It really started in December.



Even as the Red Wings slumped through New Year’s, falling precipitously in the standings, Dylan Larkin just kept producing. He ran a point streak out to 14 games, and then, even when he lost it, posted 6 more in his next six. In a year that has never been expected to go anywhere for the team, Larkin has continued becoming a budding star for the franchise.



Around him, the team’s supporting cast has made strides, too. Andreas Athanasiou is in the midst of his breakout campaign, already just one goal shy of his career high. Rookie defensemen Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek have made their debuts and flashed glimpses of what they may become. Down the farm system, new faces grow ever closer.



None of it has amounted to much this season, of course. The Red Wings, for any moments of promise, are what they are — a bottom-five team, albeit perhaps minus the typical misery.



But off in the future, something...