TORONTO – The first time Auston Matthews came across Dylan Larkin’s radar was at a tryout camp for the U.S. national development team.
He made an immediate impression on his older peers.
“He came in and he was the best player there,” Larkin recalled Friday. “We were looking – because we were (under-)17’s – and we see he’s from Arizona. We were like ‘Who the heck?’
“Arizona Bobcats, I think, is who he played for and we didn’t really know (them). Sure enough the next year he was in Ann Arbor.”
That was the fall of 2013, and it is roughly the same time when Matthews started to realize he could become an elite player. After suffering a broken femur in one of his first games with the USNTDP, Matthews performed so well upon his return that he wound up playing up a year on a team with Larkin that won the world under-18 championship in Finland.
They have each come a long way in a short time.
On Sunday afternoon, Larkin and Matthews will face one another in a regular-season NHL game for the first time when the Detroit Red Wings play the Toronto Maple Leafs outdoors at BMO Field.
They represent the present and future of their organizations.
Matthews leads the Leafs with 18 goals and 30 points through 35 games, putting him on pace to shatter the team’s rookie scoring records. His impressive start is turning heads around the NHL.
“I think I had a good (rookie) year; it’s completely different what he’s doing,” said Larkin. “He’s taking the league by storm. He’s becoming a superstar or he is a superstar (already). I just hope he has an off-game on Sunday.”
Larkin doesn’t seem the least bit surprised by the impact his former teammate has had in Toronto.
Reflecting on their days together in Ann Arbor, there was plenty to suggest that Matthews had a bright future in pro hockey.
“He’s always been special,” said Larkin. “The way he plays the game, his puck possession, he’s hard on pucks, he’s a big body. And he can move and score goals.”
Larkin is roughly 14 months older than Matthews and has since played with him on Team USA at the IIHF World Hockey Championship and Team North America at the World Cup.
After landing on NHL teams that play in the same division, they’re bound to see plenty more of each other in the years ahead.
Larkin had a 23-goal, 45-point rookie campaign a year ago, but is off to a slower start this season with 10 goals and 14 points. The Wings tried playing him at centre earlier on but have since moved him back to the wing.
He was all smiles after getting a chance to practice with his Detroit teammates on the temporary ice surface built at the home of Toronto FC.
“As far as an outdoor game goes, it’s ideal,” said Larkin. “The ice was great. It’s hard, it’s fast.”
He played outdoors in the “Stadium Series” game at Denver’s Coors Field last season and will have plenty of friends and family in attendance here on Sunday.
Larkin’s father, Kevin, grew up a Leafs fan in suburban Toronto.
“I think he’s converted to a Wings fan now,” he said.
The 20-year-old was among the 105,000 in attendance three years ago on New Year’s Day when the Leafs and Red Wings played at Michigan Stadium.
Larkin was still a few months from being drafted by Detroit – his boyhood team – and remembers the excitement in the air at the “Big House” that afternoon.
“It was snowing the whole day and it was cold,” said Larkin. “I remember getting in the stands and we watched about a period and a half and then we went to get hot chocolate. It was sold out. We battled it out until the end of the game, but it was a cold game.”
