GM: Won't be easy for Mantha, Larkin to make Red Wings

General manager Ken Holland said today at Joe Louis Arena that 2013 first-round NHL draft pick Anthony Mantha probably doesn't have a realistic chance of making the Detroit Red Wings' roster out of training camp, and 2014 first-round pick Dylan Larkin (Waterford) would have to be one of the team's top 12 forwards to make the team this fall.

Mantha, 20, and Larkin, 18, were among the prospects who headed to Traverse City today for the team's annual development camp.

"Realistically, I think he's going to have to come in -- it's going to be a struggle for him to make the team," Holland said of Mantha. "You gotta come in and take the job. We've probably got 14, 15, 16 forwards that we think, legitimately, are going to be competing for a spot on the team. I'm not even sure if Anthony's in that group.

"Then there's another group of young players -- (Andreas) Athanasiou, (Tomas) Nosek, Mantha -- that we think are going to be Red Wings. Are they going to be Red Wings in September? They gotta come in and knock somebody out of the box."

What about Larkin?

"Same thing," Holland said. "My take on Larkin is he's gotta be in our top 12. Coach (Jeff) Blashill's gotta say to me, as we're putting the team together, 'I want him in the lineup.' He's not going to be a 13th, 14th forward."

Larkin might even have to be a top-nine forward to make the team, because Holland doesn't see a real benefit to having him play eight minutes per game on the fourth line.

"If he comes in and he's a legitimate top-nine forward, then we're going to find a way to get him in the lineup," Holland said. "If he's less than that, then we'll sit down as an organization, decide what the next move is."

Mantha scored 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points in 62 games last season for the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL), after scoring 57 goals and 63 assists for 120 points in 57 games for Val d'Or in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2013-14.

Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano told Fox Sports Detroit in the spring that Mantha's season was "very, very, very disappointing. And I say that with a lot of sadness. Coming out of junior, we had such high hopes for him."

Mantha said today that he needs to show something to the organization at the development camp and be ready "for a fresh new start" in training camp in September.

"It was difficult," Mantha said of last season.

Asked about Devellano's comments, Mantha said: "I didn't really listen to his comments. We were in playoffs."

Mantha did use them as motivation.

"It's part of adversity," Mantha said. "You need build through it and come out stronger. I was telling myself I had the rest of the playoffs to show him wrong. I tried building off that. I had a few good games, a few bad games in playoffs, but that's part of hockey."

Larkin, who turns 19 on July 30, said the past year has been "incredible."

He went from being drafted by the Wings to being named Big Ten freshman of the year at Michigan, after scoring 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points in 35 games. He starred for the U.S. at the world juniors in the middle of his college season and then represented the country again in the world championships this spring. He finished the season with the Griffins, scoring three goals and two assists in six playoff games.

"It's pretty cool," Larkin said of all the positive attention he has received. "But still young. Still have a lot of work to do. I still have a lot of hockey to play.

"Just trying to be here and focusing on development camp, get better for training camp."

Does he think he can make the jump to the Wings?

"I think I want to make the jump," he said. "I signed for a chance to play in the NHL. My time in Grand Rapids, I'm more than comfortable spending time there."

Has he thought about how hard it will be to make the Wings, given the number of forwards in front of him?

"No," he said. "I just kind of worry about myself. I know my game and pretty confident in my game. Just more worried about how I'm going to play."

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.