Michigan Hockey Pipeline
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Mr. Michigan Himself
Born July 30th, 1996 in Waterford Michigan, Dylan Larkin embodies the very soul of Michigan hockey. Growing up skating in the Metro-Detroit area, Larkin spent most of his minor career with the Detroit Belle Tire team. Progressing from there he skated for USA Hockey’s U17 team, a part of the U.S. National Team Development Program. His highlights there include earning Bronze at the 2013 U17 Five Nations Tournament in Finland, Gold at the 2014 IIHF U18, with 4 points in 6 games, and recording 13 goals and 14 assists in 55 games. From there, Larkin graduated to the collegiate level, making a name for himself as a Michigan Wolverine.
Dylan Larkin’s college career was quick but standout. Staying only season with the Michigan Wolverines, Larkin recorded 15 goals and 32 assists in 35 games played. This was enough to be taken 16th overall in the 1st round of the 2014 NHL Draft by his hometown team, the Detroit Red Wings. He the signed with Detroits farm team, the Grand Rapids Griffin’s, making his professional debut during the Western Conference Finals in 2015. Then in October of 2015 he would be called up to join the Red Wings, thus completing his all Michigan journey in professional hockey. Since then he has further made his presence known in the NHL, and in 2021 he would become the 37th captain in Red Wings franchise history.
Mike Modano is regarded by many as the greatest American-born players to ever grace the sport, and he was born in Livonia and raised in Highland Township. Like Larkin, Modano spent his minor hockey career with a team in Michigan, Little Caesars AAA. Showing early promise and displaying elite speed and shooting, at the age of just 16 he was invited to join the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL. In his first ever game with the Raiders, Modano would score a hat trick, and the very next year he would be selected for WHL All-Star Team. Following his success in the WHL just days after his 18th birthday, Mike Modano would be taken 1st overall, the second American to ever do so, in the 1988 NHL Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. Modano would spend 4 seasons with the North Stars before being traded to the Dallas Stars where he really made a name for himself in the league. In 17 seasons with Dallas, Modano would be selected for 6 all-star teams and lead the Team to a cup victory in 1999. To this day Modano holds the following franchise records for the Dallas Stars, Goals 561, Assists 813, Points 1,374, Playoff Points 145, and Games Played 1,459. In 2010 the Stars announced they would not be resiging Modano, so Modano became a free agent and eventually signed a 1 year deal with his hometown team, the Detroit Red Wings. In what would be his final season of proffesional hockey, Modano retired as the all-time highest scoring U.S. born player.
