Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock, who looks to be taking his coaching talents elsewhere in the very near future, said he was going to the Czech Republic to "see Dylan Larkin play." The 18 yr. old Larkin was drafted 15th-overall by Detroit in the 2014 NHL Draft and is one of two 18 yr. olds selected by Team USA to compete in the 2015 IIHF World Championships. The other one is probable 2015 2nd-overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres, Jack Eichel.
The reason that Babcock had emphasized seeing Larkin is to help determine whether he'll be one of the heirs apparent to the Wings aging stars like Pavel Datsyuk, who will be 37 this year. After dropping Game-7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in this year's playoffs, a disappointed Babcock said, "“Our team’s not as good as it was (back when they won the Stanley Cup.) It’s very evident." Which is to be expected.
But one of the traits of his back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals teams from 2008-09 was the passing of the torch from the likes of Steve Yzerman and Niklas Lidstrom to Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg and Datsyuk. It's questionable as to whether or not he sees that on his club. “Three of our best players are 34, 35, 37," said Babcock referring to their ages, respectively, this year.
“We’ve got lots of good young players, no question about it, and ideally we’ve got some good ones coming,” Babcock said. “But who’s going to replace Pav? I don’t think Pav’s going anywhere right way. But I mean, that’s what you’ve got to do. In the end, you’ve got to have big-time players up the middle and on the back to be successful. So those are questions in our organization that we work towards, drafting good and developing good, but we've been winning too much. That’s the facts.”
That's why he wanted to see Larkin at the Worlds, to find out if Larkin is the answer to the question of "who's going to replace Datsyuk."
It was Babcocks first opportunity to see Larkin having just got over there and with Team USA being off the day before. Larkin, despite not hitting the score sheet (although he did hit a post,) was as advertised. The 6'0" 192 lb. forward has a full-speed, north-south mentality and speed to burn. He can stick handle extremely well and constantly wins battles. He plays a 200' game and isn't afraid of the rough stuff. But don't believe me, this is what U.S. head coach Todd Richards had to say about him, "For me as a coach, the more you watch him, the more you trust him. He's a great skater, has speed and is a committed two-way player, who plays a 200-foot game."
Going into the third period of today's game vs. Slovakia, and with the score tied 4-4 (after a wild second period,) NBCSN's analyst said that Eichel was having a real good game, but Larkin was "fantastic." And he was.
Although both only 18 and competing against world class men for the first time, they're different players. And while they both have a tremendous amount of raw skill, how they unleash it varies.
Don't get me wrong, there's not a team in the league that wouldn't want Dylan Larkin, but if you're looking for a player with supreme on-ice vision who's a wizard with the stick, a player who can set up and score with aplomb--a player with Datsyukian qualities---it's hard not to see it in Jack Eichel.
It has taken Eichel some time to adjust to the competition, not that he's been floundering out there, but he's been slowly taking it all in, seeing how the game unfolds at this level. He circles the ice and/or certain areas at times soaking up the play as it unfolds. If a minute mistake is made by the opposition, he pounces on it with supreme quickness. He has the knack, like Larkin, to spot an opening on the ice as well as the opening with which his teammate can get the puck to him and will be there to collect it.
Both can skate, both can weave through traffic, but Eichel's vision and stickwork gets that puck where it needs to be.
A perfect example is his assist vs. Belarus. He knew where he was at the blueline, knew how he could get it past the Belarus defender without turning it over, knew where to go, who was following him and where his teammate on the far side would be then found an opening before sending a perfect pass for the layup. (1:00-mark)
Thanks to the IIHF for the video.
Today, once again, he drew all Slovakian eyes towards himself on the half-wall and fed a pinching Seth Jones with a cross-ice pass. Jones buried it top-shelf.
And in overtime, with the Americans needing the win to finish first in Group-B, Eichel delivered this beaut:
(thx to cyborgdata for the vid)
Eichel has some pretty strong arms to be able to handle that long twig the way he can. But even though he has Popeye like strength in is forearms, he works that stick like it was a stub. Add it all up and it's a pretty impressive skill-set that Buffalo could be drafting with the 2nd-overall pick next month.
Babcock met with Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula as well as GM Tim Murray on Sunday to see what the Sabres had to offer. They went through the facilities and (presumably) discussed the future and what was in the pipeline. That future was on display in the Czech Republic today for Babcock's personal inspection.
Babcock came "to see Dylan Larkin" but left with the impression of Jack Eichel scoring the OT game-winner for Team USA.
That bodes well for the Sabres as they try to woo him to Buffalo.
Join the Discussion:
»