Dylan Larkin Appreciation Thread

[Dabura 12,207]

Dude.

[Dabura 12,207]

4 minutes ago, Dabura said:

Dude.

Translation: "Dylan Larkin is the next Captain and is looking like he could become a legit 1C in this league. This makes me happy."

Discuss.

[Wheelchairsuperhero 1,453]

3 hours ago, Dabura said:

Translation: "Dylan Larkin is the next Captain and is looking like he could become a legit 1C in this league. This makes me happy."

Discuss.

Definitely looks promising at this point. No guarantee, he still needs to take a good step forward. I like our odds though.

 

edit: also honorable shout out to his work ethic. He always looks like he's giving it his all and is really looking to improve.

Edited December 20, 2017 by Wheelchairsuperhero

[Dabura 12,207]

They see me Larkin. They hatin'.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

55 minutes ago, F.Michael said:

For all the hype...He'll be He's an average NHL'er.

Don't know why you think positivity on Larkin is misplaced. He is doing well and developing well at center in his first full year there. Maybe if you said not elite, fine, but average doesn't fit.

He's 55th in points and that's definitely better than an "average NHL'er". (21 non goalies per rosterX31 teams=651 NHLers) 55th of 651 shouldn't be average in any consideration.

And he's in the top 30 for forwards' ATOI (28th). That's a good sign for him becoming a number 1 center. In terms of icetime, he's already handling the amount of a #1. 

Among the fastest skaters in the league.

Plays PP and PK which is kind of rare and only 3 players have more than his 2 shorthanded goals. (FYI our PP is still 8th despite our struggles, PK is meh at 15th)

(nhl.com stats)

He's doing well.

Edited December 21, 2017 by PavelValerievichDatsyuk

[kliq 3,755]

3 hours ago, F.Michael said:

For all the hype...He'll be He's an average NHL'er.

Come on man, I get you are down on the team, but no need to be over the top. 29 points in 34 games is nowhere near "average". And your comment is not even present tense.

Edited December 21, 2017 by kliq

[chaps80 1,591]

Appreciated. Just shows what happens when you give a promising young player a chance with the big team early, stick with it, and let him develop. He had a down season last year, but it’s all experience he needs to become a future leader on this team.

I just wish Mantha and AA would get the same opportunities. All three of them should never be put anywhere below third line, and that’s if they’re really not working hard. Most of the time they should be on the top two. This team is soooo slow with developing and promoting their own prospects, unless they’re obvious standouts. That was fine in the contending years, but not anymore. 

I

[Wheelchairsuperhero 1,453]

51 minutes ago, chaps80 said:

Appreciated. Just shows what happens when you give a promising young player a chance with the big team early, stick with it, and let him develop. He had a down season last year, but it’s all experience he needs to become a future leader on this team.

I just wish Mantha and AA would get the same opportunities. All three of them should never be put anywhere below third line, and that’s if they’re really not working hard. Most of the time they should be on the top two. This team is soooo slow with developing and promoting their own prospects, unless they’re obvious standouts. That was fine in the contending years, but not anymore. 

I

While I completely agree that AA and Mantha need ice time, it's just a testament to Larkin's work ethic in my opinion. Mantha and AA look invisible at times, but Larkin always has that hustle regardless of whether or not he's putting up points, his drive is evident.

[chaps80 1,591]

1 hour ago, Wheelchairsuperhero said:

While I completely agree that AA and Mantha need ice time, it's just a testament to Larkin's work ethic in my opinion. Mantha and AA look invisible at times, but Larkin always has that hustle regardless of whether or not he's putting up points, his drive is evident.

This is all true. 

They need to ditch some veteran forwards somehow so Blash has no reason not to play Mantha and AA on the top lines. Right now Blash has excuses to toss them elsewhere in the form of those vets. When there is no option to do that and they know they’re counted upon for lots of the offence and must produce (like the way Larkin currently thinks of himself), I think they’ll settle in and have more consistency in the work ethic department.

If they don’t, this team is worse off future wise than we currently think.

Edited December 21, 2017 by chaps80

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

10 hours ago, PavelValerievichDatsyuk said:

Don't know why you think positivity on Larkin is misplaced. He is doing well and developing well at center in his first full year there. Maybe if you said not elite, fine, but average doesn't fit.

He's 55th in points and that's definitely better than an "average NHL'er". (21 non goalies per rosterX31 teams=651 NHLers) 55th of 651 shouldn't be average in any consideration.

And he's in the top 30 for forwards' ATOI (28th). That's a good sign for him becoming a number 1 center. In terms of icetime, he's already handling the amount of a #1. 

Among the fastest skaters in the league.

Plays PP and PK which is kind of rare and only 3 players have more than his 2 shorthanded goals. (FYI our PP is still 8th despite our struggles, PK is meh at 15th)

(nhl.com stats)

He's doing well.

Doing all that and he's only 21 years old.

[krsmith17 7,191]

I appreciate you Dylan.

[LoveMyRedWings56 73]

5 points in his last 2 games all assists our future Captain, Loving Larks more and more.

[Dabura 12,207]

On 12/20/2017 at 9:34 PM, kliq said:

Come on man, I get you are down on the team, but no need to be over the top. 29 points in 34 games is nowhere near "average". And your comment is not even present tense.

Last year he was average. That's fair. By the end of last season, I was pretty down on him.

This year? He's been a revelation.

I'm not at all concerned about the measly five goals, because he's clearly focusing on being a better playmaker and a reliable two-way centerman. And because he's hit about 4,000 posts. He could very easily have 12 goals, puck just hasn't gone in for him. Some of that's probably him needing to make some slight adjustments, as opposed to it being pure bad luck -- but, point is, he's nearly a point-per-game player this season, and that's with about ten fewer goals than he really ought to have. And he's playing on a scoring-challenged basement team. And he's only 21.

[kickazz 5,459]

A few months ago they asked Z about his opinion on Mantha, AA and Larkin. Z sort of brushed off Mantha and AA said they're doing well. But then kept drooling over Larkin saying "Someone who has come a long way that you will notice is Larkin, I think his two-way game has really improved blah blah blah"

At the time I thought Z was overselling the guy too much. I've never seen him talk about a player that way, not even Datsyuk. And he's had his fair share of compliments on Pav.

Now I know what he meant. He called it months ago. Why? Because those players get to watch each other during practice. We're only now getting an "appreciation" for Larkin. But Blash, Z etc saw this coming months ago. And this is exactly why Larkin's ice time has increased. He earned it over that training camp etc. 

Having said all that, I personally would like to see Larkin continue the performance and show it again next year. Once he's done that, he has my faith. I say this because both Nyquist and Tatar gave us 1-2 years of flash then got exposed by the league. I'm cautiously optimistic. 

Edited December 23, 2017 by kickazz