Very underrated player, always seems to make things happen but is surrounded by sub par players. Getting him on a team with decent line-mates would make his numbers match his talent.
How good is Larkin?
- Thread starter TheOtherOne
- Start date
he has good underlying numbers. on pace for 250 shots, got 232 shots last year. good advanced stats indicate he drives the play.
And I like his skills via the eyetest. will be interesting to see the ceiling for him.
And I like his skills via the eyetest. will be interesting to see the ceiling for him.
I mean ideally you have a top 5 center on your second line if you want to win but we can’t all have that. He’s never going to be a top ten player or anything, but he’s looking to be a 1C for sure. Really excited to see him with Zadina in a year or two.
Larkin is a solid 1C
Non wings fans will catch on and see this over time.
Imagine him on an actual hockey team....
Non wings fans will catch on and see this over time.
Imagine him on an actual hockey team....
Oddbob
Registered User
- Jan 21, 2016
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He is definitely a #1 center in the NHL! There are 30 players who play on the 1st line at each position and not all of them are going to be McDavid, Crosby level. Larkin is much better than people are giving him credit for. He is fast, smart with and without the puck, works hard, wants to be the bus driver, and team leader. He is not a top 10 player, but he is darn good anyways.
He had 63 pts last year while not even being the #1 center as Zetterberg was last year, and with our anemic offense, and this year he is basically a pt a game, again with a very low scoring team. He has also gone to another level in his 2 way play, as he is constantly driving the offense then getting back defensively to help his teammates. His game has improved from last year to this year, and I see him as a guy who can put up 70 pts and provide great 2 way play, which is quite good in today's NHL as far as #1 centers go.
He had 63 pts last year while not even being the #1 center as Zetterberg was last year, and with our anemic offense, and this year he is basically a pt a game, again with a very low scoring team. He has also gone to another level in his 2 way play, as he is constantly driving the offense then getting back defensively to help his teammates. His game has improved from last year to this year, and I see him as a guy who can put up 70 pts and provide great 2 way play, which is quite good in today's NHL as far as #1 centers go.
Conspiracy Theorist
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- Jan 30, 2016
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strandvag
Registered User
Like someone posted here earlier. Would be a 2C on a contending team. 1C on the bottom 15 teams
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He had the most TOI of any forward and that started in October. At least he was a 1B.
ViktorBaeArvidsson
Greenville Swamp Rabbits fan lol
It makes me upset every time I look that Nashville took Fiala over this guy. And I like Fiala, but Larkin is the real deal.
Hes a really good player, but it’s a position in need of an upgrade for the wings to have a successful rebuild. He isn’t a 1C on a cup contender.
CupsOverCash
Registered User
- Jun 16, 2009
- 16,375
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1C in role on the team, probably a league-wide low end 1C/high end 2C. Don't envision him as a 1C on a cup winning team though. Still young and can still move into the upper echelon of 1Cs in the league
Henrik Zetterberg didn't kill penalties. He played the most es minutes and matched up against top lines.
Their ES time and quality of competition was very similar. Larkin played bit less time but faced a bit tougher competition. At the very least they were playing as 1A and 1B.
Cursed Lemon
Registered Bruiser
First of all, his team being bad doesn't really gauge whether or not he's a 1C like you were alluding to in your initial post.
Edmonton is just as bad over that stretch with McDavid. So, I just have no idea what the point of this post was. Him being 1a/1b doesn't change that.
Second, Z played over a minute a game more at even strength
Sorry if there was some miscommunication, that wasn't my point. I think he's a high-end 2C, low-end 1C and still very young with room to grow (he's improved every year). I was originally responding to someone else who was suggesting that he must be a bonafide 1C because his team has been playing well.
OP has one post in this thread. The OP.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
I think he's a legit #1 center. Has all the tools. Depending on how Detroit progresses over the next few years he should be able to routinely hit 75-80 points per season.
Larkin is so underrated. Nobody in the league does more with less than Larkin. Last year he put up 63 points with two 30 point wingers. He is going to put up 70 points this year playing in all situations on a garbage team. He is clearly superior to guys like Kadri and Turris.
TheOtherOne
Registered User
- Jan 2, 2010
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Yup. lol...
Anyway for my second post... thanks for the replies, but I was hoping to see more comparison. I know Larkin well, but I don't pay as much attention to other teams. I'm curious how many teams have Cs better than Larkin. People are calling him a 2C: Do those people say there are 30 better Cs? 40? 50? How many teams would have him as their 1C?
I posted some stats, but I think he's more than his stats because he's such a competitor that it probably rubs off on his teammates. His +/- is not great but that's partly because his team is bad. And he's playing with Mantha who is bad defensively. He's one of the faster players leaguewide which I have to imagine can frustrate opponents.
I don't know what this stuff means but he's:
#29 in CF %rel (#12 if you filter 10+ games)
#27 in FF %rel (#9 if you filter 10+ games)
And guys I'm just posting what I can see, I'm not drawing any opinions or conclusions. I'm trying to get consensus about what he looks like league-wide. Trying to get out of my DRW fan bubble and see if others think he's good, really good, or really really good. Thanks for the discussion.
just off last year stats -
ranked 61st in points for forwards
ranked 23rd in ESP's for forwards
Him and Arvidsson were the only players with more than 50 ESP's with less than 10 PP Points.
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