Detroit Red Wings Clips May 25, 2016 Detroit Red Wings PAGE 2 Dylan Larkin named Red Wings top rookie PAGE 3 Detroit Red Wings Jimmy Howard, Gus Nyquist join LPGA Volvik Championship pro-am field PAGE 4 Ken Holland encouraged to see several Red Wings flourish at Worlds PAGE 6 Dylan Larkin unanimous choice as Red Wings rookie of year by DSBA
Dylan Larkin named Red Wings top rookie Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News 12:11 p.m. EDT May 24, 2016 Detroit No suspense for this award. Dylan Larkin was named the Red Wings Rookie of the Year, as selected by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. Larkin, 19, led the Red Wings with 23 goals and finished with 45 points. It was an exciting year for me personally, being able to wear the winged wheel and skate alongside great players who I grew up watching, said Larkin, a Waterford native who played one season at Michigan. Playing for the Red Wings was a dream come true, and I m looking forward to working hard this summer to get better for next season. Larkin was the first teenager to play for the Red Wings since Jiri Hudler in 2003-04 and the first to make the opening night roster since Mike Sillinger in 1990. Larkin is the sixth Red Wings rookie to lead the team in goals. In January, Larkin became just the third Red Wings rookie to be selected to the NHL All- Star Game, joining Steve Yzerman (1984) and Reed Larson (1978). Larkin broke a skills-competition record during All-Star weekend. His 13.172-second lap broke Mike Gartner s record. Larkin represented Team USA at the recent world championship in Russia, scoring nine points (two goals) in 10 games. The DSBA Red Wings Rookie of the Year award dates to the 1948-89 season. Previous winners of the award include current Red Wings Pavel Datsyuk, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, Johan Franzen, Jimmy Howard, Niklas Kronwall, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg. Detroit News LOADED: 05.25.2016 2
Detroit Red Wings Jimmy Howard, Gus Nyquist join LPGA Volvik Championship pro-am field By Justin P. Hicks ANN ARBOR -- A handful of current and former Detroit Red Wings players highlight the field for Wednesday's LPGA Volvik Championship pro-am. Goaltender Jimmy Howard and forward Gustav Nyquist were two of the notable additions announced Tuesday evening at a pairings party at Crisler Center. The pro-am begins at 7 a.m. Wednesday at Travis Pointe Country Club, with the final tee times scheduled for 2 p.m. Each of the 51 groupings will feature one pro golfer on holes 1-9, and a different pro on holes 10-18. Howard's foursome, which tees off at 7:20 a.m., will be accompanied by LPGA pro Caroline Hedwall on the front nine, and Inbee Park on the back nine. Nyquist's group tees off at 7:50 a.m. and will be accompanied by golf pros Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer. The duo joins former Red Wings players Mickey Redmond and Joe Kocur on the participants list, as well as longtime play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels. Other notable participants include former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr, former Michigan football play-by-play announcer Frank Beckman, and NBA color commentator Greg Kelser. Ticket prices for Wednesday's pro-am are $10 for grounds access and $20 for clubhouse access. The inaugural LPGA Volvik Championship begins Thursday and runs through Sunday at Travis Pointe. Justin P. Hicks is a sports reporter and storyteller for MLive / The Ann Arbor News. If you have a unique story you'd like to share, you can reach me at jhicks3@mlive.com. I'm also on Twitter, Facebook and MLive. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.25.2016 3
Ken Holland encouraged to see several Red Wings flourish at Worlds By Ansar Khan DETROIT Several Detroit Red Wings who either struggled late in the season or were banged up or scratched from the lineup performed well at the World Championship. It was encouraging for general manager Ken Holland. Alexey Marchenko led the bronze medal-winning Russian team in plus-minus rating. Dylan Larkin tied for Team USA's lead in points. Sweden's Gustav Nyquist tied for the tournament lead in goals. Tomas Jurco led Slovakia in points and tied for the team lead in goals. They didn't face the stiffest competition, but it was valuable experience on the world stage. "A big part of player development is experiencing a lot of different things," Holland said. "Two years in a row Larkin has been on Team USA and they played their way into the top four (winning bronze in 2015 and losing in bronze-medal game in 2016). It's a fabulous experience for these young players in their development." It was the 19-year-old Larkin's second World Championship, and he took a big step. After picking up one point (an assist) in 10 games in 2015, Larkin put up nine points (two goals, seven assists) this year, tying for the team lead with Auston Matthews, who is certain to be the top pick in next month's draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Holland and coach Jeff Blashill were happy to see Larkin