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IT’S TANTAMOUNT TO ASKING which member of the Beatles was the better songwriting genius, Paul McCartney or John Lennon. Rolling Stone magazine posed that question a few years back and bailed by naming the McCartney/Lennon duo second behind Bob Dylan. So for hockey purposes, let’s say Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is Dylan and Detroit’s Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou are Lennon and McCartney.
We’re not going to be Rolling Stone, darn it. We’re going to give you a definitive answer. So who is faster between Detroit Red Wings teammates Larkin and Athanasiou? Our expert panel for this query is the two players in question and their coach, Jeff Blashill.
Larkin: “I don’t know.” (Not real helpful.)
Athanasiou: “(Larkin) might win straight away, but if there were some turns in there, I might be able to get him. He’s a top-notch skater, and I try to keep up with him.” (Getting there, but not good enough.)
Blashill: “Oh, ‘Double A’ is faster than Larkin. I believe that, and that’s not a knock on Larkin, who’s super-fast, but ‘Double A’ has an explosiveness to him that is pretty unparalleled.”
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So there you have it, although, when given a moment to think about it, Athanasiou might have an even more compelling inquiry: “Honestly, what I started thinking about now is, who are two players on a different team who could keep up with both of us?” It’s a good question, but not one Athanasiou has had a lot of time to ponder, because he’s busy doing everything…at warp speed. Ever since he was six and his father, Stanley, would slingshot him down the ice as he learned to skate, Athanasiou has always had a need for speed. When he wasn’t playing hockey, he did track and field and played soccer and basketball, anywhere he could exploit his quick feet. “I always had that fast-twitch growing up,” Athanasiou said. “I just wanted to go fast. I wanted to run fast, I wanted to jump high.”
For someone with such a penchant for quickness, success in the NHL has not been a rapid, linear path for Athanasiou. He enjoyed a major breakout season with the Red Wings in 2018-19, scoring 30 goals and finishing second to Larkin on the Detroit roster in goals and points, but it has been a few years in the making.
There is a real sense in Detroit that better days are on the horizon and, at 25, Athanasiou is a big part of that optimism. Athanasiou pretty much shed the “underrated” tag with his performance last season. It’s clear he can do a lot of good things with the puck at high speed. Now the task is to do it consistently in all areas of the ice and to be known for more than just a guy who blazes around the rink.
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It’s certainly not inconceivable Athanasiou has another level, but that level has to come in the form of a more well-rounded game. Blashill puts Athanasiou in that group of 20-something players on the Wings who are at a crucial point in their careers. “To me, he’s at the age in which young players go from being real good offensive players to really, really, really good winners,” Blashill said. “Learning that 200-foot game to go along with it…I think that’s one of the biggest keys is learning how to produce offense but still playing winning hockey, and that’s not to say that any of (our young players) haven’t done a decent job of that, but that’s the next step for all of them, all of our young players, including ‘Double A.'”
Perhaps taking it down a gear once in a while might be a key to success for Athanasiou. In a pre-season game, Athanasiou sprung himself for a breakaway using his speed (which was good), only to crash into the boards after he scored (not so good). He was a little banged up and missed a couple of exhibition games, but it may have served as a warning that there is sometimes a downside to going that fast.
Blashill acknowledges there is sometimes a “recklessness” to Athanasiou’s speed, something the coach is not about to discourage. “It can get you in trouble a lot of times, too,” Athanasiou said. “It can put you out of position quick. You take too many strides, you get out of that lane. So it’s (about) using your speed at the right time. I think that is what’s most effective. You can’t just fly around the ice at all times. It’s a gift and a curse a little bit. I’ve loved going fast my whole life, but those collisions are at high speed, too. I’m only 25, but it’s been a good 10, 15 years of high-speed collisions happening along the way.”
The Red Wings are smack-dab in the middle of a rebuild and probably won’t be very good this season. Success in Detroit in 2019-20 will be measured by how players such as Larkin, Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi can push the needle upward as players. With a deep prospect pool and what looks like an AHL championship contender in Grand Rapids, the Wings have help on the way.
Athanasiou has one more year on his contract before becoming an RFA with arbitration rights. So it’s a crucial season for Athanasiou to make his case for arbitration or perhaps earn a long-term deal. It will also be a year for him to continue to assert himself as a legitimate impact player in the NHL. “Anyone who watches, they can see,” he said. “I think if you’re good, you’re good. You can only be in the shadows so long. You hear that you’re underrated, whatever, it doesn’t really faze me too much. I know that my game will take care of itself.
“If you’re good, you’re going to be seen no matter what. You can only be hidden for so long.”
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