Red Wings debating what to do with Dylan Larkin

Dylan Larkin does not lack for skill, maturity or ambition. Five games of exhibition hockey for the Detroit Red Wings has left the teenager determined to be a superstar.

"I've wanted to be the best player in the world since I was a little kid," Larkin said Saturday. Over the past 10 days he has gotten a taste of what is is like to play against such luminaries as Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, along the way contributing three goals among four points in five games.

"I think I can be right there," Larkin said. "I know it is just preseason, but it was how competitive those guys were, and how they were playing, I think in my career, that is the kind of player I want to be."

Team brass - head coach Jeff Blashill had a closed-door meeting with general manager Ken Holland after Saturday's practices - is determining Larkin's immediate future vis-a-vis Tuesday's submission of the 23-man roster.

"You look at a player like Dylan in two different situations," Blashill said. "One, does he make our team better? Does he make us better than somebody else? And two, what is best for his development as well. Where he would fit into the lineup would play into that decision."

If Larkin isn't playing at least around a dozen minutes in Detroit, he'd be better off as a 20-minute go-to guy in Grand Rapids.

Larkin is up against a numbers crunch. Darren Helm appears on track to return next weekend. So then the forward group would number Helm, Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader, Brad Richards, Tomas Tatar, Johan Franzen, Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening, Drew Miller, Joakim Andersson and Tomas Jurco. Teemu Pulkkinen and Landon Ferraro both need waivers to be sent down, and the Wings do not want to risk losing either. That is 14 forwards right there. Andy Miele and Mitch Callahan also need waivers.

"If it is a numbers game," Blashill said, "it would only be short term. I know Ken is real committed, if a guy deserves to be here, he is going to be here. Dylan has done a good job here, he has had a good camp, now it is our job to decide who are our best 14 forwards to start."

It bears noting that even if Larkin isn't in Detroit opening night, that doesn't mean he won't be a week or month later. Whatever happens by Tuesday, it is not a season-long sentence.

"That is exactly what I would be thinking going down," Larkin said. "There is opportunity all the time. I am not going to pout about it or let it define my season. They would be testing me to see how I would respond, so no matter what happens, just play hockey and have fun."

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Check out our new Red Wings Xtra app on Apple and Android!