The Athletic’s Max Bultman wrote a lengthy article in which The Athletic’s scribes determined their Top 25 Detroit athletes under 25 years of age.
Dylan Larkin finished #1, Filip Zadina finished #4, Anthony Mantha was tied for #5, Michael Rasmussen came in at #10, Andreas Athanasiou ranked #15, Filip Hronek came in at #17, Joe Veleno finished in a tie for #20, and Dennis Cholowski finished at #25.
Craig Custance also penned an in-depth interview with Dylan Larkin as The Athletic’s “lead” for today:
“I want to be the guy like Nathan MacKinnon who helps the team get there. We have a group of players who can be better than their young core of players,” Larkin said in comparing the Red Wings to the Avalanche.
How does that happen?
“You have to get better in every aspect,” Larkin said. “(MacKinnon is) explosive offensively. That’s where I can improve. Where we’re down or up by a goal and be the guy. He most definitely was.”
As he talks, Larkin is sitting in the family lounge overlooking the practice ice at Little Caesars Arena. You can tell, as the talk extends, he’s getting antsy. It’s the middle of the summer and he has a film session at the top of the hour. He’s hitting the ice after that for some informal training with teammates. You don’t get better by talking about it.
“I’ve been skating for three or four weeks now,” he said, explaining a bit of a shift in his typical summer schedule. He allowed himself more time to rest this summer than in the past. “This year, a full month. It’s been great. That mental side of it, just to get away a little bit and rest.”
The interview continues (paywall)…
