Michael Rasmussen
Coming off of back to back 30 plus goal seasons for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. Michael Rasmussen is a candidate to become a 30 goal scorer in the future for the Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit drafted Rasmussen 9th overall in the 2017 NHL draft.
Rasmussen was hampered early last season needing wrist surgery that would cost him a good chunk of games. He would total 47 games scoring 31 goals notching 59 points in the regular season.
Get this though, last season in the WHL postseason Rasmussen shined bright. In 14 playoff games, Rasmussen scored 16 goals and added 17 assists for 33 points.
We can’t expect 30 plus goals right away from the 6 foot 6 center, but it will be something to hope for in the future. Expect Rasmussen to start on the wing this season as a top 9 forward, rather than his natural center spot.
Moving the big fella to the wing protects him a bit defensively. Playing down the middle commands constant reliability in the defensive zone and sometimes young players aren’t quite ready for that responsibility. It’s nice to play young players on the wing until they get their feet wet and show they belong at the NHL level.
Someone needs to sit down with Ken Holland and Jeff Blashill and remind them they cannot bring Michael Rasmussen to the Detroit Red Wings and play him on the 4th line or scratch him. In turn, wasting valuable development time just sitting on the end of the bench playing 8 minutes a night or in the press box watching.
Rasmussen needs to be returned to junior if for some reason he doesn’t make the Red Wings out of camp. We don’t see that happening unless he has a very ugly camp (unlikely) or unless an injury occurs during the camp/preseason.