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Back from worlds, Larkin named Wings' top rookie |
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Another week, and another honor for Dylan Larkin.
To no one’s surprise, the Detroit Red Wings forward was announced Tuesday as the 2015-16 Red Wings Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association in a unanimous decision.
Larkin, 19, the first teenager to play for the Wings since Jiri Hudler in 2003-04 and the first to crack the opening-night lineup since Mike Sillinger in 1990-91, led the team with 23 goals. Larkin notched his first NHL goal and assist during his Oct. 9 debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs and went on to be named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month in November.
Among the league’s rookies, Larkin finished tied for third in goals, 11th with 22 assists and sixth with 45 points. His plus-minus rating of plus-11 rating was tied for fifth, Larkin’s five game-winning goals were tied for second), his 221 shots on goal were second overall and his per-game ice-time average of 16:32 was fifth among forwards.
“It was an exciting year for me personally, being able to wear the winged wheel and skate alongside great players who I grew up watching,” Larkin said. “Playing for the Red Wings was a dream come true, and I’m looking forward to working hard this summer to get better for next season.
Announced last week as the grand marshal for the June 4 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix IndyCar race, Larkin is just back home from Russia, where he helped the U.S.A. to the fourth-place finish at the world championship and was named the American player of the game in their 4-3 semifinal loss to Canada.
“Larkin played a lot of the tournament at center,” Detroit general manager Ken Holland noted. “(Detroit coach) Jeff Blashill and I were pleased about that.
“He was a center (before coming to Wings), we put him on the wing to reduce his responsibility. He played well, he was an important player on their team. He played with determination, tenacity. He went from the fourth line (at last year’s worlds to the top six forwards). He had one point (last year) to (nine points).
“It was a big step in his development as a player. He had a really good tournament. A big part of player development is experience, experiencing a lot of different things. Two years in a row Larkin has been on Team USA and they played their way into the top four. It’s a fabulous experience for these young players in their development.”
World Recap
Larkin was one of four Wings who made it to the semi-final stage of the world championship and was the only member of the quartet to come home without a medal.
Center Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Alexey Marchenko both played for the Russian team, and Datsyuk recorded three assists in Russia’s win over Team USA in the bronze medal game.
Afterward, Datsyuk told TSN he would now begin considering whether his hockey future remains in Detroit or in his native Russia.
“It's too fast,” Datsyuk said shortly after the end of the third-place game. “Now it's no time to be thinking about this while playing on the homestand. It's unbelievable atmosphere again and I'm just focused more on the playing for the Russian team.
“Now I have to start a little bit thinking.”
Datsyuk plans to return to Detroit month and meet with Holland to discuss his plans for next season.
Holland was pleased with the reviews he got from Detroit’s development coach Jiri Fischer regarding Marchenko’s performance.
“I heard Marchenko played solid,” Holland said. “Jiri Fischer thought he played solid, was strong for the Russians.
“His strengths are to be solid, good defensively, transition pucks to forwards. What he brings to the table, he did well.”
Forward Teemu Pulkkinen won a silver medal with Finland but barely got off the bench during the second half of the tournament.
“His role as the tournament wore on was diminished,” Holland said. “Part of it was Finland had more pros, lots of players from the KHL. The Finland program is highly regarded.
“I’m a little disappointed Pulkkinen couldn’t have played his way into a bigger role on Finland.”
Two other players were eliminated at earlier stages of the tournament – right-winger Gustav Nyquist scored seven goals in eight games for Sweden.
“I’m happy he scored some goals,” Holland said of Nyquist, who slumped from 27 to 17 goals with the Wings this season. “I don’t think the Swedes were overly deep with NHL players.
“Nyquist was one of the go-to guys for the Swedish team. That’s part of his role that he brings to the table wherever he plays.”
Meanwhile, forward Tomas Jurco posted 2-3-5 totals in five games for Slovakia.
“Jurco played real well early in the tournament,” Holland said. “I don’t think they were very deep in relation to other teams.
“All in all he had a good tournament.”
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