In his first NHL game, Marco Kasper got a glimpse of the rest of his career. With the Red Wings leading the Maple Leafs late in the second period Sunday night, Kasper initiated a scrum after the whistle behind Toronto's net with defenseman Timothy Liljegren. Converging quickly on the scene were Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, followed by Simon Edvinsson. Here were Steve Yzerman's four top-10 picks for the Red Wings, all 21 years of age or younger, backing each other up against a division rival.
When the skirmish came up in his post-game interview following the Wings' 5-2 win, Kasper couldn't help but smile.
"It's always good to be engaged in the game and a little scrum there, get the guys going again," he told Bally Sports Detroit. "It's good to bring an edge."
Kasper brought that and more in his NHL debut. He logged the fourth most ice time (14:59) among Red Wings' forwards, skating on a line with Raymond and Andrew Copp. He staked out space around the net, and nearly knocked in a rebound as a reward. He was strong on the puck and scrappy on the boards. And he was dependable in his own end, which is the fastest way to the earn the trust of his new head coach.
"That's his DNA, too, which is good, and I think why we're all so excited about him," said Derek Lalonde, who confirmed Kasper will be back in the lineup Tuesday against the Canadiens.
It's never easy to make the jump to the NHL. Even harder as an 18-year-old center, on the road, against one of the most talented teams in the league. The first player to converge on Kasper after he shoved Liljegren was reigning MVP Auston Matthews. Welcome to The Show. But Kasper held his own, both in the scrum and throughout the game. He did not look daunted by the moment or out of place against the best players in the world.
On the contrary, he looked like someone who'd been seasoned in the highly-competitive Swedish Hockey League. Someone who finished second in the league this season in points among players age 20 or younger and third in the league, overall, in penalty minutes. Kasper looked unafraid.
"I thought Marco was great," said Lalonde. "Simple game, safe game, good team game, never got himself in trouble, was around the net. I think the underlying numbers for him are going to be very good and I think for a first game, under these type of circumstances, he passed with flying colors."
What Lalonde and the Wings saw Sunday night is essentially what Yzerman described after drafting Kasper eighth overall last year. And it's exactly how Kasper describes himself. To wit: a 200-foot player. It was telling that when asked how how it felt to play in his first NHL game, the realization of a dream he's harbored since watching NHL videos with his dad, a legendary hockey player back home in Austria, Kasper said, "It felt great, getting the win. It's awesome."
And that his answer to the next question went like this: "I think it's important to play responsible on both sides of the puck and really not let anything happen on the defensive side."
Kasper and his linemates weren't perfect in this regard, but they kept the Leafs off the board when they were on the ice. Lalonde will mark that down as a win, especially on a night that Toronto was dictating matchups. And they generated a few chances themselves at the other end as the Wings bounced back from an ugly performance Friday night in Winnipeg and won three of four for the first time on this side of the trade deadline.
"It's a fast game, it's a strong game, the battles are harder," Kasper said. "I can feel that and see that."
Kasper, who turns 19 on Saturday, will only get faster and stronger in the years ahead. The battles, by extension, will only get easier -- not that anything ever comes easy in the NHL. As soon as next season, Kasper could be a lynchpin in Detroit's lineup behind Dylan Larkin, who showed the Wings the way with a hat trick Sunday night. Kasper just showed that he belonged, which means The Show will go on Tuesday in Montreal.
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