coach Todd McLellan, there’s different ways each of the Red Wings’ Olympians can apply what they learned once they’re back in the mix with their teammates in the coming days.

“They’ve talked about some of the things their teams did well or maybe didn’t do well,” McLellan said. “Some of the approaches to the game…maybe there’s something we can steal from what they’re doing, and they’ll bring it back to us.”

On Sunday morning, Larkin and Team USA outlasted Team Canada for an exciting 2-1 overtime victory in the gold-medal game. With the win, the United States men’s hockey team earned its third all-time gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games and its first in 46 years.

“What a moment for USA Hockey,” Patrick Kane said. “Obviously, it’s been a long time coming since 1980. And just the way the game went, it seemed like everything was going Canada’s way. [Connor] Hellebuyck played great, made some great saves. Canada, obviously, had their opportunities. Ecstatic for a lot of those guys that I know are on the team.”

Larkin, who was on the ice when Sunday’s game-winning goal was scored at 1:41 of overtime, finished the tournament with three points (two goals, one assist) in six games and led all skaters in face-off winning percentage (69.57).

“We couldn’t be more proud of Dylan and the way he carried himself throughout the tournament,” McLellan said. “He was a factor in a lot of things but ultimately, he won. He played a big role in it. He wasn’t just an auxiliary piece. We’re really proud of him. We’re happy for him. The experience there and the ability to play in big games under pressure like that can only do good things for him.”

As for Raymond, he recorded nine points (one goal, eight assists) in five games with Team Sweden to tie Mats Sundin for the second-most points by a Swedish skater in an Olympic tournament involving NHL players. Then there’s Seider, who had two assists and paced Team Germany in average ice time (26:16) in five contests, trailing only Team Finland’s Miro Heiskanen (26:35) for the most among all skaters.

“I think all three of those guys can be so proud of the way they played and the way they represented the organization,” Kane said. “Obviously, not really too surprising but couldn’t really ask for more out of those three.”

Speaking of representation, players with ties to the Mitten State -- Larkin (Waterford), Hellebuyck (Commerce), Quinn and Jack Hughes (Canton), Zach Werenski (Grosse Woods) Kyle Connor (Shelby Township), Megan Keller (Farmington Hills) and Kirsten Simms (Plymouth) – helped both the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams win gold at the same Olympics for the first time in history.

“The [Red Wings] teams of ’97 and ’98 definitely pushed a generation of, probably my age and younger, to playing a lot of hockey in the state of Michigan,” Andrew Copp said. “And obviously, you’re seeing a lot of Michigan players play huge roles – with Megan too, scoring the OT winner. I think the state of Michigan loves their hockey.”

Copp added that having the U.S. National Team’s Development Program (NTDP) based in Plymouth, Mich., has “done a lot for the game.”

“Not only for the hockey-specific part, but that team probably felt more of a team because so many of them have played together,” Copp said. “There was a lot of the ’96 and ’97 age group in there, and those guys were together for a while.”