The Malik Report

Smart:

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today acquired goaltender Villie Husso from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a third round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/Ff0dGi393z— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 8, 2022

?#TradeCentre ALERT?: Red Wings acquire G Ville Husso from #StLBlues for a 2022 3rd-Round Pick…

Follow every deal in our Trade Tracker – https://t.co/lTl9gr0T6Z#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/gSn6JyDXCQ— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) July 8, 2022

Wow. Big move here. Husso is 27 and was quite good in net for St. Louis this season. Was due to become a UFA next week, but obviously Detroit makes this deal to get exclusive negotiation rights and hammer something out before he hits the open market https://t.co/KIrSVa98ZI— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) July 8, 2022

BREAKING: The #stlblues have traded Ville Husso to the Detroit Redwings in exchange for the 73rd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/TiuhebDmsL— 101 ESPN St. Louis (@101espn) July 8, 2022

Detroit #LGRW announce they’ve acquired pending UFA Ville Husso’s rights from #stlblues for a third-round pick (73rd overall).— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 8, 2022

Red Wings have acquired St. Louis Blues goalie Ville Husso in exchange for a 2022 third-rounder.

Husso is 27 and despite a lackluster playoff performance is coming off a breakout year.

He finished ninth in goals saved above expected (13.5) last season, per @MoneyPuckdotcom— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi) July 8, 2022

Alex Nedeljkovic and Ville Husso would give the @DetroitRedWings one of the best goalie tandems in the East.— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) July 8, 2022

Word is Husso and DET closing in on 3 year, $4.75M AAV contract— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 8, 2022

Ville Husso has an agreement in place to sign with the #redwings, per source.

The goalie market gets thinner.— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 8, 2022

Hearing that it will be a three-year deal for Ville Husso in Detroit.— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 8, 2022

Ville Husso’s three-year deal with #redwings carries a $4.75M AAV.— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 8, 2022

Husso has agreed to an extension with the Red Wings: $4.75 M AAV x three years https://t.co/dxi7qzj32K— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 8, 2022

Signed to Standard Contract
Ville Husso (G) | DET#LGRWhttps://t.co/HWv9fRl799— CapFriendly Transactions (@CF_Transactions) July 8, 2022

So with Husso gone and signed in Detroit, Fleury re-upping in Minny, that leaves Kuemper and Campbell still pending UFAs on the goalie carousel.
New Jersey, Toronto, Edmonton and Washington among teams needing or wanting a goalie … of course there’s also the trade route.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 8, 2022

After acquiring Husso, #LGRW sign him to 3 year $4.75M Cap Hit Deal:

Yr 1 3.75M Salary & 1M Signing Bonus
Yr 2 4.75M Salary
Yr 3 4.75M Salary

Includes 10 team no trade clause all 3 years

Rep’d by Diamond & Gandler ISAhttps://t.co/07Q4xtKDre— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 8, 2022

Husso had a brilliant 1st half in STL last season – wasn’t nearly as good 2nd half and playoffs. But makes for intriguing tandem with Nedeljkovic #RedWings— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) July 8, 2022

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen pretty much closes the book on Red Wings 8th overall 2022 draft pick Marco Kasper with this notebook article regarding Kris Draper and Steve Yzerman’s summation of Kasper’s skill set:

“I also think there’s more skill than what we saw,” said Kris Draper, the Red Wings’ director of amateur scouting. “I think the reason we say that is it’s a 17-year-old kid playing in a really hard league that was still able to produce some pretty good offense. We think it’s a player that has good skill and good hockey sense and a good set of hands and we’ve seen him make plays.”

Kasper seems driven to be successful. Draper watched him play 12 games live and came away impressed with his competitiveness. Draper, the hard-nosed center of the famed Grind Line in his playing days, knows something about competitiveness.

“Every game he played the same,” Draper said. “That’s pretty impressive for a 17-year-old kid.”

Yzerman said Thursday night that no decision has been made about where Kasper will play next season. He wants to discuss it with Kasper.

“He’s really fundamentally sound,” Yzerman said. “Again, I like the way he plays. He
plays very simple. He drives to the net, he’ll drive down the wing. He can take the puck to the net. He’ll also pull up and look for the late guy, or he can find a guy through the seams.”

Continued

Red Wings 8th overall pick Marco Kasper’s father, Peter, played professional hockey, mostly playing in Austria, and the 47-year-old dad spoke with Rogle BK’s website over the course of a really fantastic 4:25 interview (in English). Peter apparently represents his son as his agent, and he helps coach his son as well:

Update: Rogle BK’s SHL team coach, Chris Abbott, and J20 team coach, Max Bohlin, spoke with Rogle’s website as well.

