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Dylan Larkin and Jack Eichel – A Tale Of Two Rookies

By John Curran

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With every new NHL season comes a myriad of new and exciting things to look forward to. One of the main focal points for hockey fans and analysts every October is to watch and evaluate the highly touted rookies as they try to make a name for themselves in the NHL.

Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings /

Detroit Red Wings

The 2015-16 NHL season features two prominent and well documented rookie players, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres. Both McDavid and Eichel are considered generational-talents who will both undoubtedly improve their respective franchises.

But there’s also another rookie who is already making a name for himself in the early stages of the season, Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings. Despite being drafted a year before McDavid and Eichel, Larkin has broken the mold of Detroit Red Wings’ prospects and has played well enough to be compared to his aforementioned fellow rookies, Jack and Connor.

So for the sake of this article, let’s compare the two American-born players, Eichel and Larkin. My intent is not to prove or debate who the better player is, but to simply give a closer look at what each player has accomplished and what they each bring to the table.

Both Eichel and Larkin had impressive and productive junior careers with the U.S. National Development Team between 2012-2015. The duo played alongside each other several times during this period, including a Bronze-medal winning effort at the 2015 Ice Hockey World Championships.

Let’s start with the second overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, John “Jack” Eichel. The recipient of the 2015 Hobey Baker Award (the first freshman to win it since Paul Kariya in 1993), Eichel played his collegiate hockey at Boston University. In 40 games played at BU Jack tallied 26 goals, 45 assists and earned a plus 51 rating.

Eliteprospects describes Eichel as follows:

"A consistent scoring threat on the ice, Eichel possesses next-level hockey-IQ, an elite-level skill set, and the natural size and work ethic to let him play his role as a scoring power center. All-in-all, Jack Eichel is that uncontainable, dynamic center that can make other players look out of place in his wake."

Listed at 6’2″, 201 lbs, Eichel has already proven that he has what it takes to play in the NHL, even at the tender age of 18 years old. In his first three professional games Jack has netted two goals and has looked at home alongside veteran players such as Matt Moulson and Evander Kane.

Much like Eichel, Dylan Larkin has had an immediate and thrilling impact since making his debut with the Detroit Red Wings this season. Larkin, the 15th overall pick of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, played his college hockey at the University of Michigan where he registered 15 goals, 32 assists and a plus 18 rating in 35 games played.

Here’s what Eliteprospects had to say about Larkin:

"Larkin has shown he can be an elite-level power forward in addition to showing a high level of offensive ability. His ability to take the puck hard to the net allows for unique scoring chances most players would not be able get because of a lack of size and strength."

The Red Wings have Larkin listed at 6’1″, 190lbs on their official roster. Once again, like Jack Eichel, Dylan’s size allows him to fit in and play against men almost twice his own age. Larkin has found a productive home on the Red Wings’ top-line alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader. In three games played Larkin has one goal and three assists.

On paper both Eichel and Larkin look very similar so far in this young NHL season. The two rookies have shared very similar paths in their journey to the NHL. So it’s not surprising that both Larkin and Eichel’s first career NHL goals looked almost identical.

Here’s Eichel’s first goal:

And here’s Larkin’s first:

Both Dylan Larkin and Jack Eichel will continue to be key-players for Buffalo and Detroit for many years to come. It’ll be interesting to see how long Larkin will stay up with the Red Wings once Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm return from their injuries. Jeff Blashill will definitely have some hard choices to make with a full roster of healthy players. If anything, fans of the Red Wings are getting an exciting glimpse into the future of their team.

Next: Detroit's Depth Players Need To Step Up

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