Prospect Info: 2022 8OA, Marco Kasper

[ColdToiletSeats]

The more comfortable he gets the better. He's not lazy, I like him.

 

[norrisnick]

Nah, this guy is complete trash. Flailing pathetically, not unlike me trying to play ranked mode Marvel Rivals right now.

Wrong hero shooter. Deadlock is where it's at.

 

[Coach Reggie Dunlop]

Honestly, my expectation for Marco at his best was always 50-60 point player who brings a physical edge. He’s a guy who I think can be very similar to Sam Bennett, nothing that I’ve seen so far indicates he can’t be that. He’s won’t ever be Lucas Raymond but he will be solid roster player.

 

[Henkka]

Now he did get his first 5-on-5 goal. Thought thought the goal was for Larkin, but maybe it touched a bit of his butt or something in front of the net, and it was corrected after the video review.

 

[Retire91]

The NHL is the place for him. he is a smart motivated and talented player. NHL practices and NHL icetime on the 4th line is better for his development than just getting more ice time in a lower skill pool.

 

[Lampedampe]

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It's interesting how Top line went worse with Kasper there.

And 4th line scored the important 2-2 goal, and had instantly more impressive numbers with Veleno and without Kasper.

Sample size, sample size.

Well the sample size is still small, but Raymond-Larkin-Kasper now has a xGF%: 66.67. It's looking abit better now, right?

 

[Ulysses31]

nice seeing kasper getting the "larkin" treatment, the same way larkin got to play wing to Z n datsyuk a decade ago

 

[Snuggs]

Our guy getting the Andrew Copp promo!

It's ok, get them freebies till they flow naturally.

 

[newfy]

The NHL is the place for him. he is a smart motivated and talented player. NHL practices and NHL icetime on the 4th line is better for his development than just getting more ice time in a lower skill pool.

Yep and his goal where Larkin shot it off him (?) shows he has really good habits for a young guy. Not every rookie is crashing the net like that, Kasper is doing it every shift when he gets the chance. He goes to the hard areas and wins a lot of puck battles for a rookie too.

He might be the best forechecker on the team already too. They need the offence to come along but playing with Larkin and Raymond will help with that while helping the team win games

 

[HisNoodliness]

Yep and his goal where Larkin shot it off him (?) shows he has really good habits for a young guy. Not every rookie is crashing the net like that, Kasper is doing it every shift when he gets the chance. He goes to the hard areas and wins a lot of puck battles for a rookie too.

He might be the best forechecker on the team already too. They need the offence to come along but playing with Larkin and Raymond will help with that while helping the team win games

Honestly, this is why having a bit of production matters. There are some guys that have the right habits but rarely produce because they're just not skilled enough. Kasper could be one of those guys. He was creating a lot of solid chances early this year, but nothing was going in. Normally, as frequently as you get robbed on a goal that should have gone in, you should have some garbage bounce in- if you're actually doing what you need to to finish.

Kasper was getting nothing. He was getting robbed all the time with nothing bouncing his way to compensate- that makes you worry that he can't finish. Now he's having his consistently good play create situations where he can get lucky, and finally having that luck come through. He takes a lot of pressure off Larkin and Raymond for puck retrievals and defensive coverage. Add in a bit of production and I'm happy.

 

[Frk It]

I like how even at 20 years old he is showing he can play up and down the lineup. Having a guy with versatility like that I think helps a ton as we continue to fill out the roster. I have liked some of the flashes I have seen from him this year, and I really appreciate his energy/approach to how he plays.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Yep and his goal where Larkin shot it off him (?) shows he has really good habits for a young guy. Not every rookie is crashing the net like that, Kasper is doing it every shift when he gets the chance. He goes to the hard areas and wins a lot of puck battles for a rookie too.

He might be the best forechecker on the team already too. They need the offence to come along but playing with Larkin and Raymond will help with that while helping the team win games

A goal is a goal, whether it makes ESPN's top 10 goals of the week or not. I remember people criticizing Kasper during his draft year because he "only" knew how to get goals by being net front. That's not a negative.

What a lot of people didn't seem to get about Kasper's game from his draft year onward is that being that first person in on the forecheck extends zone time and causes disruption for the other team. It prevents their defense from getting set and creates turnovers that become chances. It's how guys like Kadri, Bennett, Kesler, are/were able to generate their offense.

I like how even at 20 years old he is showing he can play up and down the lineup. Having a guy with versatility like that I think helps a ton as we continue to fill out the roster. I have liked some of the flashes I have seen from him this year, and I really appreciate his energy/approach to how he plays.

Does this mean you're a Kasper stan now? After all these years?

 

[Frk It]

Does this mean you're a Kasper stan now? After all these years?

