Prospect Info: #8OA, Marco Kasper

[Bench]

Don’t try to get onto #teammarco now after the fact. Pfft

I told you holding this investment would pay off. You got in early and now you're getting those dividends, baby!

 

[kabidjan18]

His all-around skillset seems very solid, but watching the shift-by-shift videos, I'm not sure I agree with some of the superlatives I've seen used to describe his skating as being "great" or "fantastic".

It seems overall good to me, and nothing that will hold him back--but a little choppy at times, and lacking in the kind of first-step burst that would bump him into that elite tier. Though if he spends some time with a skating coach and a squat rack, he could really become a nightmare to play against.

Perhaps a good thing, because if he could also skate like Lambert at present, he'd have been gone in the first two or three picks.

I think you're onto one thing, which is that his first step out of turns is not particularly fast. I wouldn't extrapolate it to anything more than that, his top speed is incredible, is turns are sharp, and his agility is good. But stepping out of the turn he doesn't gain the same acceleration with those first 3 strides as others can. By the time he's taken maybe 6 steps I think he's moving faster than anyone else on the ice but often times you don't get that runway.

That matters a lot because he almost exclusively keeps possession by utilizing turns. As people noted, he uses stick moves sometimes but very sparingly. He protects the puck with his body probably even less. So ways he turns the puck over sometimes are when he gets pincered, or when the defenseman accelerates out of the turn faster than him and catches him from behind.

It's really why I think learning puck protection is so important for him. Acceleration is really hard to improve. But if he can hold off the defender with his body as a separator instead of having to lose all of his speed in a turn then that would be a huge development for him. And a lot of times he takes shots from lower danger areas when he might be able to hold onto the puck longer with better puck protection skills and drive deeper into the zone to draw defensemen and create plays. And once he draws defensemen to him, he has the vision to find the trailer. So I think there's an entire gear that his game is going to go to. It's just a different approach to solving the same issue.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

View attachment 567513

Don’t try to get onto #teammarco now after the fact. Pfft

I was teammarco before it was cool.

 

[RRhoads]

I was teammarco before it was cool.

Yeah, same here.

 

[haulinbass]

Here are a few short videos that I feel give some different samples of what Kasper brings that you might not find watching the popular videos that pop up on Youtube right away.

One video shows his skating ability, one video shows his vision and passing, one shows his physicality.







I think one of the things to keep in mind about the hitting video is that the kid is young playing in SHL, obviously right? But what I'm saying is I think its notable that he doesn't shy away from contact against men. Not that he is out making big hits, but I think once the day comes he is matured and playing against a level playing field in that regard, is that he certainly projects to be a center that is going to play you hard, in the corners, open ice, he will be there and you will know it.

 

[Perfect Human]

He kind of reminds me of a young faster Shanny (winger I know), bu overall play style.

 

[Henkka]

Here are a few short videos that I feel give some different samples of what Kasper brings that you might not find watching the popular videos that pop up on Youtube right away.

That final reverse hit on the hits video was a dam beauty.

Did hit #42 Sami Vatanen against Finland and #54 Anton Lindholm against Sweden.

 

[SCD]

That final reverse hit on the hits video was a dam beauty.

Did hit #42 Sami Vatanen against Finland and #54 Anton Lindholm against Sweden.

He still needs some tutoring from Seider.

 

[RRhoads]

Reminds me of a Theo Fleury with a bigger frame

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Reminds me of a Theo Fleury with a bigger frame

Reminds me of of Chauncey Billups but Austrian and plays hockey.

 

[Ricelund]

What do we think of Mike Richards as a comp for Kasper?

 

[heyfolks]

No offense to you and Elijah, but 8th overall would need to beat these career stats, "to be considered even a modest success"?

Thomas Vanek Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Salary, Title | Hockey-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Thomas Vanek. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, trade, draft, salary and more on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

That's over a thousand games and nearly 800 points. At 8 overall, that's a grand slam of a pick.

