The Free Press’s Helene St. James filed a morning column regarding the maturation of Marco Kasper. The tri-lingual prospect will “make the jump” to North American hockey after two seasons with Rogle BK in Sweden, where Kasper adjusted to playing professional hockey while juggling the demands of completing his high school education outside his native Austria:
Kasper stands to be in for a big change now that he is transitioning to play in North America. Not just the smaller ice surface, but daily practices, games three-to-four times a week, and a demanding travel schedule. Development camp at Little Caesars Arena in early July was a good primer for Kasper to learn how much of an impact nutrition and sleep can make — and to show how far he has come in the year since the Wings drafted him. In fact, there’s an argument for him to slow down a bit.
“He does too much, if that makes sense,” Wings director of player development Dan Cleary said. “He’s wanting more and more and more. It’s like, ‘Kasper, you might have to bring it back a little bit.’ There’s no issue with Kasper’s work ethic and determination. He’s got high character. He’s just a good person.”
Kasper’s drive — along with his skills, skating and hockey sense — are what led general manager Steve Yzerman to select Kasper at No. 8 a year ago. But as with 2021 top pick Simon Edvinsson, Yzerman isn’t going to hand Kasper an NHL job before he is ready. Trading for Alex DeBrincat and Klim Kostin and signing J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong and Christian Fischer stocked the Wings with NHL forwards, and signaled that higher-ups anticipate Kasper starting with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
To Kasper’s advantage, he already is used to playing in a men’s league; before he was recalled to Detroit on March 30, Kasper played 52 games with Rögle BK in his third season in Sweden’s top men’s league, where he posted eight goals, 15 assists — and a team-high 72 penalty minutes.
It was evident in his one NHL game that Kasper isn’t one to shirk from physical confrontation.
“I’m trying not to back down at all and be where the goals are scored,” Kasper said. “There’s going to be scrums and I’m trying to be there and not back down and stand up for myself and my teammates.”
Continued; Kasper might be best-served adjusting to the North American grind by playing a season in Grand Rapids, but he’s very close to being NHL-ready. If there’s a significant injury that affords Kasper the opportunity to jump into the top six, he may steal a job. We’ll see where the pesky forward lines up come September.