Abbott listens to the Swedish questions but answers in English. I would say that the big takeaway is that it is very likely that Kasper is going to remain with Rogle for another year:

The Free Press’s Helene St. James’ customary 6 AM-published article just hit the internet wires this morning, and today’s missive discusses the Red Wings‘ decision to draft one Marco Kasper with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft:

“We like everything about the way he plays,” Yzerman said Thursday after selecting Kasper at No. 8 overall on the first day of the 2022 NHL draft at Bell Centre. “He has good size, he’s a good skater, he’s got good hockey sense. I think he’s a centerman but I believe he can play anywhere at the three forward positions.

“He’s not super flashy, he just make the right play. He can make a pass, he’s got a good shot, can carry the puck up the ice. He’s not flashy, he’s very efficient. He’s really fundamentally sound. He plays very simple — he drives hard to the net, drives down the wing, can take the puck to the net, and also pull up and look for the late guy. He’s an all-around player.”

Kasper (6 feet 1, 187 pounds) marks the fourth straight year Yzerman has dipped into the European market for his first-round pick, following Germany’s Moritz Seider in 2019 and Swedes Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Kasper left his native Austria at 16 to play in Sweden, where he rose through the ranks with Rögle to play for the top-tier Swedish Hockey League squad. (He also bothered to learn Swedish, even though he could have gotten by with English.) He had 11 points in 46 games in the regular season, six points in 13 playoff games — and also posted two assists at the World Championship. That’s an impressive resume for a teenager competing against men.

“It certainly helped,” Yzerman said. “Our scouts really have liked him all year. In the playoffs in particular, he played very well, and that was really encouraging for us.”

Continued (paywall)…

The Athletic’s Max Bultman will likely take us out late at night on Thursday/early Friday morning, ahead of Day 2 of the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal (11 AM EDT start on the NHL Network and Sportsnet).

Bultman posted an article discussing the Red Wings’ decision to make a solid, if unspectacular pick in a solid, if unspectacular center named Marco Kasper in Montreal Thursday evening, filling a positional need while remaining in their SHL comfort zone:

“I think he’s really fundamentally sound,” [Red Wings GM Steve] Yzerman said. “I like the way he plays. He plays very simple. He drives hard to the net. He’ll drive down the wing. He can take the puck to the net, he’ll also pull up, look for the late guy, or he can find a guy through the seam. I think he’s a good all-around player. He’s a different player than Pavel Datsyuk or whatever, who has all those incredible moves, those guys are unique. But it doesn’t mean he’s not a really skilled guy.”

And if the Red Wings’ assessment of his skill being underrated proves true, then there is a clear path to him being a true top-six center: the biggest missing piece in Detroit’s rebuilding process so far. Since 2017, The Red Wings have used two first-round picks on centers — Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno — but so far, neither looks like he’ll slot into the top half of the lineup on a contender.

That’s left a notable hole behind Dylan Larkin in any long-term projections. And it’s crucial: Recent history has shown a strong 1-2 punch down the middle to be nearly non-negotiable among Stanley Cup champions. The Avalanche this season had Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri; the Lightning the two years previous had Brayden Point and Cirelli (with Steven Stamkos also playing center at various points, but often playing on the wing); St. Louis had Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn before that, and Washington had Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Yzerman said earlier this week the team wouldn’t make its decision based on position — and there’s no reason to believe they did. In fact, he reiterated on Thursday they weren’t necessarily targeting a center. But he acknowledged it was an area that needed to be addressed, and now they have. That’s significant for the Red Wings’ long-term future.

“I like every part of his game,” Yzerman said. “I think he’s a strong skater, I think he moves the puck well, I think he sees the ice well. I really love how hard he competes and drives to the net. So, I wouldn’t really point to one part of his game that I think really stands out. I think he’s good at everything. Good defensive player. Well-rounded player for 18 years old.”

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings 8th overall draft pick Marco Kasper spoke with the media at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal, in English, per the Red Wings…

And in Swedish, per Rogle BK’s website:

Hockey Austria is pumped!

Marco Kasper wurde von den Detroit Red Wings in der ersten Runde des NHL Drafts 2022 an Nummer 8️⃣ ausgewählt. Red Wings General Manager und NHL-Legende Steve Yzerman verlautbarte den Pick des Klagenfurters. pic.twitter.com/Q1WIT2gnu8— ÖEHV (@hockeyaustria) July 8, 2022

The Detroit News’s astute John Niyo posted a column discussing the Red Wings’ takes on 8th overall draft pick Marco Kasper, who Wings GM Steve Yzerman and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper believe has a high ceiling as a two-way center with moxie:

“We think he has underrated skill and we think he has the ability to play in our top six one day,” Yzerman said. “I can’t tell you if it’s next year or the year after, but we have high hopes for him.”

