The Athletic’s Max Bultman compiled a mailbag’s worth of reader questions this morning, and among his questions answered is this about Michael Rasmussen:
What’s the long term plan for Rasmussen? The kids a giant, but seems to not get talked about as much as others in the prospect pool. 3rd line C? 4th? Holmstrom 2.0? Just park himself in front of the net?
— SirCywink (@MikeCywink) November 2, 2020
I’d wager there are two reasons Rasmussen doesn’t get talked about a ton. The first is that he missed significant time last season due to a back injury, meaning he wasn’t consistently in headlines or highlight reels. And the second is he’s already spent significant time in the NHL, meaning he doesn’t have the air of mystery about him some prospects do.
But I do think Rasmussen is going to help the Red Wings someday, and possibly quite soon. He’ll need to stay healthy, but he has all the tools to be a weapon on the power play, useful on the penalty kill and a tough-to-play-against, two-way center. Where specifically he slots into the lineup will, of course, depend on how everyone around him develops, too. Still, he should be perfectly capable as a third-line center at even strength, in addition to those special-teams advantages. That’s a valuable player.
You alluded to Tomas Holmstrom, and that’s exactly the comparison TSN’s director of scouting Craig Button made when I asked him for one this spring. For now, Rasmussen has been loaned to Austria, but he should be recalled for Red Wings training camp, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in Detroit before the end of this season if all goes well for him.
Continued (paywall)
I think this was his 1st game in Austria and it appears he was ready or Austria is at a lower level.
Might be a good experience if he can gain some confidence and be ready for the GR or maybe NHL. Probably should have played in GR but he was caught in back to Junior or NHL, then injured. Just hasn’t had enough Ice Time at the right level of Hockey, IMO. Can be a Net Front guy but not “a Bruiser”. Quiet like Frank Mahovolich??