Given how well he played for the Detroit Red Wings in the second half, it comes as no surprise Marco Kasper is doing the same at the World Championship.
The 21-year-old forward scored a goal and added an assist Monday to help push his native Austria past Slovakia, 3-2 in a shootout at Avicii Arena in Stockholm.
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The output gave Kasper three points in three games in the round-robin part of the tournament, which runs through May 25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark. The victory earned Austria two points, after coming up short in matches against hockey powerhouses Finland and Sweden in earlier Group A action.
Austria forward Marco Kasper celebrates with his teammates during the IIHF Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship match between Austria and Slovakia at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, on May 12, 2025.
Speaking on April 19, a couple days after the Wings’ season ended, Kasper delved into the success he’s had in his rookie NHL season.
“I’m always doing by best to get better,” he said. “I feel like I had a pretty good year but it’s going to be really hard to come back. I always talk about, I’m trying to get better every day and that’s something I will focus on this summer.”
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Short of the NHL playoffs – which the Wings missed for a ninth straight season – the World Championship is as good a competition as there is right now. The elite teams are loaded with NHL players – including, for Sweden, Wings Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson; and for Germany, Moritz Seider – and once past the preliminary round, it’s single-game elimination format.
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In other action Monday, Raymond had two assists as Sweden topped Nordic rival Finland, 2-1. The U.S. was shutout, 3-0, by Switzerland.
Kasper got the Austrians the lead at 7:33 of the first period when he had a hand in Schneider’s goal. A few minutes later, Schneider returned the setup, finding Kasper at the blue line. Kasper eluded three Slovaks en route to making it 2-0 at 11:22 of the first period.
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Kasper, the Wings’ pick at No. 8 in 2022, had a splendid second half after starting out as a bit player. Under coach Todd McLellan, Kasper earned more ice time, and finished with 19 goals and 18 assists in 77 games. During the last month, he moved from wing to center, serving as the middleman on the second line between Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings’ Marco Kasper excelling at World Championship