Detroit Red Wings live updates from 2022 NHL draft: Steve Yzerman picks Marco Kasper
MONTREAL — Steve Yzerman’s first-round picks already have had a beneficial impact on the Detroit Red Wings, and he picked center Marco Kasper.
He’s a combination of skill and strength, and playing in the Swedish Hockey League with men not only forced him to adapt to a more physical game but also improve his skating. He plays a smart, heads-up game with a dash of grit, using his size and reach to control and defend the puck. He cited his competitiveness as a reason teams should draft him: “I always try to win. I think I can help teams win important games.”
Kasper, 18, posted seven goals and four assists with Rögle in the SHL in 2021-22, splitting time with its junior club where he had six goals and seven assists in 12 games. (Kasper appeared in 10 games with the Rögle’s men’s team in 2020-21, which overlapped with defenseman Moritz Seider’s time with the club.)
The Montreal Canadiens selected Slovakian center Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 pick. The New Jersey Devils selected Slovakian defenseman Simon Nemec at No. 2. The Arizona Coyotes chose USNTDP product Logan Cooley (Minnesota signee) at No. 3. Center Shane Wright, who had been projected to go first overall, went at No. 4 to the Seattle Kraken. The Philadelphia Flyers took Cutter Gauthier at No. 5. The Columbus Blue Jackets chose Czech defenseman David Jiricek at No. 6. The Chicago Blackhawks took North American defenseman Kevin Korchinski at No. 7
After two years of being run virtually because of the pandemic, the draft was held in person for the first time since 2019 in Vancouver, when Yzerman used his No. 6 pick on Seider, who had been projected to go in the mid-teens.
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Seider was named the 2022 Calder Trophy winner. Yzerman’s top choice in 2020, forward Lucas Raymond, finished fourth in the same rookie of the year voting. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, Yzerman’s first pick in 2021 at No. 6 overall, is expected to make the Wings this fall, and Cossa, the No. 15 pick in 2021 is likely to begin his pro career and join the Grand Rapids Griffins.
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Since Yzerman was named general manager in 2019, the team’s fortunes have been boosted by his first-round selections. The years prior were scarcer: Forward Evgeny Svechnikov (No. 19, 2015) and defenseman Dennis Cholowski (No. 20, 2016) washed out of the organization after being unable to show they could help the rebuild; forward Michael Rasmussen (No. 9, 2017) looks like he’ll be a bottom-six forward, but that’s below expectations return for a top-10 pick, and forward Filip Zadina (No. 6, 2018) has struggled to establish himself as a top-six winger.
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 book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings updates from 2022 NHL draft: C Marco Kasper is pick
