‘He looks confident and strong right now:’ Kasper back at full strength for Red Wings

TAMPA BAY -- Back from an upper-body injury sustained on Opening Night that sidelined him for 17 consecutive games, Marco Kasper is fully intent on making up for some lost time as the Detroit Red Wings approach the quarter mark of their 2026-27 season.

“I feel good,” Kasper told DetroitRedWings.com following Detroit’s practice at TGH Ice Plex on Friday afternoon. “Obviously, not the result we wanted (on Thursday night) but being back out on the ice is fun and getting back on the road with the boys is always a good time too. Now, we must focus on winning games and continuing to build on some of the parts from the past few games that we’ve liked.”

Kasper returned from his injury on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center, logging 15:06 of ice time. He followed that up against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday night, playing 14:12 and scoring his first goal of the campaign.

“He’s had to face a lot of adversity,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said of Kasper. “He looks confident and strong right now when he’s playing. It’s only six periods in, but we’re hoping he’s going to get off to a good start here.”

Physically and mentally, Kasper feels he’s in a great spot. The 22-year-old forward said his recovery process over the past month came in phases, and he explained that rushing back to play — as much as he wanted to be battling alongside his teammates — wasn’t worth the risk of potentially reaggravating something later on.

“There are different stages,” Kasper said. “First, you have to recover from the injury. Once you feel good, you can get back to skating and doing a lot of conditioning. Then, it’s just trying to get back into game shape. Playing games is always different than practicing, but you can figure out ways to stay in really good shape so you’re ready to go.”

During his second full NHL campaign in 2025-26, Kasper recorded 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) and led the Red Wings with 186 hits in 81 games. Although his offensive numbers dipped from his rookie season in 2024-25, when he totaled 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) in 77 games, his hard-nosed style of play and work ethic were still there even if the Austrian forward wasn’t always at 100 percent health.  

“He was banged up a little bit (last season),” McLellan said. “He went back and didn’t go to the World Championships. He did a lot of therapy to get himself back together, if you will, and not only the physical part, but the mental part. He had to overcome a tough sophomore season. And then to come back now and be fully prepared for Training Camp, get hurt Day 1 (of the season) - he’s had to face a lot of adversity.”

The No. 8 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kasper is constantly working to improve all aspects of his game. He’s confident he’s continuing to move in the right direction, especially under the guidance of Detroit’s dedicated coaching staff.

“I feel I’ve taken big steps in different ways on the ice,” Kasper said. “It’s also always fun to come in here and grow personally but also grow with your teammates. We have a lot of younger guys who have come up together and now are here in the League, and the older guys have done a great job as well. We’re just trying to build something.”

Part of that progress has been Kasper’s ability to adapt to different roles, something McLellan hopes to see more of, especially as the 6-foot-1, 203-pound forward settles back into the rhythm of the season.

“When you have that versatility, you tend to get more minutes because you can play in every situation,” McLellan said. “You can play up and down the lineup. Long term, we see him as a centerman, but as he’s coming back right now, to get him a few more minutes with the top six, we’ve got him on the wing. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

Wherever he’s slotted in the Red Wings’ lineup, Kasper said he’s just trying to contribute and ultimately help the club succeed.   

“We continue to grow, and I think that’s the most important thing,” Kasper said. “We’re looking forward. We’re having fun, but losing isn’t fun as we’ve lost a few of our games here. But through it all, our chemistry has been good, and we know we just have to go out there and grow. We just have to find ways to win games.”