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C Dylan Larkin (2014, 15th, DET)

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Like Larkin's game a lot. Reminds me of Zach Parise / Derek Stepan hybrid. Great skater with a nose for the net an elite compete level. Sees the ice well enough, and has pretty solid finishing skills.

Should pan out to be a very good 2nd line center / middle of the road 1st line center. He's more of a 7.5 A/B to me, scoring around 45-65 points while supplying excellent 2 way play. Definitely a guy you want on your team, Detroit's got a keeper.
 
Larkin with 3 goals and 1 assist in 2 games since returning from WJCs

1st star of the game tonight (2 goals)
 
Yeah...no matter how good he is, they just never jump a kid in the show before he did his homework.

Hell play ncaa until he can play one full AHL season before the show.

Anthony Mantha, despite his injury, was a better prospect than Larkin at same age and he's playing AHL.
 
mantha was going to be given every opportunity to play in the top 6 of det this year before his injury, i wouldn't be surprised if larkin is also given that opportunity next year. however the points mantha produced last year made him an option for the top 6 for the wings i dont think larkin gets the same credit, since they have pav, z sheahan, glenny, at C but i think they give him a shot. id put money on him atleast spending the next year at michigan and being the captain of usa at the wjc next year, the following year hell be pro.
 
I would be stunned if Dylan Larkin isn't at U of M next year. Not saying he couldn't play pro hockey, but it would be a huge break from the Wings development philosophy.

Keep in mind he is extremely easy to keep tabs on and as a coach the Wings management team might respect Red Berenson more than any coach not named Mike Babcock. I do think he is leaving after his sophomore season though, of course I thought that before the WJC so not much has changed in that regard.
 
jayck said:
Yeah...no matter how good he is, they just never jump a kid in the show before he did his homework.

Hell play ncaa until he can play one full AHL season before the show.

Anthony Mantha, despite his injury, was a better prospect than Larkin at same age and he's playing AHL.
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He could play in the AHL right now if that's what was wanted by both parties, since he wasn't drafted out of the CHL. I see him as a player who will skip the AHL. 2-3 college seasons and then he probably makes the Wings out of camp.
 
He'll play 1 or 2 more years at College then at least one in the AHL. Same type of path that Sheahan took, although I think Larkin is more skilled.
 
Honestly I hope that whoever Eichel is drafted by would let him play in them next year. imagine the center depth with the same players but 1 more year developed.
 
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ricky0034 said:
he won't be the #1 center that's for sure

Auston Matthews will be
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Larikin is better than Matthews right now (key words: right now). Matthews looked out at place at the tournament this year. No idea how's he's going to be ready to take the #1 center position by next year. I think he'll be better as the #2 center. Eichel showed this year that age plays a big difference in the U20 tournament.
 
I'm pretty sure if he keeps up this production, he'll have one of the better post draft years in the NCAA in a long time. Couple that with his defensive abilities, elite PK skills and leadership qualities I think the wings have a really good prospect on their hands.

I think I read the last one to score at this pace first year postdraft was Gaudreau, and he scored less while being worse defensively. Obviously Larkin might not keep this pace up the rest of the way though.

Cant believe the wings got him where they did
 
Claypool said:
Larikin is better than Matthews right now (key words: right now). Matthews looked out at place at the tournament this year. No idea how's he's going to be ready to take the #1 center position by next year. I think he'll be better as the #2 center. Eichel showed this year that age plays a big difference in the U20 tournament.
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Unless Eichel is in the NHL, the three C for the US will probably be the same next year as this. Not a bad combo. Larkin may or may not move up from the 3rd line C, but regardless he should be even better next year than this.
 
MatthewFlames said:
Unless Eichel is in the NHL, the three C for the US will probably be the same next year as this. Not a bad combo. Larkin may or may not move up from the 3rd line C, but regardless he should be even better next year than this.
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That's a pretty huge "unless". Anything's possible I suppose but when was the last time a forward of Eichel's level didn't play in the NHL the next season? While he's going to go #2, he's a 1st overall caliber prospect. Reinhart was the first top-drafted forward not to play his post-draft season (though he got 9 games) in the NHL in well over a decade (possibly much longer -- I forget), not counting the lockout. The top 2 centers should be Larkin and Mathews.
 
thomashefe said:
So where do you put him in prospect rankings...top 3? Top 5? Minimum top 3 I would think by your description (not just potential but expectation of a Selke, higher ceiling than Kesler etc)
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Sorry, don't always come here that often. I think he's he's the Wings' most valuable prospect. I don't think he's got the clear NHL chops of an Oulette or the upside of a Mantha, but I think an organization that has valued centers since Yzerman and Oates knows that replacing Dats and Z will be near impossible. Sheahan is a 2C looking forward if not better and another center would be ideal, so they're hoping Larkin can be that and I think they'd prefer to have elite centers if possible. I still think he'll never be Toews, but I think he's the best comparison since the team just wants to know it has players in spots where they can fill ideal roles, and I think his skillset matches Toews more so than Kesler even if his point production matches Kesler's more. I think he's our 1C of the future and will be promoted in Dats last year or the year after. Hope that answers the question.
 
Adityase said:
Sorry, don't always come here that often. I think he's he's the Wings' most valuable prospect. I don't think he's got the clear NHL chops of an Oulette or the upside of a Mantha, but I think an organization that has valued centers since Yzerman and Oates knows that replacing Dats and Z will be near impossible. Sheahan is a 2C looking forward if not better and another center would be ideal, so they're hoping Larkin can be that and I think they'd prefer to have elite centers if possible. I still think he'll never be Toews, but I think he's the best comparison since the team just wants to know it has players in spots where they can fill ideal roles, and I think his skillset matches Toews more so than Kesler even if his point production matches Kesler's more. I think he's our 1C of the future and will be promoted in Dats last year or the year after. Hope that answers the question.
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I actually agree. Mantha might be considered more valuable but thats about it. Larkin is their only really legit center prospect since Zetterberg really. Sheahan is looking like a second line center which is great but he wasnt close to Larkin at Larkins age.
 
jayck said:
Yeah...no matter how good he is, they just never jump a kid in the show before he did his homework.

Hell play ncaa until he can play one full AHL season before the show.

Anthony Mantha, despite his injury, was a better prospect than Larkin at same age and he's playing AHL.
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Saying "better prospect" is a completely subjective statement and ignores what type of player they are, what position they play, how their game translated to the pros, etc...

Sure, Mantha has better upside as a guy who has awesome physical tools and is projected to be a goal scorer, but sometimes those guys need to figure out the pro game a little more to put their tools to work. Larkin is a guy who could probably step into a 4th line center role and not look out of place and be a responsible defensive player. You obviously want him to be more than a 4th line center, and you can leave him in college/play him in the AHL to help develop his skills, but I think comparing him to Mantha is hard to do, because they are different types of players at a different position.
 
SlavaKozlov said:
Saying "better prospect" is a completely subjective statement and ignores what type of player they are, what position they play, how their game translated to the pros, etc...

Sure, Mantha has better upside as a guy who has awesome physical tools and is projected to be a goal scorer, but sometimes those guys need to figure out the pro game a little more to put their tools to work. Larkin is a guy who could probably step into a 4th line center role and not look out of place and be a responsible defensive player. You obviously want him to be more than a 4th line center, and you can leave him in college/play him in the AHL to help develop his skills, but I think comparing him to Mantha is hard to do, because they are different types of players at a different position.
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Yep and Manthas production was amazing in his last junior year. But for a college freshman, what Larkin is doing is pretty damn close actually. NCAA numbers are always lower so they wont be as catchy, but you compare what hes doing now to others in the past from the NCAA and hes up there with a lot of great players
 
newfy said:
I actually agree. Mantha might be considered more valuable but thats about it. Larkin is their only really legit center prospect since Zetterberg really. Sheahan is looking like a second line center which is great but he wasnt close to Larkin at Larkins age.
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I agree, I think Larkin is a very important prospect for the Wings because they are thin at having top caliber centers coming along in the system. Their top center prospects lately have been Filppula (solid secondary guy, best year in Detroit came playing the wing, though, left as a free agent), Helm (always projected as a bottom 6 guy anyway), Abdelkader (who they wanted to play wing and wasn't going to be a top center), Jarnkrok (who was traded away, but has potential), Sheahan and now Larkin.

Sure, Larkin has been much better than Sheahan at the same age, and he is a more skilled player than Sheahan, but Sheahan is playing like a 20 goal/40-50 point player in the NHL right now. I think part of what made Sheahan's offensive development slow was the system Jeff Jackson runs at Notre Dame. I remember watching some of those games, Sheahan was essentially a 3rd defenseman, loaded up with PK time and played the point on the PP, when Wings fans know he has nice hands and works well at the front of the net. Not to say that Larkin isn't better than Sheahan, or at least projects as a top 6 guy better than Sheahan did at the same age, I just think the type of game they were asked to play in college was completely different.

At least both Larkin and Sheahan seem to be hard working, coachable players who will do whatever it takes to win rather than throw a fit about not being put in a position to score a ton of points and look like the star. USA has some great centers now, and Larkin has been playing behind Eichel the past couple seasons, and is now playing behind Matthews too for the national team. But the fact that he embraces that "3rd center" type defensive/PK/secondary offense role will endear him to the Red Wings, for sure, and the fact that he still produces in that role is even better.
 
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