Prospect Info: #8OA, Marco Kasper

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I'm sure Abbot wants Kasper and is gonna plead his case, but Yzerman will just tell him to f*** his hat if he doesnt want him there lol.

I do think he'll just do all the camps in Detroit then head back to Rogle later in their season but its not a guarantee

Yzerman also said in an interview it's up to Kasper as well.


Around the 2:10 mark.

 

[Frk It]

Same here. I’ve maybe been to seemingly harsh on it.

Not a sexy pick. I like me some flair. But obviously there’s something there i’m not seeing.

All aboard the kasper train baby

Yeah, I think I was kind of spoiled with getting Raymond/Edvinsson the last 2 drafts. Those were 2 guys I really really liked.

I think the Kasper pick makes a lot of sense for us. It's kind of like drafting an offensive lineman instead of a WR. You need both, but it's easier to be excited about WRs lol.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Here's some post-selection clips.

 

[Dotter]

"as games got bigger, he got better" - Kris Draper referring to him in the SHL

"we got a little nervous he might not be there at 8th [overall]" Kris Draper

- Draper said they did not speak to Seider or Edvinsson about Kasper. Kronwall and the Abbott brothers are the guys keeping them in the loop.

- They saw him play a lot because they check in on Wallinder (who plays for Rogle).

- There is more skill there than we saw; he was a 17 year old playing in a real tough league.

- he has good skill, good sense, and good hands. His compete and tenacity is consistent.

- he is going to play center

 

[Henkka]

Kasper, Niederbach, Wallinder... veru interesting Rögle season coming.

 

[Retire91]

For sure. If this is our center depth chart in 2 years, we're bringing home several cups

23 1st
Larkin
Kasper
Veleno/Rasmussen

And that's not a knock on any of our guys. We could definitely compete if every one of them slotted in a line higher. I'm just saying that 23 could have multiple franchise centers and we look like another bottom 10 team next year.

This is going to be a team built without a single top 3 pick. And only one pick in the top 5. The world beating centers have been and are off the board for us.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Little Marco Kasper was a movie star!

 

[RedWingzz]

There's a lot more than that. If you have an eliteprospects account I'll send you an article that breaks down Kasper's game.

I love EP, but I don't have an EP premium account, I've considered it over the years.

Is it worth it?

 

[odin1981]

Very happy we picked him up. I think he will be a mix of Kopitar/Bergeron.

 

[lilidk]

Last draft we got DOMINANT prospect Edvinsson. Question was how his decision making works. Now we got DOMINANT prospect Kasper and we don't know if he could be first line. Time will tell.
One thing for sure , last 4 drafts we got awesome prospects in the first round.

 

[r0bert8841]

Chris Abbott is at the draft to discuss future plans with Marco and Detroit. I would imagine Marco plays in the prospect camp and in Traverse City but goes back to Rogle. I want to see him get at least 2nd line minutes next year in Rogle with Niederbach on his wing.

I would love to be a fly on the wall in that meeting. The Wings and the Abbotts futures are quite entangled. Staying on good terms is in everyone’s best interests

 

[Rolo Tomassi]

I 100% think you may be right. But, if you have tenacious, 2-way centers who can oiss off the offensively dominant ones, AND you have high scoring wingers and a few bad ass defensemen, AND a good goalie, you have a chance.

Still, lets tank for one more season and hope for the center we need

ETA: i was quoting RETIRE91 from above but it must have glitched out.

 

[Stony Curtis]

If Kaspar playing in Rogle next year is important enough for Chris Abbott to fly here to talk to SY about it in person, I have to to think that he'll strongly consider it. The DRW have forged some really good relationships in the SHL, and I don't think they'd do a Vegas and say, "F*ck 'em." I'm sure they value the access they have to the players.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I love EP, but I don't have an EP premium account, I've considered it over the years.

Is it worth it?

For the draft guide yes, but year round no. Especially after the draft.

But if you sign up you get the draft guide and it’s pretty good.

 

[Theokritos]

Interesting comment by former Atlanta Thrashers scout Bernd Freimüller on his blog today (translation by me):

Early last season Hakan Andersson was very interested in my impressions of Kasper from his years in Klagenfurt – in particular, his past role as a playmaker (and, unlike in Sweden, less as a powerforward) could add another option.

Original (German): Das erwartet Marco Kasper bei Detroit Red Wings

Klagenfurt is where Kasper grew up and played hockey until he turned 16.

