Dylan Larkin described his All-Star experience with a neat, tidy explanation.
"Fun. A lot of fun," he said on Monday.
Larkin returned to Detroit for the first Red Wings practice back from the All-Star weekend.
Most of his teammates spent the time on vacation, but they kept an eye on their rookie teammate in Nashville.
"He represents the Red Wings team and he's young, so he has many, many All-Star Games ahead of him. We all wish to him to just keep going on," Pavel Datsyuk said.
The 19-year-old broke Mike Gartner's record in the Fastest Skater Challenge, and registered three assists in the Atlantic Division's win during Game One of the three-on-three All-Star tournament.
Larkin said breaking the record was a "cool thing," and said his veteran All-Star teammates helped him feel like he belonged in the locker room the entire time.
Still, skating a record-breaking lap with the hockey world watching had to make him feel something special, right?
"I mean, I felt like a kid, I guess," he said with a smile.
Jeff Blashill approved of the All-Star Game's three-on-three tournament, and was impressed with Larkin's maturity in the spotlight.
"We all know, having been around, the bright lights can come fast and go just as fast," Blashill said.
"He wants to be a long-term great player, so he's got to continue with the same approach he has, and that's been, I'd say, humble, down-to-earth, and extremely hard-working. If he continues to do that, he'll continue to see those bright lights."
Larkin said his phone blew up over the weekend, and he still hadn't made his way through all of the text messages he'd received.
"This whole year, it seems like once a week I get my phone blown up when something big happens."
Brad Galli is a sports reporter and anchor at WXYZ Detroit. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradGalli
