C Dylan Larkin (2014, 15th, DET)

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Larkin continues his point streak and leads all Red Wings forwards in ice time tonight. Kid isn't going anywhere. Tough decisions coming in Detroit buy sending Larkin down isn't one of them.
 
Larkin continues his point streak and leads all Red Wings forwards in ice time tonight. Kid isn't going anywhere. Tough decisions coming in Detroit buy sending Larkin down isn't one of them.

If Franzen goes on LTIR, which unfortunately seems likely. It seems like it'll be something like:

Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Larkin
Tatar-Datsyuk-Sheahan
Nyquist-Richards-Jurco/Pulkkinen
Miller-Glendening-Helm

Or:

Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Larkin
Tatar-Datsyuk-Helm
Nyquist-Richards-Sheahan
Miller-Gledening-Ferraro

Larkin is most likely here to stay.
 
had an average game tonight, still got an assist though. Would like to see him bury his scoring chances more often because hes had some good ones
 
When was the last time Red wings fans gushed about a prospect lol, that said it must be refreshing to have a prospect buck the trend ehh Wings fans.
 
When was the last time Red wings fans gushed about a prospect lol, that said it must be refreshing to have a prospect buck the trend ehh Wings fans.
What trend? Not having a draft pick higher than 19 since Martin Lapointe in 1991? Not sure what you mean.
 
What trend? Not having a draft pick higher than 19 since Martin Lapointe in 1991? Not sure what you mean.

I think he means it must be nice to not have an undersized skill player from the fourth round+ that needs 5 years to develp before doing anything in the NHL.

I definitely think its awesome having a guy that just stepped in like that as a wings fan. Even 15th overall picks dont usually play like this and step right into the NHL like Larkin has
 
They all count. Can't say I am surprised. I always liked this kid going back to his draft year. It is probably unrealistic to expect him to maintain a 1.2 PPG average. Nevertheless, very impressive start for a 19 year old kid in his first year in the NHL.
 
First 5 games of his career as a 19 year old. 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points. A point in every game. +7. Can you really ask for more?

The best thing is that he can only get better. I obviously don't expect him to maintain this point production, but his overall game will only get better.
 
Kid might be the 3rd best player in that draft class, Of course it's detroit who finds him.
 
His quick stride allows him to make plays out of nothing pretty often. He definitely still has areas to improve though.
 
The thing that really strikes me about Larkin is his size/strength/skating combo. He's got the skating and the agility to generate a ton of separation from defenders, but when they do catch up, he's got the strength and the puck protection to fend them off and find chances. He gets a bunch of chances every game, and I think that's a big part of it. He's skilled but perhaps not elitely skilled, but it doesn't matter so much because his other gifts allow him to really put his level of skill to work.

Like you can contrast with some of the other Wings players. Nyquist is super fast and super skilled, but he struggles a lot with the man-to-man physical element of the game. And Zetterberg is a bear in the corners with a supreme skill level, but he doesn't have that ability to generate a lot of separation with his skating. So even though Larkin isn't as skilled as those guys, his physical talents make up for a lot of that gap. It probably takes him more chances to bury one, but that probably doesn't matter a lot in the end. He's a possession monster who gets the job done.
 
Besides Zetterberg, easily the most dynamic player form last night's game from an opposition fan's perspective. Kid's a star in the making.
 
When Larkin's puck handling skills get up to par with his skating, shooting and hockey sense, watch out.
 
Now that I've got to watch this kid play 5 games in the NHL I have to say, he's the best prospect we've got since Zetterberg, and if he continues to improve he's going to be the top star in Detroit in no time.

With that being said, he's not perfect and I have noticed some things he needs to improve, such as:

- He has God given skating/speed talent but needs to learn not to overdo it at times. This is what separates an elite player with wheels like Fedorov from someone like Helm. If Larkin is aiming to become the former then he needs to slow down and be patient at times with the puck. I think the times when he goes full force non stop is much more useful in a forechecking situation which has worked out great for him so far, but when he or the team has the puck he needs to slow down and focus on reading the play rather then force his speed.

- He has skills but not elite hands like Datsyuk or Zetterberg, I noticed that Larkin's skills are very good but without his skating/speed and hard work he would not be an effective player offensively. I would say even guys like Nyquist and Franzen have better puck skills at this point. The good news is he can certainly improve this aspect of his game, I mean he's playing with two of the best in the game when it comes to this so he can learn a thing or two from them. If guys like Helm can improve their puck skills then so can Larkin.

- His positioning needs work, I noticed at times when his team has the puck he does not know where to position himself, this also seems to be an issue at times when he's defending.

Other than that he's a superb hockey player, and I echo what joe89 said above me, if Larkin's puck skills improve to even the likes of Nyquist or Franzen, seriously watch out.
 
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