Tonight, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff profiles the Red Wings’ first-round draft pick at last month’s draft in Montreal, one Marco Kasper.
The 6’3,” 183-pound center from Innsbruck, Austria, has already been signed to an entry-level contract, though he’s likely to remain with Rogle BK of the SHL for the upcoming season.
As Duff notes this evening, Kasper spoke with the Wings’ media corps while at last month’s development camp, and he was blunt and honest regarding both the benefits and difficulties of leaving Austria to play in Swedish developmental leagues as a 16-year-old. He’s learned the language, and goes to Swedish high school:
“Yeah, for sure it was a difficult decision to leave home, leave my family, but it’s been I think a good decision to go play in a better league against better competitors,” Kasper said. “That’s why I left home.”
Playing in Sweden has led to significant evolution in his overall game. Much like the NHL, the Swedish League puts a major emphasis on playing the game well on the defensive side of the puck.
“It’s a really structured league,” Kasper said. “Bigger ice, Olympic-sized ice, really good players in that league. It’s definitely hard to play there because of the structure and I’m really focusing on my defensive game.”
Kasper’s maturity as a player led to more responsibility coming his way as Rogle was advancing toward what would ultimately be a victory in the European Champions League.
“We play a fast-paced game, try to get out of our own zone fast, go and get the puck and work in the offensive zone as much as possible and create scoring chances from there,” Kasper said. “It’s been great playing there.”
Continued; Duff attempts to put a timeline on when we might see Kasper at the NHL level. Given that he’s only 18, I think that’s a little bit difficult. I would expect him to play at one or maybe two more seasons in Sweden, and possibly at least a good chunk of a season in Grand Rapids before he earns a spot in the Wings’ lineup…
And that’s all dependent upon how well he plays during his first full SHL season this year with the developmental powerhouse that is Rogle.
As for his ceiling, that’s hard to say, but he’s still growing into his body and will grow as a more offensively-inclined contributor in what Kasper himself stated is a very, very structured game in Sweden. He may not fully blossom until he comes over to North America, frankly, so don’t be stunned if he doesn’t post dominant numbers this upcoming season.
Rogle’s top scorer is gone, I think kasper is going to have a monster year and take a roster spot next year w the wings.