1a. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke with the media on the draft floor in Montreal on Thursday night, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 6:15 video of the noisy scene:
1b. EDIT/UPDATE: Here’s better sound from the Red Wings’ video of Yzerman speaking with the media:
1c. EDIT/UPDATE: Here’s Draper, per the Red Wings:
2. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler also weighed in on the Red Wings’ first-round pick, suggesting that Detroit is an “overtime loser” for having picked a player they could have taken later in the draft:
RED WINGS SELECT CENTER MARCO KASPER EIGHTH OVERALL IN 2022 NHL DRAFT
… Third-Ranked European Forward Has Played For Sweden’s Rögle BK Since 2020-21 …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today selected center Marco Kasper in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.
Kasper spent the majority of the 2021-22 season playing for Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League, tallying 11 points (7-4-11) and 17 penalty minutes in 46 games. His 11 regular-season points were the most of any under-18 skater in Sweden’s top professional league. The 6-foot-1, 183-pound forward then recorded six points (3-3-6), a plus-four rating and nine penalty minutes in 13 postseason contests as Rögle reached the SHL Semifinals, falling to eventual champion Färjestad in six games. Kasper also helped Rögle clinch its first-ever Champions Hockey League title, notching six points (2-4-6) in 12 appearances during the competition. Additionally, Kasper compiled 13 points (6-7-13) and 10 penalty minutes in 12 games for Rögle’s under-20 squad, along with a goal and two assists in one playoff game with the team. Kasper entered tonight’s draft ranked fifth on NHL’s Central Scouting list among European skaters and third among European forwards.
A native of Innsbruck, Austria, Kasper becomes the highest Austrian-born pick since former Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek, who was selected fifth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. On the international stage, Kasper contributed a pair of assists in seven games for his country at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland. He also captained Austria at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, appearing in two games before the tournament was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Kasper previously represented Austria at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, finishing with one assist in four games.
Prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, Kasper moved to Sweden and joined Rögle, where he was a teammate of Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider. Kasper notched one assist in 10 regular-season games before skating in six playoff contests as Rögle clinched a place in the SHL Final. He also posted two goals in six games for Rögle’s under-20 team and eight points (3-5-8) in seven games on the under-18 circuit. In 2019-20, Kasper made his professional debut in Austria with EC KAC II of the Alps Hockey League, picking up two points (1-1-2) in three games. Kasper also compiled 153 points (45-108-153), a plus-111 rating and 40 penalty minutes in 66 games with EC KAC II’s Under-18 squad from 2017-20, in addition to 30 points (12-18-30) in 16 postseason appearances.
Detroit currently has nine selections for the second day of the 2022 Entry Draft: two in the second round (40th and 52nd overall), one in the third round (72nd), three in the fourth round (104th, 112th and 128th), one in the fifth round (136th) and two in the seventh round (200th and 211th).
Update: Carley Johnston spoke with Kasper as well:
The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Marco Kasper with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
At 8th overall, Red Wings once again go to the SHL: they pick Austrian C Marco Kasper. Speedy, competitive center man playing with Rögle. Was excellent in the playoffs— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) July 8, 2022
This makes tons of sense given that Derek Lalonde is not an NHL head coach, and might need some experience behind the bench in managing the defense. Per the Free Press’s Helene St. James:
The Detroit Red Wings are looking at adding former Wings defenseman Bob Boughner to their new coaching staff.
In an interview with the Free Press on Thursday, Lalonde laid out what he’s looking for as he adds a defense assistant to his coaching staff.
“With that D position, I really would love some big-time experience there,” Lalonde said. “Both playing experience and coaching experience. I did not play in this league; I think there’s huge value in that. I would hope to get a guy of that experience to lean on.”
“Most (teams) aren’t making trades just to make trades,” Yzerman said. “You can do that anywhere. You pick up a phone, texting, you walk across the room — half the time (at the draft) you’re texting the guy sitting at the table next to you.
“It’s not like we just wander around the room kind of looking for somebody, open up the raincoat and sell them a watch or something like that. There is a bit of a plan to it.”
The Wings are expected to be one of the teams that could be active, at the draft or afterward, given their salary cap space ($35.7 million with 15 of 23 players signed to contract) and Yzerman’s desire to see the Wings further improve.
“We watched the positive impact some of our younger guys had this year,” Yzerman said. “We’d like to add to that and continue to move forward.”
But Yzerman would be hesitant about subtracting from that ample cap space, simply by adding a player from another team looking to shed salary for a draft pick.
“We have cap space, but I try to use it wisely because it can disappear in a hurry,” Yzerman said. “We’re looking at teams that have to move players just to be cap compliant to start the season. In those situations, you look at the player and what impact they’re going to have on your team and what they cost. Or you look at other deals potentially where you’re maybe helping someone out, alleviate their cap issues, for various reasons. Maybe you’re getting an asset. Ultimately, I look at both situations, if it’s going to make our team better this season or in the future.”
Hockey Now draft expert Marco D’Amico has projected the Red Wings grabbing [Marco] Kasper at No. 8 in his 2022 NHL mock draft.
But he also says he wouldn’t be surprised if the Columbus Blue Jackets take Kasper at No. 7. Kasper is an Austrian center who plays in Sweden
“This whole thing could go a lot of different ways. You look at all the public lists and they can vary,” Yzerman said.
Historically, draft list differ significantly from team to team. That’s because teams are trying to project what 17- and 18-year players will be like as adults. Last year, Yzerman was able to move up in the first round on his second pick (from Washington). He went to No. 15 and drafted Cossa. But moving up is never easily accomplished at the NHL.
“The only difficulty is finding a partner that wants to,” Yzerman said. “There’s been times we’ve looked to move, whether it be up or bac, but simply couldn’t find anybody that wanted to do it.”
Continued; I like Savoie or Geekie. Who’s your pick?
