Red Wings' Larkin, Mrazek to play at World Championship

Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin will be heading overseas to represent Team USA at the IIHF World Hockey Championship, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com.

Khan also reported that goaltender Petr Mrazek will be heading to the worlds to represent Team Czech Republic.

Both Larkin and Mrazek endured rough seasons in 2016-17 after showing great promise the year prior.

Larkin's point total fell from 45 to 32 and his plus/minus dipped from plus-11 to minus-28. Despite his sophomore slump, his electric speed will create mismatches for opponents on the big ice. He will attempt to help the United Sates end a World Championship gold medal drought that dates back to 1960.

After posting a .921 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average in 2015-16, Mrazek looked like he was poised to take the reins as Detroit's starting goaltender, but was outplayed by veteran Jimmy Howard all season long.

The tournament is set to begin on May 5.