The Detroit Red Wings are anticipating big things from Marco Kasper next season. He’s already pulling them off in European summer league competition.

This is the first year for the Sunshine Hockey League, a summer league based in Kasper’s homeland of Austria. And the sun is shining the brightest on the young Red Wings center.

Earlier this week, Kasper went all-in on the spectacular during league play. Circling the net, he scooped up the puck on the blade of his stick, neatly reaching around and tucking the puck into the top shelf over the goalie’s shoulder.

MICHIGAN GOAL! 🚨

We see you, Marco Kasper…

(🎥: IG/sunshinehockeyleague) pic.twitter.com/4oAJByF3ie

— NHL (@NHL) July 29, 2025

A lacrosse-style goal, known in hockey circles as The Michigan, because it was first scored in an elite-level game by Bill Armstrong of Western Michigan.

Kasper would finish as the top scorer in this fledgling league. He accounted for 10 goals and 15 assists.

Red Wings Excited By Kasper’s Potential

Coming off a rookie season in which he accumulated 19 goals and 37 points, how high can Kasper go? It’s a question that both the team’s brass and the Red Wings faithful are pondering this summer.

“He is a real good story,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan acknowledged. “I think Kasp is somebody that everybody gravitates to, simply stat-wise and stylistic-wise.”

Now, getting excited about an NHL player scoring a highlight-reel goal in a summer league isn’t something you should probably be elevating to a high level of optimism. Top players, especially those with high-end skill, are going to have some fun, maybe even show off a big in such an environment.

Here’s the thing, though – his pulling off a Michigan is patented Kasper. This is a player who has displayed a willingness to try something new. Kasper isn’t afraid to push boundaries, to see what he can accomplish.

That alone puts him in distinct company in today’s NHL, in which coaches devote so much energy to turning players into cookie-cutter north-south robots. Finding a Picasso in the paint-by-numbers aisle is a blessing in itself.

“I’m always giving my best to get better,” Kasper said. “I know it’s going to be hard next year.

“I personally feel like I had a pretty good year, but it’s going to be really hard to come back and do just like that and even improve what I want.”