Team USA and Team Sweden offer a preview of the roles Red Wings forwards Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond will play

On Monday, Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States held their first practices ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Puck drop on the invitational will come Wednesday night, when the Canadians and Swedes get together at the Bell Center in Montreal. From a Red Wings perspective, the first day of practices offered a chance to get a look at preliminary roles for Detroit's two representatives at the tournament: Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

Per Michael Russo of The Athletic, Larkin spent Team USA's first practice in a fourth line role next to Brock Nelson and Vincent Trocheck. Meanwhile, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Raymond skated in a third line slot next to Jesper Bratt and Joel Eriksson Ek.

Red Wings fans likely believe both of those players merit higher placement in the lineup, though of course this sort of slotting (of NHL stars in complementary roles) is inevitable in the context of a best-on-best tournament. It is also no more than the first practice, so there is certainly time for either player to ascend in the lineup once the games begin.

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As far as Larkin is concerned, it was always clear his USA role would look significantly from his Red Wings' one. Detroit coach Todd McLellan spoke to that dynamic in late January, saying, "A lot of the players that will go to these teams will have to adjust their games fractionally to fit certain roles. When the power play comes or there is a special situation, Dylan's already halfway out of his seat in Detroit. He knows that we're counting on him and he's gonna get going. Team USA, the whole team is gonna stand up in Montreal or Boston, and they're all gonna look around and go, well who is doing this?...I don't know what's in store for Dylan there. I know he has tools that can be used on both sides of the puck."

Given the ridiculous array of attacking talent at Team USA's disposal, it's more likely Larkin winds up in a checking, penalty kill–focused role, and that's a role that he should be well suited to. I don't expect Larkin to be one of the Americans' top scorers at this event, but I do suspect he will wind up an impact player should Team USA find its way to a championship, because of his ability to thrive in depth role.

Raymond represents something of a different case. In looking at the preliminary Swedish lineup, it's fairly clear coach Sam Hallam is looking to win with depth and balance. I don't think anyone would consider Rickard Rakell the best Swedish right winger in the world, but he's slotted into that position to promote balance across the lineup. Even still, I wouldn't be surprised to see Raymond play his way into a promotion in a hurry.

At the end of the day, both Raymond and Larkin will have the chance to play their way into a national spotlight that they haven't found in the NHL because Detroit hasn't played its way into the postseason since 2016. I like both players' odds of making the most of that opportunity.

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