Elijah and I disagree. That's 2 against one. We win! Vanek - the 2nd half of his carer was very, very average.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

I'd say somewhere between Darren Helm with hands and Anze Kopitar

 

[Frk It]

What do we think of Mike Richards as a comp for Kasper?

Mike Richards was a good player in spite of being a pretty bad skater, if I'm remembering right. I don't think Kasper will have that issue.

Of the ones I've seen floated, I think Erkisson Ek is pretty good.

 

[DTR]

 

[TheOctopusKid]

Reminds me of a younger Wilford Brimley without a beard

 

[sepster]

There was never a "younger" Wilford Brimley. He was born looking like he did in Cocoon and that was it.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Elijah and I disagree. That's 2 against one. We win! Vanek - the 2nd half of his carer was very, very average.

Vanek in the first half of his career was one of the best goalscoring wingers in the game. What happened to him? Injuries? I didn't really follow Buffalo or Minnesota then.

 

[NickH8]

All the advanced stats support the eye test, this dude drives the net and created high danger chances like crazy. His expected goals is always so high

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Mike Richards was a good player in spite of being a pretty bad skater, if I'm remembering right. I don't think Kasper will have that issue.

Of the ones I've seen floated, I think Erkisson Ek is pretty good.

He's talking about this Mike Richards.

Mike Richards (television personality) - Wikipedia

I personally think Marco Kasper could go down as one of the all time great jeopardy hosts.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

From yesterday.



Where is the livestream today?

 

[Hen Kolland]

Mike Richards was a good player in spite of being a pretty bad skater, if I'm remembering right. I don't think Kasper will have that issue.

Of the ones I've seen floated, I think Erkisson Ek is pretty good.

I know that @OgeeOgelthorpe has thrown the name out, along with maybe a few others that I don’t recall specifically. But I was reading through scouting reports and I grabbed these two from Scott Wheeler’s final rankings in their respective years. There’s some light editing and exclusion of comments on position (one mentions center and one mentions wing).

I don’t put much stock into Wheeler’s ranking process, but he does elaborate on things much clearer than a lot of the people in the prospect analysis field.

People might be able to pick out which one is Kasper based on some specific comments, but I’m interested if anyone who hasn’t seen Ogee’s comments in the past can identify the player without googling or reading Wheeler’s former work.

Player A:
“He doesn’t have the dynamic qualities of the forwards listed ahead of him on my board, and he’s never going to consistently burn defenders off the rush, but he’s a better passer than he normally gets credit for, he’s heavier on the cycle than most of his peers, he can play through the middle of the ice and he makes decisions and reads quickly, which is just as important (if not more important) as his actual foot speed. It always feels like he is involved and impacting a game (with and without the puck). Over the course of a game, that drives results. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that as a teenager in a top pro league, he had a positive impact on possession. He’s got a hunch in his stride and a pitchfork skating stance that he will need to work to clean up. But where is he through the sequence? He’s involved and on the puck.”

Player B:
“I love his patience with the puck. He doesn’t shy away from trying to beat or out-wait guys (whether through changes of directions out of stop-ups or curls) and he’s got a really low panic threshold. He’s also a good skater who never lacks in effort and always stops on pucks. He’s an advanced 200-foot forward who was able to progress up levels because of his rounded game. And while he looks a little skinny out there, he’s feisty and he fights off his fair share of checks to stay on pucks. There’s also a bit of a hunch to his stride but he leverages his edges well, building speed through the neutral zone to push pace with the puck. I don’t see game-breaking skill or finishing, per se, but he plays with pro pace, he’s a good passer, he plays on the interior, and makes plays all over the ice. He projects as a contributing NHL player.”

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I know that @OgeeOgelthorpe has thrown the name out, along with maybe a few others that I don’t recall specifically. But I was reading through scouting reports and I grabbed these two from Scott Wheeler’s final rankings in their respective years. There’s some light editing and exclusion of comments on position (one mentions center and one mentions wing).