They have a huge need as well, and it’s one that Kasper seems ideally suited to fill in Detroit, where the search for a No. 2 center behind Dylan Larkin remains a top priority.

Kasper’s a do-it-all, two-way forward with a competitive nature that’s almost unmatched in this draft class. Kris Draper, the Wings’ amateur scouting director, described Kasper’s work ethic and compete level as “off the charts.” And at 6-foot-1 and a solid 185 pounds, he plays the game with a persistent tenacity and an aggressive style that should translate well to the smaller NHL rinks.

“I hope so, and I think so, too,” Kasper told reporters in Montreal.

Don’t sleep on the rest of his game, though. Yzerman’s reference to Kasper’s “underrated skill” on the ESPN broadcast sounded a bit intentional Thursday. And when asked about it later, he explained what he meant.

“He’s not super-flashy with backhand toe-drags and all that stuff,” Yzerman said. “He just kind of makes the right play. He can make a pass, he’s got a good shot, he can carry the puck up the ice. He’s not flashy. He’s very efficient.”

Continued (paywall);

Update: The character references continue, per MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Continue reading Niyo, Khan weigh in on Marco Kasper’s upside

There’s already some debate as to where Red Wings 8th overall draft pick Marco Kasper is going to play next season. Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin spoke with Kasper (in Swedish!) about his plans for next season, and, as of the present moment, Kasper plans on heading back to the SHL. Here’s a rough translation of Uffe’s article:

Continue reading Roughly Translated: Initially, anyway, Marco Kasper wants to stay with Rogle

1a. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke with the media on the draft floor in Montreal on Thursday night, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 6:15 video of the noisy scene:

1b. EDIT/UPDATE: Here’s better sound from the Red Wings’ video of Yzerman speaking with the media:

1c. EDIT/UPDATE: Here’s Draper, per the Red Wings:

2. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler also weighed in on the Red Wings’ first-round pick, suggesting that Detroit is an “overtime loser” for having picked a player they could have taken later in the draft:

Continue reading Two (late-night) things: HSJ speaks with Yzerman, Draper about Marco Kasper; Wheeler suggests that Matt Savoie got away

It’s officially official:

RED WINGS SELECT CENTER MARCO KASPER EIGHTH OVERALL IN 2022 NHL DRAFT 

  … Third-Ranked European Forward Has Played For Sweden’s Rögle BK Since 2020-21 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today selected center Marco Kasper in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Kasper spent the majority of the 2021-22 season playing for Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League, tallying 11 points (7-4-11) and 17 penalty minutes in 46 games. His 11 regular-season points were the most of any under-18 skater in Sweden’s top professional league. The 6-foot-1, 183-pound forward then recorded six points (3-3-6), a plus-four rating and nine penalty minutes in 13 postseason contests as Rögle reached the SHL Semifinals, falling to eventual champion Färjestad in six games. Kasper also helped Rögle clinch its first-ever Champions Hockey League title, notching six points (2-4-6) in 12 appearances during the competition. Additionally, Kasper compiled 13 points (6-7-13) and 10 penalty minutes in 12 games for Rögle’s under-20 squad, along with a goal and two assists in one playoff game with the team. Kasper entered tonight’s draft ranked fifth on NHL’s Central Scouting list among European skaters and third among European forwards.

A native of Innsbruck, Austria, Kasper becomes the highest Austrian-born pick since former Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek, who was selected fifth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. On the international stage, Kasper contributed a pair of assists in seven games for his country at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland. He also captained Austria at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, appearing in two games before the tournament was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Kasper previously represented Austria at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, finishing with one assist in four games.

Prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, Kasper moved to Sweden and joined Rögle, where he was a teammate of Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider. Kasper notched one assist in 10 regular-season games before skating in six playoff contests as Rögle clinched a place in the SHL Final. He also posted two goals in six games for Rögle’s under-20 team and eight points (3-5-8) in seven games on the under-18 circuit. In 2019-20, Kasper made his professional debut in Austria with EC KAC II of the Alps Hockey League, picking up two points (1-1-2) in three games. Kasper also compiled 153 points (45-108-153), a plus-111 rating and 40 penalty minutes in 66 games with EC KAC II’s Under-18 squad from 2017-20, in addition to 30 points (12-18-30) in 16 postseason appearances.

Detroit currently has nine selections for the second day of the 2022 Entry Draft: two in the second round (40th and 52nd overall), one in the third round (72nd), three in the fourth round (104th, 112th and 128th), one in the fifth round (136th) and two in the seventh round (200th and 211th).

Update: Carley Johnston spoke with Kasper as well: