Detroit Red Wings: Is Michael Rasmussen heading back to Junior?

Michael Rasmussen is having an “ok” rookie season with the Detroit Red Wings.  He’s primarily playing on the fourth line as a winger but does get work with more skilled players on the power-play, working as a net-front presence.

It could certainly be a much more productive rookie season for Michael Rasmussen as the 19-year-old struggles to find his scoring touch at the NHL level.  Things haven’t worked out exactly as planned; he was expected to skate as a top-nine forward if the Detroit Red Wings decided to keep him around for the entire season rather than sending him back to the WHL.

Instead of playing on a line with more skilled, offensive-minded players, Rasmussen has seen his even strength play down on the fourth line with Jacob de La Rose and either Justin Abdelkader or Christoffer Ehn.  That’s not exactly a recipe for success, and a way to show off your scoring ability as a young player.

Rasmussen with his tall, lanky frame heads to the front of the net while the Detroit Red Wings are on the power-play, basically his only opportunity to play with skilled players.  He definitely needs to grow into his large frame.  He’s 6’6 but only about 220lbs.  He looks like Gumby out there rather than the power forward he will turn into after a full offseason in the gym at the NHL level.

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In an ideal world, he turns into a taller Milan Lucic type of player, maybe not the Lucic of today, as he’s really struggling offensively but the Lucic of old.  The physical presence, a guy who isn’t afraid to bang the body and can create his own space by adding a little bit of nasty to his game.  Lucic is 6’3, around 230lbs.  I feel at 6’6, Rasmussen shouldn’t lose too much of his skating ability when he fills out to be around 240lbs.

The Detroit Red Wings have a fascinating decision to make with Rasmussen.  They could choose to send him back to his junior team, the Tri-City Americans just before the trade deadline.  That would allow him to compete in the playoffs for them and if they were to get eliminated, he would be eligible to join the Grand Rapids Griffins in hopes of a long playoff run in the American Hockey League.

Sending him back to junior is the only way the franchise can send him to Grand Rapids if they keep him in Detroit until after the trade deadline passes his hockey season ends when the Detroit Red Wings season ends.

It may seem odd but allowing Rasmussen to continue to play in the playoffs somewhere may benefit him more than just entering the offseason early.  Let’s face it the Detroit Red Wings are not going anywhere this season so let the kid go back and dominate in the WHL for a bit and get a taste of competing as a top-six forward with the Grand Rapids Griffins as they have the hopes of a long playoff run in their near future.

In 48 games this season for the Detroit Red Wings Michael Rasmussen has 7 goals and 8 assists totaling 15 points.  He’s a minus -3 and his CF% is a mere 46.9% as he averages 12:24 TOI per game. 4 of his 7 goals have come on the power-play this season.

If you were wondering why he was able to play a few games earlier in the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, it was because he was able to go down on a “conditioning” stint after rehabbing an injury.  There is no guarantee the Detroit Red Wings will send him back, but it is something to monitor and consider in the coming days.