Red Wings Give Larkin the option of going pro early
The Red Wings apparently are going to let Larkin decide whether he wants to begin his pro career now or later.
Larkin, 18, could leave and immediately play for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League or wait and start fresh in Wings training camp next season.
More at:
http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/decision-time-coming-for-dylan-lar…
I thought someone said here that he would have to jump straight to the NHL if he left now, but apparantly the Wings are saying that he could join the Griffs for their post season run right now if he wants to.
EDIT:
From the comment section at Kukla's Korner, in response to the AHL rule about North American Players not being allowed to play in the AHL until they are 20 years old...
That rule applies to players drafted out of the CHL (OHL, WHL, QMJHL), not college players. And doesn’t care about your nationality, just where you play when you’re drafted.
So apparantly Larkin CAN leave as soon as he chooses.
I really wish the pro leagues required players to earn a degree before they can play.
"Hey, we could have superstar Sidney Crosby playing in the league this year, but he has three more years till he finishes his general studies degree at King's College so I guess we'll just sit and wait patiently"
...
Didn't Mark Zuckerberg have six figure offers when he was a junior in high school or something? I didn't think that was incredibly unusual either.
Not to mention that the rest of the entertainment industry signs kids and teenagers all the time.
Someone post the otter.. a million times, if this happens. And I am a wings fan. Having an underachieving hockey team hurts my soul.
I'm a huge Wings fan too. A much bigger Wings fan than UM Hockey fan, but I think Larkin should stay at least one more year. There's a microscopic chance that he makes the Wings team this fall.
If he does leave UM I'll console myself with the fact that It would be cool to see him get some playing time with Mantha.
Honestly, he's ready for Grand Rapids and going there would advance his career, as much as people want him to stay.
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Thought I read something about North American Players not being allowed to play in AHL unless they were 20 years old.
EDIT:
Edited the original post to clarify the rule in question
http://www.uticacomets.com/constructing-an-ahl-roster/
Looks like you're right. Just sounds like a pointless rule to me. However it says the rule doesn't apply if the Wings give him an amateur tryout.
Edit: Just noticed your edit. Thank you.
See my edit to the original post. I guess that rule doesn't actually apply in this situation.
Every guy develops differently. Max Pacioretty was a star as a freshman and would've been a Hobey contender as a sophomore. He went pro instead, bounced around the minors for a little and now, at 25 or 26, has developed into a legit star and future captain of Les Habs. So, as much as I hope Larkin comes back, going pro may be the best move for him if he can swallow his pride for now and see the long view.
It's really a choice between the Griffins or his sophomore year. There's no way the Wings bring him up for like three or four more years, because their philosophy is basically "lead the AHL in scoring* or be Luke Glendening, or you're never seeing the pros, sucker."
*And even then, we'll keep fucking with you.
Yeah, the Wings are definitely in the habit of overseasoning guys at the AHL level. As an example Athanisiou is probably ready for the NHL right now but is trapped behind all the young guys they've already brought up.
Larkin is gonna be in GR probably a year or two anyways, see Mantha. He can get paid a bit or come back for a sophomore season...hope he's leaning toward the latter.
Even Pulkkinen is having a hard time getting ice time in Detroit, and he's clearly outgrown the AHL.
but I wouldn't say he's ready after playing only 40ish games at the ahl level and just coming back from a broken jaw not too long ago.
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Taking a heavier responsibility for creating on offense (with the loss of Hyman) should certainly help his development, but I'm having a hard time seeing him back for his 3rd year. I'd guess he's here next year, then with the Griffins the following, then FT with the Wings after that
Larkin just finished one of the highest scoring freshman seasons in the entire history of the Red Berenson era, so it's understandable if he doesn't come back.
March 25th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
from Larkin, get bigger stronger, play in the World Juniors again, and hopefully sign after a successful sophomore season.
I think this hockey team has a one-year window because there could be lots of talent graduating and signing in the spring of 2016.
It all depends on his personal preference. Maybe he wants another year of being a college student and enjoying the life. If that's the case, he should stay, and his long-term career path will likely stay the same. But he should strongly consider going pro now....I definitely would. He certainly isn't staying four years to get his degree. He's good enough to play at the AHL level now, and it will do wonders for his development as a player. If he signs now, he can enter unrestricted free agency earlier in his career. He will also stand to make anywhere between 150-180K this year, which he won't ever get back. Not to mention, the entirety of his NHL signing bonus and AHL salary (probably around 475K) would be guaranteed if his career were to derail due to injuries. If he gets injured at Michigan before he signs, he gets nothing except probably a small insurance payout...and that's making the assumption that someone in his family has taken out insurance for him.
Luckily for Larkin, there's not really a bad choice. He can come back to Michigan and be The Man for a season and put up some monster numbers and probably be a Hobey contender, or he could go to GR and play with some other talented youngsters. Hard to criticize either option IMO.
Strictly up to young Mr. Larkin. One can make a good case for either direction. Family finances could play into it. Guarenteed his family spent mucho dinero over the years on his hockey playing. Remember when basketball players could leave for the NBA due to hardship?
One thing for absolute certain, when he gets to the Wings he'll have to change his number