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Here's how close Marco Kasper was to winning the NHL's Calder Trophy
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The Red Wings got some strong play from 1st year forward Marco Kasper, but he wasn't recognized in the voting for the Calder Trophy, given annually to the top NHL rookie.
One of the key components of the Red Wings' future success is forward Marco Kasper, who they took with the 8th pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Kasper recently completed his 1st full year in the NHL, and while it took him a bit to get used to play at the NHL level, he eventually started to thrive.
He especially started to look strong after the Red Wings made the coaching change in late December from Derek Lalonde to Todd McLellan, and would finish with 37 points (19G, 18A) in 77 games.
But he didn't get much recognition for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given annually to the NHL's best rookie; that honor went to Lane Hutson, who is from Michigan but was drafted by the divisional foe Montreal Canadiens.
Kasper finished 10th overall in Calder Trophy voting, but did receive 7 votes for 5th place.
McLellan would rave about Kasper, who often centered the Red Wings' 2nd line with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat on his wings.
For some, it's very difficult (shuttling between center and forward), but Marco may be one of the exceptions. The initial task of going from center to wing is probably a bigger adjustment than going back to the middle. He played in the middle his whole life. When he went up and had to play the wing, that's where he probably had to adjust his game and read a little bit differently, understand where and what might happen along the boards more than in the middle of the rink.
Kasper then had 7 points (3G, 4A) for Austria in the 2025 IIHF World Championships.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 11 | 82 ANSWERS Here's how close Marco Kasper was to winning the NHL's Calder Trophy Should Marco Kasper have gotten more consideration for the Calder Memorial Trophy? | ||
| Yes | 65 | 79.3 % |
| No | 17 | 20.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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