The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s comments regarding Marco Kasper, who’s an incredibly bright prospect. Kasper hasn’t had the greatest preseason in terms of production, and coach Lalonde isn’t necessarily surprised by that:
Marco Kasper was drafted a year before Danielson, but Kasper’s camp has been one about adjusting to North American pro hockey.
Playing in Sweden last year, against pros, was a good education. But the larger ice surface in Europe, along with the style of play, has made things a little different for Kasper.
“It’s a little different,” Lalonde said. “Adjusting to North American hockey is a little different. There’s some different time and space (situations) probably where he played last year, which I don’t mind from a skill development, but you can see he has a tendency to slow plays down and regroup pucks.
“The turnover that ended up in the back of our net the other night, he tried a behind-the-back, through-the-legs pass to the defenseman for a regroup, which you don’t see very often (in the NHL). It’s a no-no in our league but that is probably a common play with the bigger ice (surface). It’s a little bit of an adjustment and he self-admitted that when we watched a video this morning. But each game he has gotten better, which is a good sign.”
Continued; Kasper does like to “buttonhook” quite a bit and attempt to regroup for better second or third scoring chances, but you can’t do that on 85-foot-wide ice.
He’s got the pluck, skill and bite to make a difference here in North America, but there’s going to be an adjustment period for him, and that’s okay.
