Red Wings Made The Right Choice Playing Michael Rasmussen

The last minute scratch of both Robby Fabbri and Adam Erne caught the attention of every Detroit Red Wings fan. The initial sub, Frans Nielsen wasn’t shocking. But it was the second, Michael Rasmussen, and where head coach Jeff Blashill put him that really piqued interest.

The 21-year-old opened his season with a bang, winning a face off that went to a waiting Bobby Ryan. Ryan snapped the shot in the net before anyone could skate into position, giving Detroit an early 1-0 lead. In his debut, Ras spent 12:58 on the ice, significant in that Nielsen played almost two minutes less, which underscores the “Yzerplan” mindset of the organization: the better player gets the minutes.

This bodes well for Rasmussen’s development, who was tagged as somewhat of a project when he was drafted ninth overall in 2017. It was another lukewarm choice for fans–but perspective changed when Rasmussen had a monster performance in the playoffs for Tri-City of the Western Hockey League in 2018, posting 33 points (16-17) in 14 games. His first season in Detroit saw expected growing pains, while he was steady in Grand Rapids last season. On loan earlier this year to Graz EC in the Austrian League, he was a point-per-game player (3-15-18). While the numbers were encouraging, it was the little things he did in today’s game that shows the growth from his diverse hockey journey the past few seasons.

Rasmussen keyed a 2-on-1 break where he tried to feed a waiting Filip Zadina, but the pass was deflected away and killed the chance. Sure, he should have shot in hindsight but it was how the play developed that made it. When he first came up to the Wings and when I was able to see him live in the AHL, he didn’t have a presence. It appeared as if he was still learning and acclimating to the pace of playing against professionals versus being the bigger body in juniors. On this particular odd man rush, he made the play happen, and that was a big difference.

Nothing stands out more than his shot block, which yes turned into a goal, but he threw his entire frame into the shot. He skated harder to pucks in the corner as well, and even his back checking seemed more effective in neutralizing chances—instead of just chasing guys down. During a training camp scrimmage, The Athletic’s Max Bultman wrote that Rasmussen “stood out multiple times” and looked more physical on the ice. The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan quoted Blashill yesterday as saying that Rasmussen had a “really good scrimmage,” indicating that indeed his growth is noted.

It’s a win for the Red Wings  prospect development and for Rasmussen, too. It felt like a big step forward for a prospect Detroit needs to march its way back to contention.