It took Marco Kasper half of the season to adjust to North America and the AHL. Now he’s demonstrating some of the offensive prowess that drew the Detroit Red Wings to draft the Austrian centre eighth overall in 2022.
Kasper has eight points and four goals in his last nine games for the Grand Rapids Gryphons. He had only one goal and six points in his first 20 games.
“For Marco, it’s been building since Day One,” Gryphons coach Dan Watson explained. “He wasn’t being rewarded offensively for what he was doing early on. He understands the league, the pace of play, and the systems that differ between here and Europe.
“The way he’s been developing throughout the year, he’s steadily moved up our lineup to become our No. 2 centre behind Austin Czarnik. Building like that demonstrates his responsibility as a two-way player. You bring that with a competitive and caring level; it’s someone we really trust.”
Kasper has been more assertive offensively, with 27 shots on goal over the last nine games (3.0 per game), compared to 57 shots in his first 34 games (1.68 per game). He has seven goals and 22 points in 43 games played.
“I think I’m playing with more confidence,” Kasper said. “I’ve been working really hard in practice to earn the opportunity to get those chances, to get in the offensive zone and work really hard to score those points. It’s not the most important thing; obviously, the goal is to win. You simply try to outperform the other teams before attempting to generate offence.
The Gryphons (21-15-4-3, W-L-OTL-SOL) enter tonight’s game against Cleveland at Van Andel Arena with an 11-game point streak (8-0-2-1).
