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Larkin sophomore struggles no jinx |
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OK, so maybe it isn’t as much fun the second time around.
Dylan Larkin could verify that fact of life.
A sensation as a rookie in 2015-16, Larkin led the Detroit Red Wings with 23 goals.
His second season in the NHL? Well, let’s just say that it hasn’t been sensational.
Larkin currently sits with 12 goals and seven assists through 52 games and is minus-18, the second-worst total on the team.
“I think the biggest thing with Dylan is he’s going through a developmental process that started the second half of last year and has continued this year,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said.
It’s a valid point. Do the math and you’ll note that Larkin’s regression began shortly after the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, where he set a record while winning the fastest skater competition. Larkin posted 8-4-12 totals over the final 32 games of the 2015-16 NHL season and was a minus-13.
“The first half of last year he didn’t hardly make any mistakes and things really went well for him,” said Blashill, who thinks he knows the cause for Larkin’s downturn. “Most of these guys have been afforded the opportunity to go through the learning process in the American League.
“He’s learning it in the NHL.”
Minus the protection of playing on captain Henrik Zetterberg’s wing, and being asked to suck up some of the minutes lost when center Pavel Datsyuk opted out of the last year of his contract and headed home to Russia, Larkin has struggled mightily to play the center position in the NHL, especially on the defensive side of the puck.
“It comes down to the simple basics of stopping,” Blashill said. “We’re trying to train his habits. He’s played his whole life where he didn’t really stop much, he kind of just kept his feet, I wouldn’t say his feet moving, just kind of kept moving.
“Now he’s learning how to stop. Stop in D zone, stop on the puck, stop on players, stop on the defensive side of the puck. Those are habits. They don’t change overnight.
“We’ll continue to try to help train him so that his habits are the habits that are going to make him successful for the next 15 years, not just for one game.”
With so much else to think about, Larkin believes he’s gotten away from the style of play that originally made him an NHL success.
“I think I’ve been working on being a playmaker and trying to make my linemates around me better, but I think I’ve gone away from that shooting mentality that I’ve had since since my first NHL game,” Larkin explained.
He admitted that his lack of offensive production was troubling at the start of the year, but since then he’s sought to put the emphasis into attention to detail on his overall game.
“The way it’s going right now, I’m just trying to focus on doing it the right way,” Larkin said. “It’s about gaining trust, gaining confidence and trying to become a good NHL player that works hard and plays both ends of the ice effectively and eventually can be trusted late in games.”
His coach believes that this approach is beginning to pay dividends for Larkin.
“Let me just go back one thing on Dylan,” Blashill said. “The other thing I’d say is the last two weeks I’ve seen huge improvement in those areas. Although it doesn’t show up necessarily in chances or points all the time, it shows up in earned trust from the coach and it shows up ultimately in that it’ll make him a way better player.”
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