Red Wings' Larkin cracks opening-night roster
Forward Dylan Larkin has weathered the storm and will be on the Detroit Red Wings' opening-night roster, head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed Monday.
"I'd say his play had to be such that he grabbed the job," Blashill said Monday. "I think if he didn't grab the job the easier thing to do would be to put him in (Grand Rapids) and see where we're at and see how his play goes but we just felt - I specifically felt - that he makes us better.
"If a young guy makes our team better and is going to have the opportunity to play enough minutes to make our team better, then he was going to be on the team, whether that was him or somebody else."
Blashill said Larkin will start on line with Zetterberg and Abdelkader in all likelihood.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 5, 2015
Larkin was selected 15th overall in 2014 and had 15 goals and 47 points while playing at the University of Michigan last season. He added three goals and five points for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League in the postseason.