Maybe went from cold on him to lukewarm.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Maybe went from cold on him to lukewarm.

I know he's no Joakim Kemell or Connor Geekie, (or whomever else you wanted) but I think we did OK for our draft slot.

 

[GarlicbreadTB]

How is Matt Savoie doing lately?

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

How is Matt Savoie doing lately?

Looking like he's going to score 50 points in the AHL. Can't get a cup of coffee in the bigs yet.

 

[RedHawkDown]

I'm not thrilled with his performance but there's nobody else in that draft after him that's better. Overall a quite poor draft. Hopefully Buchelnikov can be that post-1st-round breakout star that we desperately need. We need our own Marchenko/Voronkov//Protas Russian later round steal really bad right now.

Hopefully the last couple of games have given Kasper some confidence and he can string together more points moving forward.

 

[OldnotDeadWings]

The intelligence,, good fundamentals and work rate have always stood out with Marco and that's what allows him to play with anyone, even the team's best players or new position. He's not playing any different now than he was before, he's just playing a different role and probably liking how much easier it is when everyone's eyes are on Larks and Ray. Forecheck disruption, not turning the puck over, going to the net, paying attention defensively are things he can do now and pretty much all he has to do to be useful for them.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

The intelligence,, good fundamentals and work rate have always stood out with Marco and that's what allows him to play with anyone, even the team's best players or new position. He's not playing any different now than he was before, he's just playing a different role and probably liking how much easier it is when everyone's eyes are on Larks and Ray. Forecheck disruption, not turning the puck over, going to the net, paying attention defensively are things he can do now and pretty much all he has to do to be useful for them.

It also allows for the team to have a real second line with DBC and Kane. Even with a slug like Copp as the 2C. (At this point I wouldn't mind Veleno in that spot.)

 

[OldnotDeadWings]

It also allows for the team to have a real second line with DBC and Kane. Even with a slug like Copp as the 2C. (At this point I wouldn't mind Veleno in that spot.)

Exactly, it allows more skill distribution to other lines.. But Copp is playing well lately, I'd leave that line alone for a while.

 

[Frk It]

I know he's no Joakim Kemell or Connor Geekie, (or whomever else you wanted) but I think we did OK for our draft slot.

I am pretty content with Kasper and Danielson. I did like Geekie betyer and still do, but they are having identical seasons this year (pretty funny).

MBN over Hage still bugs me, but maybe eventually I’ll be ok with that.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I am pretty content with Kasper and Danielson. I did like Geekie and still do, but they are having identical seasons.

Hage over MBN still bugs me, but maybe eventually I’ll be ok with that.

Similar seasons doesn't mean similar or same player. Geekie has gone 12 games with 0 goals and 2 assists. Kasper had that long stretch of no points mostly beginning on the team's dead cold streak before Fester got fired. Geekie is on a contender and can't buy a goal.
Kasper brings more than Geekie; way better skater, better puckhandler, way more intensity, and way smarter defensively. I think his foundation is way better as a player and that gives him more to work with. Even if both only turn into 40-50 point guys I'd take Kasper because his intangibles are way better.

 

[Frk It]

Similar seasons doesn't mean similar or same player. Geekie has gone 12 games with 0 goals and 2 assists. Kasper had that long stretch of no points mostly beginning on the team's dead cold streak before Fester got fired. Geekie is on a contender and can't buy a goal.
Kasper brings more than Geekie; way better skater, better puckhandler, way more intensity, and way smarter defensively. I think his foundation is way better as a player and that gives him more to work with. Even if both only turn into 40-50 point guys I'd take Kasper because his intangibles are way better.

I think Geekie has the potential to be a better offensive player, but if he doesn’t reach that I would agree we are better off with Kasper

I just always thought Geekie was a rare combo of size/skill I would roll the dice on. Sometimes those guys work out and sometimes not.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I think Geekie has the potential to be a better offensive player, but if he doesn’t reach that I would agree we are better off with Kasper

I just always thought Geekie was a rare combo of size/skill I would roll the dice on. Sometimes those guys work out and sometimes not.

Geekie might eventually outscore Kasper, but I still think Kasper would be the better overall player to have even if he maxes out as a 50ish point guy. His overall impact is hard to measure but I think the intangibles, physicality, forechecking, defense, seem exponentially better.

 

[jkutswings]

I think Geekie has the potential to be a better offensive player, but if he doesn’t reach that I would agree we are better off with Kasper

I just always thought Geekie was a rare combo of size/skill I would roll the dice on. Sometimes those guys work out and sometimes not.

Geekie might eventually outscore Kasper, but I still think Kasper would be the better overall player to have even if he maxes out as a 50ish point guy. His overall impact is hard to measure but I think the intangibles, physicality, forechecking, defense, seem exponentially better.