From the Detroit Red Wings:
MARCO KASPER NAMED RED WINGS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR BY DETROIT SPORTS MEDIA
… 2022 First-Round Pick Was Tied for Fourth Among NHL Rookies with 19 Goals in 2024-25 …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings forward Marco Kasper has been named the 2024-25 Red Wings Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Media (DSM).
Kasper, 21, skated in 77 games with the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season and ranked among the NHL’s rookie leaders with 19 goals (T4th), 18 assists (8th), 37 points (7th), 34 penalty minutes (T10th), three game-winning goals (T5th), one overtime goal (T3rd) and 145 shots (5th). The 6-foot-1, 197-pound forward recorded the most points by a Red Wings rookie in a single season since Lucas Raymond (23-34-57 in 82 GP) and Moritz Seider (7-43-50 in 82 GP) both reached the 50-point mark in 2021-22. Kasper picked up his first career NHL point with an assist in his season debut on Oct. 19 at Nashville and scored his first career NHL goal on Nov. 15 at Anaheim. He also netted his first career overtime goal on April 11 at Tampa Bay. Kasper (21 years, 3 days) became the fourth-youngest player in Red Wings history at the time of his first career overtime goal, behind Steve Yzerman on Oct. 26, 1983 (18 years, 170 days), Raymond on Nov. 27, 2021 (19 years, 244 days) and Seider on Nov. 6, 2021 (20 years, 214 days).
Originally selected by the Red Wings in the first round (8th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kasper logged two points (1-1-2) and seven penalty minutes in two appearances with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins to begin the 2024-25 campaign. The Innsbruck, Austria, native spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Griffins, recording 35 points (14-21-35), a plus-nine rating and 30 penalty minutes in 71 regular-season games, in addition to seven points (4-3-7) and 14 penalty minutes in nine Calder Cup Playoff matchups. Kasper made his NHL debut as an 18-year-old on April 2, 2023 at Toronto, recording one shot and three hits in 14:59 of ice time.
The DSM Red Wings Rookie of the Year Award dates back to the 1948-49 NHL season. Previous recipients of the award include Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and four Calder Memorial Trophy winners: Seider, Roger Crozier, Glenn Hall and Terry Sawchuk.
Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a few quips from Kasper, taken earlier this season:
“It’s always tough coming into a new team for me, but the guys did a great job of helping me out,” Kasper said after the season. “Good practices, (coaches) talked a lot about how we want to play, how they want me to play, and I think just try to take steps during the year.”
Kasper, the club’s top pick in 2022 (eighth overall), had little impact the first half of the season under coach Derek Lalonde (two goals, five assists, minus-11 in 35 games). His struggles continued his first six games under Todd McLellan (no points, minus-6).
McLellan then moved him to the wing on the top line with Dylan Larkin and later had him centering the second line with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. Kasper’s game flourished.
“I think a lot is just confidence, but also confidence on both sides of the puck,” Kasper said. “I’m trying to play a 200-foot game, doing the right things, battle hard. I think we battled harder and (there was a) bit more intensity in practices.”
General manager Steve Yzerman remains in the market for a top-six forward, a void he’ll try to fill through trade. But Kasper, who turned 20 on April 8, has established himself among the top six. He can center the second line or play on the wing.
“I personally feel like I had a pretty good year, but it’s going to be really hard to come back and do just like that and even improve what I want,” Kasper said. “I always talk about how I’m trying to get better every day. It’s something I’m going to focus on this summer.”
