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Cole Larkin is coming home.
The six-foot-two, 192-pound, right-handed-shooting defenceman, who last played in P.E.I. four and a half years ago, has committed to play for the UPEI Panthers for the 2023-24 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Men’s Hockey Conference campaign.
“I grew up watching the Panthers and to continue playing hockey at such a high level at home in front of my family and friends is going to be surreal,” the 20-year-old son of Calvin Larkin and Tracey Clements of Mermaid told SaltWire in a phone interview.
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Larkin played a year and a half of major under-18 hockey in Charlottetown before joining the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the second half of the 2018-19 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to come back home and play in front of family and friends,” Larkin said. “I haven’t been able to do that since under-18. It’s definitely going to be cool to come play home.”
“I grew up watching the Panthers play and to continue playing hockey at such a high level at home in front of my family and friends is going to be surreal.” – Cole Larkin
Larkin spent 4 ½ years with the Titan and displayed durability, playing in 268 regular-season games and 17 post-season contests.
Larkin also served as team captain of the Titan for the 2022-23 season under general manager and head coach Gordie Dwyer of Stratford.
“Any position you get to be a leader of a team, you learn things and good characteristics,” said Larkin. “Being a leader the past couple of years in Bathurst taught me a lot of things.
“Going through tough times, especially, has helped me grow as a player and a person, and I think I will bring that to UPEI.”
Panthers head coach Forbie MacPherson said Larkin is a player UPEI targeted early in the recruiting process. MacPherson has known Larkin, a former Junior Panther, for several years.
“He carries himself very professionally,” said MacPherson. “He’s a really good teammate.
“Teammates look to him for leadership. We feel after he gets some experience at this level and in our program, he will be a leader within our program as well.”
MacPherson described Larkin as a very reliable defenceman who does a lot of things well. MacPherson added that includes defending, leading the breakout and making a good first pass.
MacPherson added Larkin’s strengths would be on the defensive side of the puck, but the head coach quickly added he’s no slouch offensively and plays a strong two-way game.
“I was always more of a defensive-minded player growing up; a stay-at-home defenceman focused on making a good first pass,” said Larkin. “Over the past few years in junior, I tried to implement more offence into my game.
“I think I’m now more of a two-way defenceman who can play against other teams’ top lines and shut them down. I really take pride in playing good defensively. Overall, I’m probably more of a defensive defenceman.”
MacPherson described Larkin as a player coaches have a lot of confidence and trust in.
“Those are two very strong characteristics that most coaches would say they love in players,” said MacPherson. “When a coach trusts a player to put them on the ice in various situations, it’s a strong compliment.”
Larkin acknowledged he has followed the AUS conference quite a bit in recent years when he started considering it as an option. Larkin understands there will be an adjustment playing against bigger, stronger and older players.
Input
Larkin’s decision to go the university route included input from his family.
“Mostly, my parents and I talked it over and thought it was important to get my degree,” said Larkin, who will study business and has some courses to his credit from his time with the Titan. “I’m looking forward to playing in the AUS, getting my schooling done and then we will see after that.”
Jason Simmonds is a sports editor with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @JpsportsJason.