Thomas Larkin (ice hockey)

Thomas Larkin (born 31 December 1990)[1] is a British-born Italian ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).[2] Larkin was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 5th round (137th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the first Italian-trained player ever selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Larkin attended Phillips Exeter Academy and then spent four years at Colgate University, where he played for the Raiders ice hockey team, and served as the team's co-captain during his senior season. Internationally, Larkin has represented Italy at the world championships.

Thomas Larkin
Born (1990-12-31) 31 December 1990
London, England, UK
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
DEL team
Former teams		 Schwenninger Wild Wings
Springfield Falcons
Medveščak Zagreb
Adler Mannheim
National team  Italy
NHL Draft 137th overall, 2009
Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

In Larkin's final season at Phillips Exeter Academy he set a school record for most goals and assists by a defenceman in one season (14 and 38, respectively). He also had the school record for most career points by a defenceman (82).[3] Prior to the 2009 NHL Entry Draft Larkin was ranked 87th overall amongst North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. This was an improvement of 59 spots from his place three months prior.[4] He was selected in the fifth round, 137th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, becoming the first Italian-trained player ever chosen in the NHL Entry Draft.[4]

Larkin had an impressive freshman season at Colgate University, playing in 33 games and registering 19 points with 32 minutes in penalties, but his production fell to just 11 points in 41 games played during his sophomore 2010–11 season.[5] Upon completion of his collegiate career, on 5 July 2013, Larkin was signed to a two-year entry level contract by the Columbus Blue Jackets.[6]

At the conclusion of his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets, Larkin was not tendered a new offer and was released to free agency. On 22 August 2015, Larkin signed his first professional European contract, agreeing to a one-year contract with Croatian KHL participants Medveščak Zagreb.[7] He eventually played for the Zagreb team until 16 February 2017 and then was picked up by Adler Mannheim of the German DEL.[8]

On 7 November 2017, Larkin hit Daniel Paille during a match between Swedish club Brynas and Adler Mannheim, resulting in Paille leaving with a severe concussion.[9] Two days after the incident, Larkin apologized on Twitter, writing:

"It wasn’t my intention to cause an injury. I wanted to put pressure on the puck carrier behind the net. I would like to apologize to Daniel Paille and I hope he is back playing soon."[10]

A year later on 29 November 2018, Swedish prosecutor Joakim Johansson indicated that Larkin would be charged with assault for blindsiding Paille.[11]

In the 2018-19 campaign, Larkin captured the German championship with Mannheim, scoring the game winner in overtime of game five in the finals against Munich.[12]

Larkin played seven seasons with Adler Mannheim before leaving as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL on 16 April, 2023.[13]

International play

Larkin competed at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division I, 2012 IIHF World Championship and 2014 IIHF World Championship as a member of the Italy national ice hockey team.

Personal life

Larkin was born in London but grew up in Cocquio-Trevisago, Italy.[14] His father is from Boston, Massachusetts while his mother is from Milan, Italy.[4] When Larkin was four his family moved to Italy; it was there, at age 7, that he first began to play hockey, joining his older brother at the HC Varese's rink.[4] Larkin speaks five languages (English, Italian, French, Spanish and German).[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 Phillips Exeter Academy HS-Prep 281785 —————
2006–07 HC Varese ITA U19 351610 —————
2007–08 Phillips Exeter Academy HS-Prep 296152118 —————
2007–08 HC Varese ITA U19 10000 10002
2008–09 Phillips Exeter Academy HS-Prep 3514385230 —————
2008–09 Boston Little Bruins 18U AAA 1811210 —————
2009–10 Colgate University ECAC 333161932 —————
2010–11 Colgate University ECAC 41561141 —————
2011–12 Colgate University ECAC 374101448 —————
2012–13 Colgate University ECAC 363111455 —————
2012–13 Springfield Falcons AHL 71012 —————
2013–14 Evansville IceMen ECHL 333172060 —————
2013–14 Springfield Falcons AHL 1902248 10000
2014–15 Springfield Falcons AHL 625121789 —————
2015–16 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 3423556 —————
2016–17 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 5823578 —————
2016–17 Adler Mannheim DEL 50114 701110
2017–18 Adler Mannheim DEL 515131828 1020210
2018–19 Adler Mannheim DEL 336111730 1412322
2019–20 Adler Mannheim DEL 2918936 —————
2020–21 Adler Mannheim DEL 354172124 61014
2021–22 Adler Mannheim DEL 506101639 90004
2022–23 Adler Mannheim DEL 492111326 1210114
AHL totals 8861420139 10000
KHL totals 924610134 —————
DEL totals 252247195187 5853864

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Italy WJC18 D1 17th 4 1 2 3 6
2008 Italy WJC18 D1 16th 5 3 0 3 20
2011 Italy WC D1 18th 4 1 0 1 0
2012 Italy WC 15th 7 0 1 1 4
2014 Italy WC 15th 7 0 1 1 4
2016 Italy OGQ DNQ 6 0 1 1 0
2016 Italy WC D1A 17th 5 1 1 2 10
2017 Italy WC 16th 7 0 0 0 4
2018 Italy WC D1A 18th 5 2 0 2 2
2021 Italy OGQ DNQ 3 0 0 0 0
2023 Italy WC D1A 19th 5 5 1 6 2
Junior totals 9 4 2 6 26
Senior totals 49 9 5 14 26

Awards and honors
Award Year
College
All-ECAC Third Team 2011–12
DEL
Champion (Adler Mannheim) 2019 [15]

References
  1. "Thomas Larkin Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  2. "Thomas Larkin (Schwenninger) - Career Stats - Flashscore.com". www.flashscore.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  3. NHL.com (2009). "Thomas Larkin Prospect Card". NHL.com. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  4. Merk, Martin (29 June 2009). "Against the current". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  5. "Columbus Blue Jackets Depth Analysis, Fall 2011". Hockey's Future. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  6. "Blue Jackets sign defenseman Thomas Larkin". Columbus Blue Jackets. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  7. "A great victory for the pre-season" (in Croatian). KHL Medveščak Zagreb. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  8. "ADLER Mannheim". adler-mannheim.de (in German). Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  9. "Sweden charges British-born Italian player for hit on ice". thenewstribune. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  10. "Thomas Larkin on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  11. "Sweden charges British-born Italian player for hit on ice". AP NEWS. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  12. "München wehrt sich nach Kräften, aber Larkin schießt Mannheim in der Overtime erstmals seit 2015 wieder zum Titel". www.eishockeynews.de (in German). Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. "Wild Wings strengthen with Thomas Larkin" (in German). Schwenninger Wild Wings. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  14. Springfield Falcons (14 March 2013). "Falsons sign Larkin to ATO". FalconsAHL.com. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  15. "Adler Mannheim wins DEL". IIHF. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
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