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C Dylan Larkin (2014, 15th, DET)

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Claypool said:
Prior to the WJC he was doing very, very well, but his game took off after that performance. His potential is certainly looking better and better, but talk of him leaving Michigan after this season is becoming unrealistic. Let's see how he performs next season as a leader of the team before anointing him one of the best prospects in hockey.
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Prior to him doing very, very well nobody was talking about him. I am not joking when I say I was ridiculed. A lot of posters that haven't even played the game have delusions that they know every bit of detail about it.

I'm in full agreement that talks of him leaving after this season is unrealistic. Datsyuk's timeline of leaving Detroit and Larkin's timeline of beginning his professional career sync up rather well, in a couple of years. Now, people, please don't misconstrue that as he's going to be the next Datsyuk or be as good. He is the real deal but we will see what that translates to. But there is no rush to get him in the NHL with the likes of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Sheahan doing the job they're doing.
 
Claypool said:
Prior to the WJC he was doing very, very well, but his game took off after that performance. His potential is certainly looking better and better, but talk of him leaving Michigan after this season is becoming unrealistic. Let's see how he performs next season as a leader of the team before anointing him one of the best prospects in hockey.
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On a slightly unrelated note, I get the feeling that his immediately post-WJC success had a lot to do with playing with a chip on his shoulder. In my eyes, that's one of the best qualities a player can have: the ability to take it to the next level when challenged.

W/r/t his development, I think his best qualities are the most fundamental ones. He makes good reads on both ends, he skates incredibly well, and he wins battles all over the ice. You can do a lot with those qualities, and he is. But the rest of his game needs sharpening. His shot is good, but not NHL level yet. His passing is smart, but not NHL smooth yet. His puck protection and moves can get better.

I think another year could do it. I think having a year where he is unquestionably "the guy" offensively will help focus him and refine his skillset. Plus, he'll grow as a person. I suspect not many 19 year olds are immediately ready for the mental adjustment of going pro. He's still working on becoming an adult.
 
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Guru Meditation said:
On a slightly unrelated note, I get the feeling that his immediately post-WJC success had a lot to do with playing with a chip on his shoulder. In my eyes, that's one of the best qualities a player can have: the ability to take it to the next level when challenged.

W/r/t his development, I think his best qualities are the most fundamental ones. He makes good reads on both ends, he skates incredibly well, and he wins battles all over the ice. You can do a lot with those qualities, and he is. But the rest of his game needs sharpening. His shot is good, but not NHL level yet. His passing is smart, but not NHL smooth yet. His puck protection and moves can get better.

I think another year could do it. I think having a year where he is unquestionably "the guy" offensively will help focus him and refine his skillset. Plus, he'll grow as a person. I suspect not many 19 year olds are immediately ready for the mental adjustment of going pro. He's still working on becoming an adult.
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Excellent post, good way to sum up where Larkin's game is currently. Lots of qualities that will make him an excellent pro but skillset could use some further refining. Very good at the college level but the pros are a different animal.
 
Guru Meditation said:
On a slightly unrelated note, I get the feeling that his immediately post-WJC success had a lot to do with playing with a chip on his shoulder. In my eyes, that's one of the best qualities a player can have: the ability to take it to the next level when challenged.

W/r/t his development, I think his best qualities are the most fundamental ones. He makes good reads on both ends, he skates incredibly well, and he wins battles all over the ice. You can do a lot with those qualities, and he is. But the rest of his game needs sharpening. His shot is good, but not NHL level yet. His passing is smart, but not NHL smooth yet. His puck protection and moves can get better.

I think another year could do it. I think having a year where he is unquestionably "the guy" offensively will help focus him and refine his skillset. Plus, he'll grow as a person. I suspect not many 19 year olds are immediately ready for the mental adjustment of going pro. He's still working on becoming an adult.
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There is only one problem with Larkin being "the guy" next year at Michigan...and his name is Kyle "the Terminator" Connor...just sayin' ;)

Connor and Larkin could be one hell of a duo for the Wolverines.
 
Props to Detroit for selecting him, I wanted my team to draft him, Pastrnak or Scherbak with the 25th pick last year and think he's gonna be a really good two-way forward for you guys.
The Hobey Baker nomination as a freshman is just gravy added to that.
 
