Dylan Larkin

History

2010-11: Dylan Larkin played for the national champion Belle Tire bantam AAA team in Michigan. He scored 23 goals with 24 assists and had 41 penalty minutes in 30 regular season games. Larkin was one of six Belle Tire players to participate in USA Hockey’s Select 15 Development Camp.

2011-12: Larkin was named team captain for Belle Tire’s U16 team; skating in 27 games before suffering an ankle injury in November that kept him out the rest of the season. He scored 18 goals with 18 assists and 24 penalty minutes. Larkin committed to playing college hockey at the University of Michigan in 2014-15 and was selected for the USA National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor. He was picked by Erie in the 10th round (184th overall) of the 2012 OHL Priority Draft.

2012-13: Larkin skated for USA Hockey’s U17 team in his first season with the NTDP in Ann Arbor. In 55 games he scored 13 goals with 14 assists and had 54 penalty minutes. He had 1 goal with 1 assist in four games as the USA finished first in the 2012 Four Nations Tournament in Switzerland. The USA finished third in the 2013 U17 World Hockey Challenge with Larkin scoring 2 goals with 5 assists in six games. Larkin had 3 goals in four games for the third-place USA squad at the 2013 U17 Five Nations Tournament in Finland. Larkin was a fourth round selection (132nd overall) of Vityaz Podolsk in the 2013 KHL Draft.

2013-14: Larkin returned to Ann Arbor to skate for the National Team Development Program’s U18 squad and was selected to participate in the 2013 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in September 2013. He was the NTDP U18 team’s fourth-leading scorer and was an assistant captain for the USA at the 2014 U18 World Juniors. Larkin scored 31 goals, trailing only team leader Jack Eichel (38), and had 25 assists, finishing +23 with 56 penalty minutes in 60 games for the NTDP team. In six games at the WJC he scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was +3 with 2 penalty minutes. The USA defeated the Czech Republic, 5-2, in the gold medal game. Larkin was ranked 17th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Detroit in the first round (15th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. 

2014-15: Larkin was the second-leading scorer for the University Michigan as a freshman behind senior Zach Hyman (Florida). He scored 15 goals with 32 assists and was +18 with 38 penalty minutes. The Wolverines finished third in the Big Ten Conference, advancing to the league championship game by defeating second-place Michigan State, 4-1,  in the semifinals. Michigan lost to Minnesota, 4-2, in the championship game and did not receive an NCAA tournament bid.

Talent Analysis

Larkin is a fast and offensively skilled, highly-touted forward prospect. He has incredible skating combined with great on-ice vision that aids him in setting up teammates or scoring himself. He works hard and plays a responsible two-way game.

Future

Larkin was one of the top forwards in college hockey as a freshman at the University of Michigan in 2014-15. Playing center for the Wolverines' top scoring line with junior Justin Selman and leading scorer Zach Hyman, Larkin was a key factor in the resurgence of the Michigan program. With three years of college eligibility left, he should continue to improve as he matures physically and becomes more accustomed to the college game. He could be ready for pro hockey before playing all three of those seasons and projects as a center of one of the top two lines in the NHL.