This afternoon MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo, who attended Boston University this past season:
Kotkansalo, who participated in the Red Wings development camp last month at Little Caesars Arena, is working on his skating and agility.
“I think my speed is all right,” Kotkansalo said. “I just think agility-wise, I’m not consuming that much when I’m skating, my edge work. I think I can shake forwards off better if I can skate better.
“We did that PEP (Power Edge Pro) stuff, stuff like that I really need to work on this summer. We’re getting some good keys to do that so hopefully get better at it.”
Kotkansalo also possesses some leadership qualities that appeal to the Red Wings.
“When he went to Switzerland and played for Finland’s under-19 team, he wore the captaincy,” Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright said. “He’s a good leader, a good skater, showed a little bit more offense than we saw in the USHL.”