Really wonder what's going to happen with Larkin next season. His situation seems fairly similar to Jacob Trouba. Trouba also had a tremendous season in his post-draft year, tearing it up at Michigan as a freshman and being an outstanding player at the WJC.

Larkin could probably go pro as soon as next year. Will be interesting to follow the situation. Also, could Larkin be a candidate for the World Championship team? Just saw Trouba played for the US that same year, maybe Larkin could do the same this year?
 
Zaddy Zads said:
Really wonder what's going to happen with Larkin next season. His situation seems fairly similar to Jacob Trouba. Trouba also had a tremendous season in his post-draft year, tearing it up at Michigan as a freshman and being an outstanding player at the WJC.

Larkin could probably go pro as soon as next year. Will be interesting to follow the situation. Also, could Larkin be a candidate for the World Championship team? Just saw Trouba played for the US that same year, maybe Larkin could do the same this year?
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Pretty sure he's going to spend at least one more year in the NCAA, just the Red Wings way. After that 1 or 2 years in the AHL. He might be somewhat fast tracked through all of this but it'll be Red Wings Fast Tracked TM.
 
Guru Meditation said:
On a slightly unrelated note, I get the feeling that his immediately post-WJC success had a lot to do with playing with a chip on his shoulder. In my eyes, that's one of the best qualities a player can have: the ability to take it to the next level when challenged.

W/r/t his development, I think his best qualities are the most fundamental ones. He makes good reads on both ends, he skates incredibly well, and he wins battles all over the ice. You can do a lot with those qualities, and he is. But the rest of his game needs sharpening. His shot is good, but not NHL level yet. His passing is smart, but not NHL smooth yet. His puck protection and moves can get better.

I think another year could do it. I think having a year where he is unquestionably "the guy" offensively will help focus him and refine his skillset. Plus, he'll grow as a person. I suspect not many 19 year olds are immediately ready for the mental adjustment of going pro. He's still working on becoming an adult.
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But he wouldn't be going to the NHL next year. He needs to be challenged and he's not challenged enough in college imo...pretty much every time he steps on the ice his line owns the puck the entire shift. It's borderline too easy now and it's likely only gonna be easier next year.

All those prospects from the WJC this year, vast majority will be playing pro hockey next season. Why do we hold back the guy who's shown he's at least equal and probably above most of those players? The AHL is a development league first and foremost, he doesn't need to be a finished product to go there. No doubt in my mind he's ready for it, he's shown that pretty clearly with his play imo. He's got the size to handle it and certainly comes off as quite mature for his age. Personally I would tend to consider a 19 year old who dominated a season of college equal (pro readiness wise) to a 20 year old coming out of junior. The competition level and style of play in college is so much more similar to the AHL than junior hockey. The other thing that concerns me is they only play 30 or so games. That's just not enough imo for kids in the prime of their development. It didn't hurt Sheahan but I dunno, that bothers me.

Much will depend on what Larkin wants. I do however think Werenski might impact his decision. Best friends/roommates and think there's a chance the team that drafts Werenski will want him to go to the AHL next season and Larkin may choose to do the same. Regardless of what happens I won't argue it, I certainly won't question what the Wings front office thinks is best for him.
 
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drw02 said:
But he wouldn't be going to the NHL next year. He needs to be challenged and he's not challenged enough in college imo...pretty much every time he steps on the ice his line owns the puck the entire shift. It's borderline too easy now and it's likely only gonna be easier next year.

All those prospects from the WJC this year, vast majority will be playing pro hockey next season. Why do we hold back the guy who's shown he's at least equal and probably above most of those players? The AHL is a development league first and foremost, he doesn't need to be a finished product to go there. No doubt in my mind he's ready for it, he's shown that pretty clearly with his play imo. He's got the size to handle it and certainly comes off as quite mature for his age. Personally I would tend to consider a 19 year old who dominated a season of college equal (pro readiness wise) to a 20 year old coming out of junior. The competition level and style of play in college is so much more similar to the AHL than junior hockey. The other thing that concerns me is they only play 30 or so games. That's just not enough imo for kids in the prime of their development. It didn't hurt Sheahan but I dunno, that bothers me.

Much will depend on what Larkin wants. I do however think Werenski might impact his decision. Best friends/roommates and think there's a chance the team that drafts Werenski will want him to go to the AHL next season and Larkin may choose to do the same. Regardless of what happens I won't argue it, I certainly won't question what the Wings front office thinks is best for him.
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It's been Larkin's dream to play for Michigan. He's going to play another year there, probably as the team captain. If he can replicate his play from the second half of this season for the entirety next year, then maybe he earns a ticket to Grand Rapids. Detroit will not be pressured to move him along quickly whatever the results may be. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays at least two more years in college then one in Grand Rapids before moving to the NHL.
 
Claypool said:
It's been Larkin's dream to play for Michigan. He's going to play another year there, probably as the team captain. If he can replicate his play from the second half of this season for the entirety next year, then maybe he earns a ticket to Grand Rapids. Detroit will not be pressured to move him along quickly whatever the results may be. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays at least two more years in college then one in Grand Rapids before moving to the NHL.
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Given DeKeyser jumped straight from college to NHL I won't be surprised if Larkin does the same. Since Larkin plays such a complete game (especially a sound defensive game like DeKeyser), the transition is much easier than for someone who has a big hole in their game.
 
The Zermanator said:
Given DeKeyser jumped straight from college to NHL I won't be surprised if Larkin does the same. Since Larkin plays such a complete game (especially a sound defensive game like DeKeyser), the transition is much easier than for someone who has a big hole in their game.
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Are you for real? Why are you comparing the readiness of a much older defenceman to a teenage forward?
 
If he finishes college, then yes maybe he will jump straight to the NHL.

Otherwise, he will spend a year in AHL with GRG. Next year, hes definintely down from NHL as we have no spots. After that, its up to his play and where he wants to be.
 
Reminds me of Ryan Kesler, literally the only bright spot in the game against Minnesota Friday.
 
I think both Larkin and Eichel will be playing for the US at the WC this year....and usually I get a bit bummed out when college kids are picked because we likely had a lot of pros turn us down, this time I am excited to see these two play and I think they both would play solid roles as well and not 4th liners along for the experience.
 
Larkin's 10 game point streak ended last night :( he had 20 points in that span

wings5 said:
Reminds me of Ryan Kesler, literally the only bright spot in the game against Minnesota Friday.
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I've seen criticism of the Kesler comparison because he isn't as physical as Kesler
 
puckfan13 said:
Excellent post, good way to sum up where Larkin's game is currently. Lots of qualities that will make him an excellent pro but skillset could use some further refining. Very good at the college level but the pros are a different animal.
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The NHL is a different animal, the AHL is a developmental league for future NHL players. Larkin would come into Grand Rapids and immediately be their first or second line center based on talent and Detroit's lack of a 1st/2nd line center prospect. So there would be little to no difference in the number of minutes he will be playing next year. The bigger difference will be the number of games that he plays he will play in, likely, 25-30 more games, at minimum, in the AHL than he would at Michigan and against, overall, better competition. Not to mention he would be getting used to the professional lifestyle, specifically the preparation and travel.

Not to mention that he would be developing within the organization that he will be spending the majority of his NHL career with. Not that developing under Red Berenson is a bad thing.
 
wings5 said:
Reminds me of Ryan Kesler, literally the only bright spot in the game against Minnesota Friday.
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The game on Saturday was literally one of the most boring games I've ever seen. Minnesota plays a conservative game on a huuuuge ice surface, so 10s of minutes went by without a decent scoring chance for either side. I'm not sure those games say much about Michigan.
 
SimplySolace said:
Larkin's 10 game point streak ended last night :( he had 20 points in that span



I've seen criticism of the Kesler comparison because he isn't as physical as Kesler
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He's not ultra physical, but he'll never be called a soft player in the NHL. He finishes checks hard, and he'll get in a guy's face and scrum with the best of em. At the college level you don't see quite as much physicality out of him because he always has the damn puck. But I suspect that part of his game will show up more as he plays at higher levels.
 
Bonin21 said:
It was one of the most intense games of the year, and extremely important for both teams. Maybe you just like a ton of goals.
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Maybe the first period was the barnburner. I saw the second and third periods and it was sloppy and slow. Lots of missed passes (most of them not just a little off the mark, but a LOT off) and chip ins. Very little sustained offense in terms of shots or dangerous scoring chances.
 
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