Back on August 6th, I reported that Marco Kasper gave an interview to Krone.at’s Martin Quendler which regrettably remained behind a paywall.
This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff provides a quick peek behind the paywall, framing Kasper’s attempts to rebound from a difficult sophomore season with quotes from Quendler’s article:
“I’m as passionate about ice hockey as if I were 16 years old,” Kasper told the Austrian website Kronen Zeitung.
Following up on a 19-goal, 37-point rookie campaign, Kasper took a pratfall in offensive output. He scored only nine goals and counted 19 points. In separate stretches, he endured 36 games without a goal and 30 straight games without an assist. Kasper’s plus-minus plummeted from a solid plus-one to a dismal minus-20.
To Kasper’s credit, through all the frustration, he kept battling. His 186 hits led the team. He was third on the Red Wings in faceoff win percentage (51.5%), and fourth among Detroit forwards with 51 blocked shots.
It’s easy to forget that Kasper is only 22. He’s still learning, and in his case, learning on the job while competing against the world’s best players.
“I give my best every day,” Kasper said. “Then everything else will fall into place.”
Perhaps it’s Kasper’s character that enables him to ride the rapids of his up-and-down NHL career. He has a knack for remaining on an even keel, coming to the rink with a smile on his face even when it appears that the hockey world is conspiring against him.
Continued; I tend to remain confident that Kasper will rebound because I believe that his preparation and demeanor, learned in no small part from his father and agent, long-time European pro and Olympian Peter Kasper, remain strong.
Kasper’s been mentored by a professional athlete and hockey player his whole life in his dad, and all the reports we all got from Sweden kept on saying over and over again that Kasper played for Rogle BK like a professional athlete from 2020 to 2023, earning a spot on the men’s team before he finished high school.
Kasper has suffered an assortment of unlucky knee injuries over the course of his three-ish seasons with Detroit, and while he may not be the second coming of Pavel Datsyuk, I believe that the Kasper of his rookie season is the Kasper that we’re going to see going forward in a player who’s both defensively responsible, very physical and capable of 40+ points.
There are no guarantees in life or hockey, but I believe that Kasper could very well develop into a Valtteri Filppula-like player as he continues to develop over the next couple of years.
Update: The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak happens to have written an article about Marco Kasper’s development this morning:
When the Detroit Red Wings eventually/probably/maybe trade Dylan Larkin, much of the attention will understandably focus on the return package, whether that’s NHL-ready players, prospects, and/or draft picks.
Flying under the radar a bit is the downstream impact on the rest of the Red Wings. And, more specifically, with Marco Kasper.
No player on Detroit’s roster stands to benefit more from Larkin’s departure than the 22-year-old forward. A vacancy in the top six would almost certainly elevate Kasper into a permanent offensive role, giving him the opportunity to capitalize on what projects to be a pivotal season in his development. Here’s why.
On the surface, Kasper’s nine goals and 19 points in 81 contests last year aren’t very encouraging. That said, his underlying numbers offer some hope.
Kasper’s 15.43 expected goals (ixG) at five on five ranked second on the Red Wings, trailing only Alex DeBrincat. On a per 60 basis, Kasper ranked 56th league-wide (0.96 ixG/60) – tied with Mason McTavish, Andrei Svechnikov, and Jimmy Snuggerud.
The reason why this didn’t translate to actual goals: Kasper spent much of the season in Detroit’s bottom six, frequently matching up against opposing checking lines while receiving limited offensive-zone opportunities. Those assignments helped round out his two-way game, but they also suppressed his counting statistics and produced a paltry 6.14 percent shooting percentage.