So the Red Wings sought out a scout who had observed Kasper in a playmaking role before his move to Rögle. That might have fed into Yzerman's opinion that Kasper has "underrated skill"/untapped potential.

 

[NickH8]

Interesting comment by former Atlanta Thrashers scout Bernd Freimüller on his blog today (translation by me):


Original (German): Das erwartet Marco Kasper bei Detroit Red Wings

Klagenfurt is where Kasper grew up and played hockey until he turned 16.

So the Red Wings sought out a scout with NHL experience who had observed Kasper in a playmaking role before his move to Rögle. That might have fed into Yzerman's opinion that Kasper has "underrated skill"/untapped potential.

I can see it. Kasper is the guy I've seen the most out of anybody in this draft, so I have a sort of bias where it's possible I'm magnifying things I've seen in his game because I've been exposed to them more. Regardless, he does have some good passing ability. The main knock on his playmaking is he tends to make the simple play. Cut back away from pressure and pass to the point or another forward down low, not really making high danger passes. The reasoning behind that could easily be he was focusing on not making mistakes so his team could win and focusing on his A game, which is his drive to the net game. It would not surprise me if as he gets more comfortable he starts to take those riskier plays that result in more goals.

 

[Retire91]

I 100% think you may be right. But, if you have tenacious, 2-way centers who can oiss off the offensively dominant ones, AND you have high scoring wingers and a few bad ass defensemen, AND a good goalie, you have a chance.

Still, lets tank for one more season and hope for the center we need

ETA: i was quoting RETIRE91 from above but it must have glitched out.

I feel that kind of exactly how it's shaping up isn't it? Take the scoring of a 100 point center and spread it around the team and fill in the gap with a miserable time trying to move up ice against us. So take the "if" from would a reach pick for center pan out, and place that if on can Cossa become a franchise goalie. I know this wasn't some people's ideal path. All I am saying is I'm good with it.

 

[Dotter]

I get the sense Yzerman takes player development more serious and is more involved than other NHL franchises. It sounds like he has a hand selected trusted team working very closely with his prospects. Maybe Kasper would be a 40/50 point center if someone else drafted him. Maybe Yzerman thinks he can squeeze a better skating Zetterberg out of this kid.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I get the sense Yzerman takes player development more serious and is more involved than other NHL franchises. It sounds like he has a hand selected trusted team working very closely with his prospects. Maybe Kasper would be a 40/50 point center if someone else drafted him. Maybe Yzerman thinks he can squeeze a better skating Zetterberg out of this kid.

Dude, that would be the dream.

I think we all see Kasper as about as close to a sure thing roster player as you can get out of this draft, but there's a definite sliding scale of outcomes.

These are just player comparables I think could be a range of outcomes
Low low end (3rd/4th line tweener)- Sammy Pahlsson/Rob Niedermeyer - our worst case scenario
Low end (3rd line)- Darren Helm/Lars Eller - 2nd worst scenario but I think it's unlikely this happens
Low-mid (2nd/3rd line tweener) - JG Pageau/Mike Fisher
Mid (2nd line) - Philip Danault/Joel Eriksson-Ek/Andrew Copp/Bo Horvat
Mid-high (Upper tier 2nd line/1st line tweener) - Ryan Kesler/Sean Coutourier/Nico Hischier
High (two-way 1st line center) - Ryan OReilly/Dylan Larkin
Best case outcome - Patrice Bergeron/Henrik Zetterberg

Obviously we all want Kasper to turn into that perennial Selke contender 1C but I wouldn't be down if he becomes a solid 2nd line center that gets top 10 Selke votes.

 

[Roomba With a Bauer]

I see his floor as excellent third line C or a strong second/third line, middle of the roster winger.

I didn't like the pick at first, but it's grown on me because even at his floor he addresses a roster need. This team needs guys like him in the middle of the roster so we can start pushing the AHLers out.

His ceiling is limitless in terms of what he could reach if he is able to improve a few of his skills. In terms of the old HFBoards system he would be like an 8.5C.

 

[newfy]

Dude, that would be the dream.

I think we all see Kasper as about as close to a sure thing roster player as you can get out of this draft, but there's a definite sliding scale of outcomes.

