MONTREAL — The Detroit Red Wings would play Marco Kasper every game if possible, but a lower-body injury disrupted those plans.
Kasper spent Tuesday morning at Bell Centre getting treatment, and while that ruled him out against the Canadiens, the hope is Kasper will be available Thursday, when the Wings play the first of three home games, and five games overall, left on their schedule.
“He will see game action some time this year,” coach Derek Lalonde said Tuesday. “I want to play him every game. I think these games are just so valuable for players like that.”
Kasper, drafted at No. 8 pick in 2022, joined the Wings on March 30, after being recalled from Sweden, where he had a standout season with Rögle BK. He made his NHL debut Sunday in the 5-2 victory against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, where he played just short of 15 minutes.
At the very least, these handful of games will shed some light on how hard it is to play in the NHL.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” Kasper said of his first NHL game. “The battles are harder, faceoffs, it’s hard, so I have to work on that over the summer and get stronger. It was good to play against men in Sweden, but over here it is faster and stronger.”
He got an A: How 2022 first-round pick Marco Kasper looked in his debut with Red Wings
It is intriguing to wonder if Kasper can be in the Wings’ lineup as soon as next season. He turns 19 on Saturday, and is unacclimated to the smaller ice sheet used in North America. Fellow Europeans Moritz Seider, the No. 6 pick in 2019, and Simon Edvinsson, the No. 6 pick in 2021, both spent a season in the AHL before joining the Wings. But, they are defensemen, where mistakes are more magnified than among forwards. Kasper centered the second line Sunday, but the Wings could play him on the third line as he adjusts, or even start him at wing, as they did with Dylan Larkin.
Lalonde called it “a lot to ask,” that Kasper be a full-timer when next season begins. “As an organization, we have been very patient with those things and rightfully so,” Lalonde said. “It’s probably going to depend on his summer and his approach next year. But, I love young players and I will give him every opportunity.”
Sneak peak: Predicting what the Red Wings’ defense corps will look like next season
The Wings will do what they did with Edvinsson last fall: Put Kasper in as many exhibition games as possible, and let him show where he belongs.
For now, bringing Kasper over from Sweden is a fine baptism. He was tasked Sunday facing either Auston Matthews or John Tavares, and it showed in Kasper winning just one of eight faceoffs.
“That’s a tall task, period, Matthews and Tavares all night,” Lalonde said. “I think Tavares was 21 of 26 against us on the whole. But those are learning experiences, absolutely. ”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.