Marco Kasper, who is staying in Sweden, tells a lot
The Detroit Red Wings used their first choice on the Swedish forward Marco Kasper. They selected the centerman with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He is still young and will stay abroad in 2022-23. There is more to it for Kasper, with education playing an important role for him and his personal values.
He signed an entry level contract to join the Detroit Red Wings organization but will spend the upcoming season in Sweden. A recent article by Bob Duff from Detroit Hockey now talks about how Kasper chooses to stay abroad so he can focus on his education in the classroom and on the ice.
What stood out to me is a quote Duff used about Kasper valuing education and wanting to continue his education anywhere. He says his education is important to him, which leads me to believe a few things about his path to the NHL and how the Red Wings might see it.
The Red Wings are investing in Kasper as part of their future plans, and with his comments about wanting to stay overseas and continue his education, those plans could change. Let’s take a deeper look at what this could mean for the Red Wings going forward.
Detroit Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper places a high value on education.
That’s not to say that Kasper is wrong at all or that he’ll be stuck in Sweden year after year. But he will spend some time there when he graduates high school to get his diploma. It’s a performance that gives him at least a backup plan beyond the game on the ice.
Kasper would in any case spend the season with Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). So the initial comments about him wanting to continue his education are no big deal. However, there is more to it. After the 2022-23 season, getting him to Detroit could mean leaving his education behind with no collegiate career ahead of him.
After all, the Red Wings will want to get him into the organization with the Red Wings or the Grand Rapids Griffins. But the scene from Moneyball when the two New York Mets scouts are talking to Billy Beane and his parents comes to mind. Here is one link to the clipstarting around the 2:20 mark.
As things go, the scout says Beane must accept baseball as his first occupation in life rather than opting for his Stanford scholarship. For Kasper and the Red Wings, he will need to jump into the organization. The Red Wings want him to start with the team, and he will forego college.
Who knows, maybe he can figure something out to do online classes at Detroit Mercy or Wayne State. Jokes aside, he values his education and was a first-round draft pick; The Red Wings will expect him to leave this in the past. As this path continues, the Red Wings may have less need for Kasper.
What I mean is that his timeline to get to Detroit is going to be long. It may leave the General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman in a position to use Kasper as a trade chip. That could mean he gets to stay in Sweden and focus on his education, as Yzerman uses him as a trade chip to upgrade a big need for the organization right now.
It will be interesting to see what kind of role Kasper is expected to have with the Detroit Red Wings going forward.