What's Up With Dylan Larkin?

[DatsMagic]

A couple weeks ago I wasn't even sure he would hit 50 points this season. Now I say he probably ends up with around 60.

 

[newfy]

I think people forget that IF Larkin were the #1C on a contender, he would have a really damn good winger to play with. How many assists would he have on a line and top PP unit with a guy like Pastrnak, Kucherov, Ovechkin? It's a shame we can't look at a parallel universe to find out.

Hopefully wont need to much longer if the lottery balls fall right and he gets his elite winger. But youre right, a rookie Zadina and Bertuzzi are both solid players but theyre definitely not contenders top liners. I think they both could be eventally. Bertuzzi on a line with someone like Larkin and LAfreniere could be a first line and he does all the dirty work. In a couple years Zadina could definitely be a top line winger but neither are there right now. And with that being in context it makes his season last year even more impressive

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

We should have drafted David Pastrnak. He is clearly the better player and we would be in a much better spot with him over Larkin.

 

[TCNorthstars]

We should have drafted David Pastrnak. He is clearly the better player and we would be in a much better spot with him over Larkin.

duh! Plus Pasta is a way better nickname. And he does better commercials. "Hey ref, check your phone you missed a few calls"

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

duh! Plus Pasta is a way better nickname. And he does better commercials. "Hey ref, check your phone you missed a few calls"

Who cares about all that extra stuff. Pastrnak is the better player and if Larkin wasn't from Michigan and crowned as the heir apparent to the "C" this narrative would be more popular. But "He doesn't hide from the media, good locker room guy" is the talk instead.....

 

[TCNorthstars]

Who cares about all that extra stuff. Pastrnak is the better player and if Larkin wasn't from Michigan and crowned as the heir apparent to the "C" this narrative would be more popular. But "He doesn't hide from the media, good locker room guy" is the talk instead.....

My bad, I thought you were trying to be funny.

 

[Frk It]

We should have drafted David Pastrnak. He is clearly the better player and we would be in a much better spot with him over Larkin.

Instead of appreciating that he’s better than at least half the people taken ahead of him you choose to look at it like this...?

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Instead of appreciating that he’s better than at least half the people taken ahead of him you choose to look at it like this...?

Any draft pick is better than 99.9% of the human population in hockey. Draft do-over we aren't taking Larkin is my point...

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

My bad, I thought you were trying to be funny.

No. Nothing is funny about the state of the team...

 

[JMath]

We should have drafted David Pastrnak. He is clearly the better player and we would be in a much better spot with him over Larkin.

Yeah, we should have drafted Brayden Point in the 3rd that year too.

I'm sure if we went back and analyzed all of the drafts over the last 10 years we could find a lot of 'should have's'. Most will probably much worse comparables than Larkin/Pasta

 

[nhlisawesome]

We should have drafted David Pastrnak. He is clearly the better player and we would be in a much better spot with him over Larkin.

Agreed completely. Pastarnak's a legit stud and game changer. What we honestly need right now over anything else is a no bullshit no excuse goal scorer who puts the puck in the net. Larkin is too focused on the old style of play which Babcock made Datsyuk and Z high caliber 2 way players. Larkin isn't nearly as skilled as those 2 guys so he just ends up wasting his effort as a half assed '2 way' guy who can't really score and isn't all that great defensively either. Don't get me wrong, the efforts there from Larkin but he just doesn't have that highend skill.

 

[Bench]

Instead of appreciating that he’s better than at least half the people taken ahead of him you choose to look at it like this...?

I don't know why we didn't just draft Kucherov, Josi, and Pasta. Could have had all three. It's so easy, wake up sheeple!

 

[Larkin2AA]

Any draft pick is better than 99.9% of the human population in hockey. Draft do-over we aren't taking Larkin is my point...

Pasta is playing on a Stanley Cup contender. Larkin is playing on the worst team in the NHL. I am fine with you believing Pasta is the better player, but lets not act like Larkin was a bad pick. Larkin hasn't even reached his full potential.

 

[Bench]

Any draft pick is better than 99.9% of the human population in hockey. Draft do-over we aren't taking Larkin is my point...

In your theoretical do-over draft, you'd need the #2 overall pick to land Pasta. The entire league was sleeping on this kid. The Bruins don't take him if they have a top 10 pick either.

 

[wingfan]

Any draft pick is better than 99.9% of the human population in hockey. Draft do-over we aren't taking Larkin is my point...

That 2014 draft is looking more and more like hot garbage. You do a draft re-do, Larkin's probly going 5-8 so we're probly looking more at someone like Vrana, Tuch or Kasperi Kapanen at 15 than Larkin or Pasta..

 

[Hen Kolland]

In your theoretical do-over draft, you'd need the #2 overall pick to land Pasta. The entire league was sleeping on this kid. The Bruins don't take him if they have a top 10 pick either.

No, Bench, only the Red Wings can redraft and select Pasta. And Dylan Larkin goes undrafted because the Michigan native and captain-like qualities are a false narrative created by Ken Holland to lull the fan base into a state of blind faith to cover up his systematic attempt to destroy the foundation of winning that he also helped build and maintain...until he decided to be super petty and destroy it after finding out that Yzerman was going to force him out of his job.

