Red Wings' Marco Kasper out for world championships with knee issues
· Yahoo Sports
Detroit — Marco Kasper was hit hard by the sophomore slump, his second NHL season not at all matching his rookie success.
We might now know a reason why.
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Kasper, 22, told the Austrian website Hockey-News.Info last week that he's currently walking around on crutches and is wearing a knee brace, and will not play in this month's men's world championships in Zurich for Austria.
An MRI after the season revealed the extent of the knee problems, though no surgery is needed. Kasper likely will need a portion of the summer for rest and rehabilitation.
But playing in the world championships and representing Austria was important for Kasper, who starred last year while leading Austria into the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994. Kasper had seven points (four goals, three assists) in eight games, doubling down on what was a successful rookie NHL season.
"I would have liked to be part of the World Cup," Kasper told the website. "It always makes me really proud to play for Austria. But I have to make sure that my knee gets good again, so that I can get back to can hit the ground running. Staying in the league is the most important thing.
"I have to walk with crutches at the moment, and I have a splint on my knee."
Kasper's second NHL season was a disappointment from the start.
Slotted into the second-line center role between Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, Kasper struggled offensively and didn't play with the energy and edge he often showed his rookie season. Kasper had 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) his first season while often playing on a wing with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, but tumbled to only nine goals and 10 assists (19 points) this season, while dropping into more of a non-scoring role late in the season as his production waned.
Kasper admitted during the final week of the NHL schedule the season was difficult.
"Obviously, it's been kind of a frustrating year for me personally," Kasper said. "Especially not scoring much. The chances have been there. You got to find a way to put more in the back of the net, to execute more and even create more."
Despite Kasper's struggles, there was a definite backing of him from general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Todd McLellan at their season-ending press conference.
Kasper's character and work ethic, combined with a need to find a steady position for him — McLellan often shuttled Kasper between center and wing this season — were main reasons the Wings suspect Kasper will bounce back.
"We the (coaching) staff, the organization, have a very high belief in this young man," McLellan said. "It's not easy when you have (success in the) second half of a year and you come back and have high expectations, not only internally from himself and his teammates and the staff, but externally, and it doesn't quite go right for you.
"He's dealing with a lot as a young man, 22 years old, but he's got a skill set, a drive and a demeanor that I believe will allow him to work his way through all of this."
McLellan feels the coaching staff must find a position for Kasper and stick to keeping the young player in that position.
"Some of the responsibility does lie on us, too, how we use him," McLellan said. "We bounce him around quite a bit. He's a wing, he's a center, and ironically, that's because we believe in him. We move him around to different spots because we think he can do the job. But maybe we have to find him a consistent home."
But McLellan is confident Kasper learned from his sophomore struggles.
"This young man is going to come back and be just as determined as he was to make the team with maybe a different approach to the game and a different set of goals and not have that weight on his shoulders," McLellan said. "(He can) take the step that we all think he can."
Yzerman believes Kasper faced a certain struggle that most young NHL players face.
"Really good young man, high character, very determined, great work ethic," Yzerman said. "He has good skills. Like many young players, he's got to figure out what he is as a player, how he can be an effective NHLer. It's going to take some time and hopefully with the guidance of our coaching staff we can get him to become an effective player.
"Marco can be a really good two-way centerman, even potentially a winger. But we got to put him in a spot and at some point, leave him there."
@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Red Wings' Marco Kasper (knee) out for world championships