NHL players return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 and they’re eager to soak it all in:

The Olympic Village experience and mingling with athletes in other sports.

Facing the highest level of competition in an intense best-on-best tournament.

Most of all, the enormous pride in representing their country on the biggest international stage.

A trio of Detroit Red Wings are headed to Milano Cortina (Italy) for their first Olympic experience – Dylan Larkin (United States), Moritz Seider (Germany) and Lucas Raymond (Sweden).

“Probably been thinking about it my whole life, and it’s a dream come true for myself and my family,” Larkin said in an interview with ABC. “I thank all my teammates and all the guys I’ve played with and all the support staff that helped me get to that point.”

The U.S. is seeking its first gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice and ranks right behind Canada on the list of favorites. Larkin played a key role for Team USA last year when it lost to Canada 3-2 in overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.

“Just the fact that it is the best players all in one spot and you’re playing against the best and you’re playing with the best, I’m excited to play with those guys,” Larkin said.

The U.S. is in Group C and opens with Latvia on Feb. 12 and faces Germany on Feb. 15, when Larkin and Seider square off.

“We’ll put the friendship and all the chemistry on the side and battle for our own countries,” Seider said. “Afterwards we can all laugh and talk. It definitely will be weird not seeing him in a Red Wings jersey with me on the same side.”

Germany has never won gold and is a longshot, but Seider recalled the excitement in 2018 when his country advanced to the title game before losing to the Olympic Athletes from Russia.

“That was a great tournament for hockey Germany, put us a little bit in the picture,” Seider said. “Why not pull off another miracle like that? Anything’s possible and you have to believe in those kind of moments.

“It’s something you dream of as a kid, representing your country, making great memories in the village,” Seider said. “And the excitement is big. Just growing up, you always had your eye on the Games. It will be very special this year, especially with all the talent that’s coming.”

Raymond was a month away from his fourth birthday when Sweden, with five Red Wings, won Olympic gold in 2006, but he remembers the disappointment in 2014 when Canada defeated his homeland for the gold.

“Even if you’re not a hockey fan, you’re watching the Olympics and this year with all the best players coming, I think it’s going to attract a lot of people and a lot of eyes,” Raymond said. “You want to represent the hockey in the best way possible.

“If you look at some of the greatest Swedish hockey players of all-time, a lot of those memories have come from the Olympics with (Peter) Forsberg, (Nicklas) Lidstrom, Henrik Lundqvist, when they won it. You want to put yourself in spots like that.”

Raymond and others will maximize their time at the event.

“Seeing all the other athletes in the Village, it’s kind of back to junior where everyone’s just living together and you hang out all day,” Raymond said. “I’m really excited for all of it. Get to watch some other sports as well. I’m going to try to catch some of the cool games that you maybe don’t watch otherwise, like bobsled and all those types of different, crazy sports.”

The NHL break started on Friday and the schedule resumes on Feb. 25.

“We’re in the entertainment business and we have to promote our game around the world, and that’s what the Olympics do,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “It’s the premier sporting event and the players have wanted to go for years. There’s inherent risk to players going. We’ve seen it happen in the past, but there’s really nothing any of us can do about that. And the last thing those players are going to do is play it safe. They’re going to play all out to win.”