These are the facts.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

That 2014 draft is looking more and more like hot garbage. You do a draft re-do, Larkin's probly going 5-8 so we're probly looking more at someone like Vrana, Tuch or Kasperi Kapanen at 15 than Larkin or Pasta..

I'm saying we had the option for Pastrnak and we didn't take it but no one mentions this.Why?

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

No, Bench, only the Red Wings can redraft and select Pasta. And Dylan Larkin goes undrafted because the Michigan native and captain-like qualities are a false narrative created by Ken Holland to lull the fan base into a state of blind faith to cover up his systematic attempt to destroy the foundation of winning that he also helped build and maintain...until he decided to be super petty and destroy it after finding out that Yzerman was going to force him out of his job.

These are the facts.

Hilarious deflection. Wouldn't expect anything less.....

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Yeah, we should have drafted Brayden Point in the 3rd that year too.

I'm sure if we went back and analyzed all of the drafts over the last 10 years we could find a lot of 'should have's'. Most will probably much worse comparables than Larkin/Pasta

This thread is about Larkin.

 

[Bench]

I'm saying we had the option for Pastrnak and we didn't take it but no one mentions this.Why?

Because over 20 professional scouting departments and NHL managers made the asme mistake. And unless you can point to some kind of evidence that it was known ahead of time Pasta could be the sleeper of the NHL draft... this simply you using the miracle of hindsight.

Here's guys who spend their lives dissecting prospects while also talking to NHL scouts to make their lists.

Bob McKenzie had Pasta at 22. Larkin was at 12.
Christopher Ralph of THW had Pasta at 26. Larkin at 19.
Ryan Kennedy of THN had Pasta at 22. Larkin at 15.
Craig Button of TSN had Pasta at 25, Larkin at 21.
ISS had Larkin at 15. Pasta? Not listed in the top 30.

There's only one guy that actually had Pasta higher than Larkin. Pronman. Although we could give him credit for that part... well... the rest of his rankings are pretty garbage. He had Pasta at 16 and Larkin at 26. So guys he ranked higher than both include some studs like Kevin Fiala, Virtanen, Milano, Vrana, Perlini (Ha!), Fabbri (double ha!). Pronman put Draisaitl at #7. Like that's criminal.

Maybe this will help put into perspective why you coming in here 6 years later with your hindsight wisdom isn't particularly compelling to most of us.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Because over 20 professional scouting departments and NHL managers made the asme mistake. And unless you can point to some kind of evidence that it was known ahead of time Pasta could be the sleeper of the NHL draft... this simply you using the miracle of hindsight.

Here's guys who spend their lives dissecting prospects while also talking to NHL scouts to make their lists.

Bob McKenzie had Pasta at 22. Larkin was at 12.
Christopher Ralph of THW had Pasta at 26. Larkin at 19.
Ryan Kennedy of THN had Pasta at 22. Larkin at 15.
Craig Button of TSN had Pasta at 25, Larkin at 21.
ISS had Larkin at 15. Pasta? Not listed in the top 30.

There's only one guy that actually had Pasta higher than Larkin. Pronman. Although we could give him credit for that part... well... the rest of his rankings are pretty garbage. He had Pasta at 16 and Larkin at 26. So guys he ranked higher than both include some studs like Kevin Fiala, Virtanen, Milano, Vrana, Perlini (Ha!), Fabbri (double ha!). Pronman put Draisaitl at #7. Like that's criminal.

Maybe this will help put into perspective why you coming in here 6 years later with your hindsight wisdom isn't particularly compelling to most of us.

You can call it "hindsight wisdom" all you want but Pastrnak is having an MVP caliber season and Larkin has clearly regressed from only a season ago. Yet he is absolved of any criticism...

 

[Frk It]

I'm saying we had the option for Pastrnak and we didn't take it but no one mentions this.Why?

Getting a player at #15 that would go ~10 spots higher in a re-draft is a win. There are a lot of other picks you could and should criticize before the Larkin pick.

 

[Hen Kolland]

Hilarious deflection. Wouldn't expect anything less.....

It's not a deflection. Anybody who has followed Pasta's career knows he's in the elite class in the NHL, and that he and Draisaitl are in a different tier in the 2014 draft class.

 

[Bench]

You can call it "hindsight wisdom" all you want but Pastrnak is having an MVP caliber season and Larkin has clearly regressed from only a season ago. Yet he is absolved of any criticism...

Wait, what? OK so the Wings should have drafted Pasta. But nobody else thought so at the time, but we know this today. OK. And Pasta is having an MVP year. Larkin is not. And we should criticize Larkin for it! Because he's not as good as Pasta. Yes, he's better than many players taken before him, but he's not as good as the best 2 players in the draft... and... umm...

You might want to look up the term non sequitur. Your statement here is a standout example.

 

[Bench]

Getting a player at #15 that would go ~10 spots higher in a re-draft is a win. There are a lot of other picks you could and should criticize before the Larkin pick.

I'm about to head onto the Senators board and roast them for taking Havlat at 26 in 1999. Sure, he was clearly better than everyone else in the first round not named Sedin, but... could have had Zetterberg at pick 210. And NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT IT. I want accountability now.