I don’t put much stock into Wheeler’s ranking process, but he does elaborate on things much clearer than a lot of the people in the prospect analysis field.

People might be able to pick out which one is Kasper based on some specific comments, but I’m interested if anyone who hasn’t seen Ogee’s comments in the past can identify the player without googling or reading Wheeler’s former work.

Player A:
“He doesn’t have the dynamic qualities of the forwards listed ahead of him on my board, and he’s never going to consistently burn defenders off the rush, but he’s a better passer than he normally gets credit for, he’s heavier on the cycle than most of his peers, he can play through the middle of the ice and he makes decisions and reads quickly, which is just as important (if not more important) as his actual foot speed. It always feels like he is involved and impacting a game (with and without the puck). Over the course of a game, that drives results. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that as a teenager in a top pro league, he had a positive impact on possession. He’s got a hunch in his stride and a pitchfork skating stance that he will need to work to clean up. But where is he through the sequence? He’s involved and on the puck.”

Player B:
“I love his patience with the puck. He doesn’t shy away from trying to beat or out-wait guys (whether through changes of directions out of stop-ups or curls) and he’s got a really low panic threshold. He’s also a good skater who never lacks in effort and always stops on pucks. He’s an advanced 200-foot forward who was able to progress up levels because of his rounded game. And while he looks a little skinny out there, he’s feisty and he fights off his fair share of checks to stay on pucks. There’s also a bit of a hunch to his stride but he leverages his edges well, building speed through the neutral zone to push pace with the puck. I don’t see game-breaking skill or finishing, per se, but he plays with pro pace, he’s a good passer, he plays on the interior, and makes plays all over the ice. He projects as a contributing NHL player.”

Player A: Stu Grimson?

 

[RRhoads]

I know that @OgeeOgelthorpe has thrown the name out, along with maybe a few others that I don’t recall specifically. But I was reading through scouting reports and I grabbed these two from Scott Wheeler’s final rankings in their respective years. There’s some light editing and exclusion of comments on position (one mentions center and one mentions wing).

I don’t put much stock into Wheeler’s ranking process, but he does elaborate on things much clearer than a lot of the people in the prospect analysis field.

People might be able to pick out which one is Kasper based on some specific comments, but I’m interested if anyone who hasn’t seen Ogee’s comments in the past can identify the player without googling or reading Wheeler’s former work.

Player A:
“He doesn’t have the dynamic qualities of the forwards listed ahead of him on my board, and he’s never going to consistently burn defenders off the rush, but he’s a better passer than he normally gets credit for, he’s heavier on the cycle than most of his peers, he can play through the middle of the ice and he makes decisions and reads quickly, which is just as important (if not more important) as his actual foot speed. It always feels like he is involved and impacting a game (with and without the puck). Over the course of a game, that drives results. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that as a teenager in a top pro league, he had a positive impact on possession. He’s got a hunch in his stride and a pitchfork skating stance that he will need to work to clean up. But where is he through the sequence? He’s involved and on the puck.”

Player B:
“I love his patience with the puck. He doesn’t shy away from trying to beat or out-wait guys (whether through changes of directions out of stop-ups or curls) and he’s got a really low panic threshold. He’s also a good skater who never lacks in effort and always stops on pucks. He’s an advanced 200-foot forward who was able to progress up levels because of his rounded game. And while he looks a little skinny out there, he’s feisty and he fights off his fair share of checks to stay on pucks. There’s also a bit of a hunch to his stride but he leverages his edges well, building speed through the neutral zone to push pace with the puck. I don’t see game-breaking skill or finishing, per se, but he plays with pro pace, he’s a good passer, he plays on the interior, and makes plays all over the ice. He projects as a contributing NHL player.”

Both of them sounds a bit like Kasper, I would say.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Both of them sounds a bit like Kasper, I would say.

When you read who the other player is you'll say, "Oh yeah. I can see the similarities, and he's realgud too."