Dylan Larkin-GR.jpg

Red Wings prospect Dylan Larkin (right) transitioned smoothly from level to the next last season, leading some people to believe he might be ready for the NHL this year.

(Hugh Carey | MLive.com)

TRAVERSE CITY - There's not much Dylan Larkin does these days that surprises Jeff Blashill.

Not after all the things the Detroit Red Wings' 2014 first-round draft pick accomplished last season.

Larkin transitioned smoothly from one level to the next last season, never missing a beat while going from college hockey to the World Junior Championship to the World Championship to the American League playoffs without a hitch.

He made it look easy.

So Blashill, the Red Wings new head coach, is eager to see what's next for perhaps the brightest prospect in the organization.

Blashill isn't ready to declare Larkin will compete for a job in Detroit when training camp rolls around in two months, but he didn't sound like somebody who was ruling it out this week during the club's annual development camp.

"Dylan did a real good job when he stepped in for us in the playoffs," said Blashill, who coached Larkin with the Grand Rapids Griffins before replacing Mike Babcock as the Red Wings head coach. "To step in and have the impact he had, he didn't look good as a young player. He was good.

"His impact was good. How close is he? He's certainly close. What does that mean come camp? We'll see. Everybody takes different journeys to the get to the NHL. How quickly those journeys are depends on the player and the work they put in this summer."

The odds are stacked against Larkin opening the season in Detroit given all the established NHL forwards the Red Wings have on the roster. They aren't going to bring Larkin up to be a healthy scratch or fill a checking role.

But Larkin already has surprised many observers in the last 12 months.

He exceeded the expectations of virtually everyone last season, when he was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year for the University of Michigan and represented Team USA -- not once but twice -- before turning pro.

He joined the Griffins for the AHL's Western Conference Finals and in six games scored three goals while assisting on two others before Grand Rapids was eliminated by the Utica Comets.

So, who knows what he's capable of doing this season.

"Obviously, he had an interesting year," Blashill said. "He was one of the elite college freshmen that I've seen in a long time just in terms of his production. He was overshadowed by (Boston University's) Jack Eichel, but his production was phenomenal.

"Then to go to the World Junior, had a huge impact in that. I think went into the World Junior tournament with the thought process that he was a defensive forward, but ultimately, he was very productive. Then to move into the World Championship .. . I thought he did a really good job. You noticed him out there. Again, had a real good impact.

"To go into the final four of the American League playoffs ... there was lots of NHL-caliber players on the ice and again he didn't just look good as a young player and maybe what his potential was going to be. I thought his impact was really good. So, it was a great year for him. But now, what's next?"

According to Larkin, it's getting into the gym to prepare for his first pro season.

He'll play for the Red Wings in his first prospects tournament beginning Sept. 11 before reporting to his first NHL training camp one week later.

Larkin knows he's a long shot to open the season in Detroit and said he'd be perfectly happy spending however much time in Grand Rapids the Red Wings deem necessary.

But Larkin transitioned to the AHL so seamlessly last season that it even caught Blashill off-guard.

"You never know," Blashill said. "You never know how guys are going to step in. What I think helped him was coming off the World Championship and having the confidence of coming off the World Championship and playing in a men's a tournament was a positive thing for him in order to help his adjustment.

"Did it surprise me? Yes. I didn't know for sure how he'd step him. For him to have the impact he had, some of that is opportunity. Tomas Nosek got hurt in Game 2, so he really jumped into a big role right away and did a great job within that role."

-- Download the Detroit Red Wings on MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Follow Ansar Khan and Brendan Savage on Twitter

-- Like MLive's Detroit Red Wings Facebook page