97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield posted an article this morning discussing the Red Wings’ expectations for one Michael Rasmussen. Burchfield suggests that Rasmussen could develop into a Jordan Staal-style two-way center:
Jordan Staal, to put it bluntly, is a beast. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast and he’s more skilled than you might think. You don’t stumble into 1,000-plus games in the NHL, and you don’t put up 575 points by mistake. If Rasmussen ever comes close to those numbers, the Wings would have to be over the moon. Aim high, right?
You can tell Rasmussen has bought into the vision. He was drafted ninth overall in 2017 as a prolific scorer out of the WHL, but his NHL profile will have to be different. Asked at the start of camp how he wants to establish himself this season, Rasmussen, never one to waste words, said, “Earning valuable ice for our team, whether it’s five on five, a big face-off, penalty kill, power play. Anywhere I can help the team, I just want to get that trust.”
Staal has that trust in Carolina. He’s had it for years, and he had it in Pittsburgh before that. He was second among forwards on the first-place Hurricanes last season in ice time (18:29) and the only forward on the team who played at least two minutes per game on both the power play and the penalty kill. He put up 38 points, 14 of which came on the power play, in 58 games. Oh, and he won 58 percent of his face-offs, fifth best in the NHL.
I was not a fan at all of Ras but something has changed.
He seems to be coming out and realizing how to become a NHL player.
Good for him, finally!!