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Larkin just keeps turning heads |
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Here’s all you need to know to understand what Dylan Larkin is all about, what makes the Detroit Red Wings’ teen sensation tick.
The Wings returned home from a successful 5-1 road trip earlier this month. Larkin, like most teens, was mesmerized with delight as he watched a video on his smartphone.
Closer examination revealed that it was a GIF of himself, but before you go thinking ego has taken hold of the kid, hold on for the rest of the story.
He wasn’t watching his highlight-reel breakaway goal against New Jersey’s Corey Schneider, a devastating deke move that could easily be the goal of the year in the NHL.
No, Larkin was grinning with satisfaction at the spectacular close-in pass he slipped to set up Danny DeKeyser for an overtime winner in Arizona.
The latest bonus of what’s been an incredible ride for Larkin arrived this weekend, as he’ll be the first Red Wings rookie since Steve Yzerman to participate in the NHL All-Star Game.
While he might have enjoyed a rest, Larkin instead intends to enjoy himself during this weekend’s all-star festivities in Nashville.
“It’s more hockey, so I won’t get a break but it’ll be a good time,” Larkin said.
His veteran teammates were happy to see Larkin draw some recognition on the national stage.
“It’s great for him,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “I think he deserved it.”
The 19-year-old forward leads the Red Wings with 15 goals and shares the team lead in points at 33 with Zetterberg and while people might be expecting the kid to hit the proverbial wall anytime soon, Larkin isn’t at all concerned about it, pointing out he played 90 games two seasons ago.
“It’s hockey,” Larkin said. “I love doing it, so it’s not a grind at all. I like the winter and I like Detroit, it doesn’t get depressing being in Detroit in January and February, it’s just hockey to me, so I enjoy doing it.”
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill is another who doesn’t buy into the wall theory.
“Lots of people talk about the wall and the NHL schedule is certainly difficult and can be a grind for sure, whether you played college or junior or any of that,” Blashill said. “I don’t believe in the wall. I think if you allow yourself to hit a wall, you hit a wall, but I don’t believe it has to happen.
“I look at what Dylan did last year. If you think about the experience he went through last year – playing college hockey as a freshman (at Michigan), playing in the world junior tournament (for the United States), finishing his year, having to make an extremely difficult life decision, playing in the worlds, coming to Grand Rapids and playing in the (AHL Calder Cup) playoffs – there isn’t going to be a more excruciating year than that.
“Those are a lot of difficult things. I’ve been on world junior staffs. They take a lot out of you. You’re away from your family at Christmas.
“I don’t worry necessarily about Dylan hitting a wall. I think he’s got to be like every other guy. We’ve got to pound away every day to get better. We’ve got to expect ourselves to get better every single day and if you do that you’re going to be better at the end of the year.”
The Wings are careful not to put Larkin in a different category than any of his more experienced teammates, insisting he’s in the NHL for one reason, and that’s because he earned it. If they didn’t think he could do the job or weren’t happy with the way he was progressing, Larkin would have been sent down like any other player.
“A couple of things (about Larkin),” Blashill explained. “One, I'd say I didn't know exactly where he'd be at, point-wise. That's certainly hard to say. He's got a strong stick and he finds his way to winning puck battles. I think there's moments that he needed to be much better defensively, much better in terms of paying attention to detail. So that's something he's going to have to concentrate on.
“As he has offensive success, not letting his game get loose, making sure he does a good job in all the little things, making sure that he's on the same page with the other four guys on the ice.”
Playing frequently alongside Zetterberg and occasionally with Pavel Datsyuk, Larkin’s been exposed to a pair of terrific role models regarding what it takes to be a high-end skill player and yet still bring a 200-foot game to the ice.
“I think playing with good players helps a ton,” Larkin said. “Every night they’re going to produce. You just have to be there ready to put pucks away.
“It’s been going well. Things are going to start picking up here as teams start pushing for the playoffs, so it’s going to be harder to be consistent.”
The Wings admit that they did their best not to get too excited about Larkin’s play at the start of the season, but as the consistency and the productivity remained ever-present, they couldn’t help but be impressed.
“You don’t know at the start of the year how long it’s going to last,” Detroit forward Brad Richards said. “You hope it’s going to last.
“You see him maybe go a couple games where things aren’t working but he always finds a way to stay out of long, prolonged stretches where he’s not making a difference at creating something.
“Even if he’s not on the scoresheet he seems to be in on forechecks and with his speed creating something for the team or for momentum so he’s been very impressive obviously as a 19-year-old.”
Based on what he’s seen in overtime this season, Datsyuk believes the three-on-three format at the all-star game is perfect for Larkin’s particular skill set.
“He skates well, he handles the puck and shoots a lot,” Datsyuk said. “When they have room in the overtime, I think overtime is made for him.”
Larkin will compete in the fastest skater competition during Saturday’s skills competition and his teammates think he’ll be a contender.
“He’s one of our fastest guys except (forward Darren) Helm so he should do some damage there,” Zetterberg said.
It was left to Blashill to sum up what’s been a sensational start for Larkin and to perhaps strike a little fear into the opposition, theorizing that Larkin has only scratched the surface of what he can achieve as an NHLer.
“He’s got a high motor, he’s on the puck lots, he’s dynamic when he gets the puck because he’s such a good skater, and he can make plays going full speed that most other people can’t,” Blashill said.
“I think there's even better there but he's certainly been a real good player for us.”
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