playing center. With Pavel Datsyuk likely to announce in a few weeks that he is returning to Russia, the Red Wings will have a void at center. They hope Larkin can fill it. "He was a center (before joining the Red Wings), we put him on the wing to reduce his responsibility," Holland said. "He was an important player on their team. He played with determination, tenacity. He went from the fourth line (at last year's Worlds) to the top six. It was a big step in his development." Larkin seemed re-energized after the grind of his first NHL season appeared to take its toll. He had five goals and eight points in his final 29 games and one point (a goal) in five playoff games. It was a season-long struggle for Nyquist, whose production dipped from 27 goals and 54 points to 17 goals and 43 points, in part due to an ineffective power play. He had seven goals, tying Finland's Patrik Laine (projected as the second overall pick to the Winnipeg Jets at the draft), and eight points in eight games. "Happy he scored some goals," Holland said. "I don't think the Swedes were overly deep with NHL players. Nyquist was one of their go-to guys. That's part of his role that he brings to the table wherever he plays." Marchenko missed the final two games of the Tampa Bay series; he didn't feel well after having his head banged into the glass in Game 3. But he played all 10 games at the 4
Worlds, leading Russia with a plus-12 rating and chipping in three points (goal, two assists). "Jiri Fischer (the Red Wings director of player development, who attended the tournament) thought he played solid, was strong for the Russians," Holland said." His strengths are to be good defensively, transition pucks to forwards. What he brings to the table he did well." Jurco, a healthy scratch in 11 of the final 13 regular season games and all five playoff games, had two goals and five points in seven games for Slovakia. "All in all he had a good tournament," Holland said. Teemu Pulkkinen started strong for Finland he had two goals in an exhibition and played regularly in the first few games. But he didn't play in the final five games, watching a couple of them from the bench including the 2-0 loss to Canada in the gold-medal game. Holland said he didn't know if Pulkkinen was nursing an injury. There have been conflicting reports. "Part of it was Finland had more pros, lots of players from the KHL," Holland said. "The Finland program is highly regarded. Little disappointed Pulkkinen couldn't have played his way into a bigger role on Finland." Pavel Datsyuk, who didn't record a point in the five playoff games, had 11 points (goal, 10 assists) in 10 games. That's encouraging for the Russian team he is expected to join next season, likely SKA St. Petersburg. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.25.2016 5
Dylan Larkin unanimous choice as Red Wings rookie of year by DSBA Ansar Khan May 24, 2016 DETROIT Dylan Larkin made quite an impact during his first season with the Detroit Red Wings. It was no surprise that he was the unanimous selection as the team's rookie of the year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. Larkin led the team with 23 goals and finished third with 45 points, four behind team leader Henrik Zetterberg. Larkin became the sixth rookie to lead the team in goals, the first since Dale McCourt in 1979-80. He tallied the most goals by a Red Wings rookie since Sergei Fedorov in 1990-91 (31) and the most points by a first-year Red Wing since Nicklas Lidstrom in 1991-92 (60). Among NHL rookies, Larkin tied for third in goals, was 11th in assists, sixth in points, tied for fifth in plus-minus rating (plus-11) and tied for second in game-winning goals (five). The 19-year-old Larkin was the first teenager to play for the team since Jiri Hudler in 2003-04 and the first to crack the opening night lineup since Mike Sillinger in 1990. "It was an exciting year for me personally, being able to wear the winged wheel and skate alongside great players who I grew up watching," Larkin said in a statement. "I'd like to thank the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association for this honor and to the fans of Hockeytown for all the support this season. Playing for the Red Wings was a dream come true, and I'm looking forward to working hard this summer to get better for next season." The grind of the 82-game season seemed to catch up to Larkin, which often happens with players not accustomed to the NHL grind. He had 18 goals and 37 points in his first 51 games, through Feb. 6. He had five goals and eight points in his final 29 games. But he played well at the World Championship for Team USA, tying Auston Matthews for the team scoring lead with eight points. Larkin also became just the third Red Wings rookie to be selected to the NHL All-Star Game, joining Steve Yzerman (1984) and Reed Larson (1978). Larkin broke a skillscompetition record that had stood since before he was born, as his 13.172 lap time in the NHL's fastest skater competition bested Mike Gartner's record from the 1996 NHL All-Star Weekend. Michigan Live LOADED: 05.25.2016 6