Twelve NHL forwards are expected to join the Detroit Red Wings, and it’s likely that several of them will start in the starting lineup on opening night.
Even in that scenario, competition for positions throughout training camp, another move, or openings brought up by injuries or unexpected players emerging won’t go away.
The two forward prospects who don’t make the top 12 and seem to have the best chance of making the NHL are Carter Mazur and Marco Kasper.
Both are waiver-exempt, so they need to be playing regularly to secure a spot on the Red Wings’ roster. Otherwise, they’ll continue their development with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Mazur, a right-shooting winger selected 70th overall in 2021 (third round), tallied 17 goals and 37 points in 60 regular season games and three goals and eight points in nine playoff games with the Griffins. It was the first full AHL season for the scrappy 6-foot, 175-pound Jackson native.
Kasper, a left-shooting center taken eighth overall in 2022, collected 14 goals and 35 points in 71 regular season games and four goals and seven points in nine playoff games. He had a tough adjustment during his first season in North America, with two goals and eight points in his first 26 games, but improved as the season progressed.
“Both of those players had very good seasons,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said before the draft. “Marco’s play just got stronger and stronger as the year went on. He’s a real good two-way player. The offense started to generate more, particularly in the playoffs. He goes to the net hard, strong on the puck. He’s strong defensively as a centerman. We’re really pleased with his development.
“The same with Carter Mazur. He’s got a real good feel for the game. He knows how to get open, he knows how to work, and where to go. He goes to all the hard areas, and he gets the puck on his stick and off his stick. It’s a little bit like the (Alex) DeBrincat shot. He shoots the puck and it’s a threat to go in. He’s got that every time he shoots. It’s a scoring chance.”
Yzerman said Mazur just needs to fill out and get a little stronger.
“Both are really good prospects for us, with good attitudes,” Yzerman said. “Their numbers weren’t off the charts in the minors this year. But if you watch their progression at the end of the season, you’re like, ‘These two kids are really good prospects.'”
Both had outgrown development camp, so they weren’t included in the pool of prospects that participated earlier this month.
“Maze got hurt right away; it took a little while for him to come back,” said Danny Cleary, Red Wings director of player development. “Kasper would even say it was a struggle to adapt from preseason to the early going. But (coach) Dan Watson and those guys in Grand Rapids did a tremendous job in believing in him. They kept growing him and by the end of the year, they were our best players in the most pivotal games.”
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