The Long Game

Thomas Larkin ’09 arrived at the Academy as a 14-year-old who had tasted some success. As one of the better hockey players growing up in a small town north of Milan, Italy, he was scoring goals and coasting along at school.

Exeter proved to be a bit of an adjustment. “The competition was different right away,” Larkin says. “The pace, the academics, everything felt bigger. I realized quickly that this was an opportunity to grow not just as a hockey player, but as a student and as a person.”

He dug in and worked hard. “Thomas Larkin is one of the most special students to come through the hockey program,” says former Big Red hockey coach Dana Barbin, who called the 6-foot-4-inch Larkin Big T. “For as talented as he was, he was that much more of a hard worker.”

He played junior varsity as a prep and set a goal to make varsity his lower year. He made the team and felt on top of the world, only to realize that the varsity required much faster play and attention to detail. He played sparingly as a forward, still searching for his role.

He found it after a conversation with his coach. “I told him, ‘I think you are a defenseman,’” Barbin recalls. “‘Let’s try to move you back to the blue line.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘Let’s roll, Coach.’” The move required humility and trust. And Larkin had to adapt to skating backward, defending under pressure and embracing a role built on discipline. He accepted the challenge.

“He was big and tough, and his compete level was off the charts,” Barbin says. “I think the young man trained 364 days a year and took Christmas Day off.” Larkin acknowledges: “I’m not the most skilled guy — far from it. But I learned how to compete, how to work and how to want it more. That started at Exeter. I’m still so passionate about the place. It really came at a pivotal time in my life and helped shape who I am.”

Two years after switching positions, Larkin caught the attention of college coaches and professional scouts. He was drafted by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets after graduating from Exeter but went on to play at Colgate University, where he was a captain for two years.

“I thought I was ready,” he says of the NHL. “Then you get to the next level and realize, this is bigger than I thought. You have to prove yourself again and again.”

Eventually his career carried him overseas. He spent two seasons in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League before settling in the top professional league in Germany, where he has played for nearly a decade. For more than 15 years, Larkin has pursued a parallel career with Italy’s national team. It began on the junior national circuit while he was a student at Exeter. International play, Larkin says, strips the game down to its essence.

“With the national team, it’s pure,” he says. “It gives me a chance to play with guys that I have known for 20 years. We play for the love of our country and Italian hockey.”

In 2019, when Italy was selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, Larkin faced a decision. His injuries were mounting, and stepping away from the game was a possibility. “I remember thinking, Well, I guess I have to keep playing,” he says. “There was just no way I was missing this opportunity to represent my country in my hometown. In a sense, it gave me a new lease on my career.”

Larkin, now 35 and Italy’s captain for the past four years, will make his Olympic debut and lead his team onto the ice when the Milano Cortina Games begin in February.

“I don’t just play hockey for me, or to put food on my kids’ plates,” he says. “It’s purely for love and passion, and for my family, for my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters. Playing in the Olympics will be something for everyone that’s helped me get to this point. I couldn’t be more excited or more proud to be a part of it.”