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Larkin learning all about life in the fast lane |
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Dylan Larkin recently got to live life in the fast lane and what he discovered is that it’s really not all the different from the life he leads.
Larkin, 19, who just completed his rookie season with the Detroit Red Wings, leading the team with 23 goals, has quickly become one of the top sporting celebrities in the Motor City in much the same fashion as his meteoric rise to the NHL.
Larkin, 19, served as grand marshal for IndyCar’s Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, making the traditional call of “drivers, start your engines,” but that clearly wasn’t the highlight of race weekend for him.
The first teenager to play in a Red Wings season opener since Mike Sillinger in 1990, Larkin got to enjoy a ride along in a two-seater IndyCar over the bumpy, 2.3-mile Belle Isle street course.
“Getting in the two-seater and seeing how they navigate through the course and how in shape they are to battle in the car with the bumpy roads and the moving around, it’s really impressive what they do,” said Larkin, adding he was told that that they reached speeds of 180 mph in the backstretch.
“I couldn’t see (the speedometer),” Larkin said. “I was just trying to hold on.
“It’s like a roller coaster times four. Just the feeling you get in your stomach, it’s pretty cool, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Admitting he wasn’t much of a racing fan before, Larkin, who set a new record in the NHL’s fastest skater competition at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, is now a convert to life in the fast lane.
“It was a good opportunity to be involved in a sport I’m not too familiar with and do a race,” Larkin said. “It’s really cool that they offered me to come here and be the grand marshal.
“I never thought a year ago I’d be doing this. I never thought I’d get to call myself a grand marshal.”
There’s a lot of things he’s getting to do that Larkin never imagined he’d be a part of not so long ago. But with great opportunity comes great responsibility and Larkin is well aware that the glare of the spotlight means he must be careful at all times not to embarrass himself or the Red Wings franchise.
“I know I’m a 19 year old but I’m not like most 19 year olds,” Larkin said. “I can’t do things like most 19 years old. I have to be aware of my surroundings all of the time.
“I represent the Detroit Red Wings so I have to behave myself.”
Larkin was able to get away with some of his Team USA teammates for a European vacation following the conclusion of the world championship last month in Russia.
“I was fortunate to be able to travel a little bit after the world championships,” Larkin said. “I went to France for five days. I was in the south of France hanging with a few (Team USA) teammates. I really go to relax.
“I did get some time off but it’s hard to keep myself away from the game.”
When he wants to get away and just disappear from the limelight, Larkin is fortunate enough to be able to call upon a tight group of friends who seem him as their buddy Dylan, who just happens to play for the Red Wings.
“I think there’s a time and a place for everything,” Larkin said. “It has been a long season but I think to find my friends and for them to still hang around with me and let myself get away from hockey is huge.
“You need that. You need to have people like that around you.”
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