These are just player comparables I think could be a range of outcomes
Low low end (3rd/4th line tweener)- Sammy Pahlsson/Rob Niedermeyer - our worst case scenario
Low end (3rd line)- Darren Helm/Lars Eller - 2nd worst scenario but I think it's unlikely this happens
Low-mid (2nd/3rd line tweener) - JG Pageau/Mike Fisher
Mid (2nd line) - Philip Danault/Joel Eriksson-Ek/Andrew Copp/Bo Horvat
Mid-high (Upper tier 2nd line/1st line tweener) - Ryan Kesler/Sean Coutourier/Nico Hischier
High (two-way 1st line center) - Ryan OReilly/Dylan Larkin
Best case outcome - Patrice Bergeron/Henrik Zetterberg

Obviously we all want Kasper to turn into that perennial Selke contender 1C but I wouldn't be down if he becomes a solid 2nd line center that gets top 10 Selke votes.

I dunno if its just me but I would much rather have a Pahlsson/Neidermeyer outcome than Helm any day.

But i dont really disagree with you. I think with his pro experience against men youre almost guaranteed to get a fast, physical third line center who helps you in the playoffs.

 

[Luceni]

With the current center depth of the wings I wouldn't be surprised if Kasper earns a spot out of camp. Kasper is the kind of player who gets better when the competitions becomes more difficult.

Kasper already played at pro level in Europe and has shown promising playoff performances against pros/men for Rögle. So he isn't a normal prospect because of his pro-Level experience. I think that's why he's got a 50/50 chance making the roster out of camp.

 

[RedHawkDown]

Interesting comment by former Atlanta Thrashers scout Bernd Freimüller on his blog today (translation by me):


Original (German): Das erwartet Marco Kasper bei Detroit Red Wings

Klagenfurt is where Kasper grew up and played hockey until he turned 16.

So the Red Wings sought out a scout who had observed Kasper in a playmaking role before his move to Rögle. That might have fed into Yzerman's opinion that Kasper has "underrated skill"/untapped potential.

I’ve been saying this. Looking back at some of the very few junior highlights available for him, he was a very different player there than in the SHL. I think he has 80 point potential personally.

 

[Reddwit]

I know this is a pretty weird comment to make, but one low-key thing I like about Kasper that I also liked about Mo is that they both still have baby fat, lol. Mo still does to a degree. (Important to distinguish here between baby fat and simply looking youthful.) I mean, compare that to what the likes of Slafkovsky and Lafreniere looked like at the draft - 18 year olds in a 22 year olds body.

This suggests a couple things to me. For one, neither Mo nor Kasper benefitted from having “man strength” despite playing successfully against actual men.

Second, they still have a lot of physical maturation to undergo, so there could be some pretty big physical gains ahead for Kasper especially that will come naturally without requiring a rigorous gym routine. Kasper could get injured and be out of the gym for a while or slack off altogether (not that I think he would) and still get them gainz.

And lastly, studies suggest having baby fat when entering adulthood is actually a sign of having a higher percentage of “brown fat” (or brown adipose tissue) overall, which is a huge blessing when it comes to being an athlete. Brown fat is known for creating a more resilient metabolism, is great for insulin resistance, and perhaps most importantly, due the higher ratio of mitochondria in brown fat and the increased ability to synthesize oxygen, athletes with more brown fat are flat out better able to produce energy. Interestingly, both Kasper and Seider were among the top VO2max performers at their respective combines, which further leads me to believe these guys have higher brown fat ratios.

There are also a lot of interesting speculated side effects of brown fat, like the high number of norepinephrine transmitters in brown fat combined with its superior oxygen utilization creating a scenario where a person can experience high levels of stress without being as affected by the accompanying vasoconstriction. In other words, stress leads to a lesser reduction in oxygen to the brain than it would in people with lower ratios of brown fat, manifesting as people who remain level-headed under pressure (doesn’t sound like Mo at all ).

Another is the relationship of dopamine to brown fat, suggesting that more brown fat leads to a more stable baseline of dopamine. Dopamine is absolutely vital to motivation (yes, motivation has more to do with biochemistry than “character”), desire, and task persistence - in laymen’s terms, a “never give up” attitude. There are plenty more benefits as well. (I’ve speculated before that a guy like Anthony Mantha probably has a substandard dopamine baseline.)

Obligatory caveat that I’m not a scientist/doctor, but I was raised by a Cardiologist who specialized in obesity and is something of an expert on the properties of both “white fat” (visceral adipose tissue) and “brown fat” (brown adipose tissue), and I became fascinated by his work on how brown fat or its properties can be used to fight obesity when I was a fitness freak in my 20s, so I’m not totally talking out of my ass here.

 

[Bench]

@OgeeOgelthorpe

Maybe you've mentioned this before and I missed it, but what is your NHL comparable here?