3 6 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS DAVID E.^ KLUTHOHE FIRST TIME Red Wings captain
Dylan Larkin played in Detroit’s
NHL arena, he forgot his jersey.
The mistake didn’t make national
news. He was, after all, only
10 years old and a member of the
Lakeland Hawks, who were playing
the Kensington Valley Rebels in the
state finals.
“They ended up beating us,” Larkin says. “I had to
wear someone else’s jersey. And I was so nervous I
don’t think I played that well. But it was such a cool
experience. I’ll never forget how good the ice was.”
Larkin, 25, grew up in Waterford Township, Mich.,
a 45-minute drive from the Wings’ then home,
Joe Louis Arena. That’s why Detroit’s previous two
Stanley Cup wins, in 2002 and ’08, are not just lofty
standards for Larkin, but sources of fond memories. He
recalls wear-your-jersey-to-school day and getting nights
off from homework when the Wings were in the finals.
In an era in which athletes rarely come up playing
for the teams they loved as kids, Larkin has managed
to do something even more impressive, spending hisThese stars are
trying to put their
birthplaces on top.Detroit’s Dylan Larkin
wants to bring Hockeytown
back to glory. By Sam page
Don’t
Stop
Believin’
TT
Heroes
in the making