After months of speculation and introspection, Dylan Larkin finally made the call Thursday and opted to turn pro with the Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit’s top pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft at 15th overall, the Wings and Larkin discussed jumping into the professional ranks following his sensational freshman season with the Michigan Wolverines, but left that call up to the 18-year-old center.
After getting the chance to gauge himself against NHLers while playing for the USA at the recent world championship, Larkin agreed to a three-year entry-level deal with the Wings that will kick in at the start of the 2015-16 season.
Immediately he was signed to an amateur tryout agreement to cover the remainder of this season and he was assigned to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
Larkin will make his pro debut Sunday as the Griffins travel to Utica to open the Western Conference final.
“There’s no doubt he can play at the AHL level,… Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. “Can he play at the NHL level? You don’t know that until he gets to camp.
“He’s still pretty young.…
The 6-1, 193-pound Larkin won’t turn 19 until July 30.
“Some are ready sooner than others,… Holland said. “I like players to be mature and have had a lot of experiences before they hit the NHL because the NHL is a tough league.…
Larkin definitely packed plenty of those experiences into his 2014-15 season. At Michigan, he produced 15-32-47 totals and a plus-18 rating in 35 games. Larkin ranked 11th in the nation in scoring and was second among freshmen, behind Boston University’s Jack Eichel, earning national recognition as a Second Team All-American and within the conference as Big Ten Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten Rookie Team.
At the world junior tournament, Larkin led the USA with 5-2-7 totals and a plus-seven rating. NHL.com picked him to their all-tournament team.
USA Hockey was so impressed that they invited Larkin to play for them at the worlds earlier this month in the Czech Republic, where he helped the Americans earn a bronze medal while testing his mettle against some of the world’s best players.
“I wanted to wait until after the tournament to make a decision,… Larkin said.
The Wings were also impressed by what they saw from Larkin in the Czech Republic.
“Very few college players get selected to play in the World Championships,… Detroit assistant GM Ryan Martin said. “He had a very big role with the U.S. at the world juniors. To play against men at the world championships, he represented himself well.
“Since the time we drafted him through Lake Placid and the world juniors, and it continued at Michigan, there continued to be an upward trend in his development and his impact in the game.
“When the season ended at Michigan, Dylan expressed some interest in turning pro. Our message to Dylan was it was his decision. There were positives of turning pro and returning to Michigan. He decided he was ready to turn pro and we support him in his decision.…
Holland sees plenty of upside in Larkin’s game and with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk both aging, the opportunity to add a talented center was something they felt was vital for the future of the team.
“When you’re building a team, you like to be strong down the middle,… Holland said. “We’re very pleased with the year he’s had.
“He can play the power play, penalty kill, four-on-four. He can play in every different situation.
“In the world juniors he had a very good tournament, and was a very important player on the U.S. team. Not a lot of 18-year-olds were selected by USA Hockey to play in the worlds. He’s got another year of eligibility for the world juniors.
“When you put skill level with accomplishments, a year out of being drafted, he’s had a very good year. He’s a very good prospect. I like his determination, his passion. He has the intangibles. He competes, goes to the hard areas. He’s got intangibles as part of his skills.…
Many scouts believe Larkin could be no more than a year away from full-time duty as an NHLer, though there are still aspects of his game that need improvement.
“Like a lot of young players his age, his strength (is an area of weakness),… Martin said. “He has decent strength but he’s still 18. He’s going from the college to the pro game against men. In the near future, he’s in the conference finals in the AHL, which I think is the second-best league in the world. The coaches (in Grand Rapids) plan on playing him.
“It’s going to be a challenge. He’s going to embrace it. It’ll be a barometer of where he needs to be coming into training camp and competing for a spot on the big club.…
Larkin will take part in Detroit’s summer prospect camp and fall prospects tournament before heading to the club’s main training camp in September.
“He’s embraced a number of challenges since we drafted him and he’s developed along the way,… Martin said. “He’s a really complete player, good at a lot of things. He competes in all three zones. He’s a good skater, he’s responsible defensively; he’s productive on offense. He’s reliable and can produce at both ends of the ice.…
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