- Per Mark Divver of NHL.com, Detroit Red Wings prospect Cooper Moore found a new place to play next season. The defenseman has played the past three seasons at North Dakota, but will be heading to Quinnipiac next season as a senior. The 22 year old was a fifth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2019 and scored 13 points in 31 games at North Dakota last season.
Red Wings Rumors
Marco Kasper Listed As Day-To-Day
- Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News reports Marco Kasper is dealing with a lower-body injury and he is currently listed as day-to-day. Kasper, the Red Wings first-round draft pick last June, just made his NHL debut on Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 18 year old played 14:59 in his debut and had one shot on goal, but he may have to wait a few days before he gets into the second NHL game of his career.
Marco Kasper Coming To North America
March 31: Late last night, the Red Wings officially recalled Kasper from Rogle, meaning he’ll immediately join the NHL team instead of reporting to the minors.
March 29: The Detroit Red Wings organization is getting a little stronger in the coming days, as Marco Kasper is set to come over from Europe now that his SHL season has ended. His club, Rogle, reports that Kasper will join the Red Wings “as early as this week,” though he didn’t specify whether he’ll go to Detroit or report to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.
Kasper, 18, was the eighth overall pick in the 2022 draft and scored 23 points in 52 regular season games for Rogle this season. In nine playoff games, he added three points, and will now get a chance to make his professional debut on this side of the pond.
Since he already signed his entry-level contract, Kasper is eligible to play at either level – and since the Red Wings only have nine games remaining, there’s no threat of burning the first year of his deal. The young forward can get his feet wet and then play full-time in North America next season, if the Red Wings deem him ready.
Otherwise, his contract with Rogle extends through 2024-25, and he could return to Sweden for another year of development. Either way, he has done nothing but impress since being drafted so high, and looks like another future star for the Red Wings to bring along.
Robby Fabbri Shut Down For Remainder Of Season
Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde announced on Wednesday that forward Robby Fabbri is officially out for the rest of 2022-23 due to a lower-body injury.
In addition to the announcement about Fabbri, the Red Wings also announced that forward Taro Hirose has been reassigned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Hirose, 26, made his season debut in last night’s 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing 7:57. He’s continued to be one of Grand Rapids’ best players this season, leading the team in scoring with 15 goals, 39 assists, and 54 points in 64 games.
Fabbri has been dealing with a lower-body injury since March 8, and Lalonde said Fabbri will require a four-to-six-week recovery period from this point forward. However, he is expected to fully recover in time for the 2023-24 NHL season.
It’s an unfortunate break for Fabbri, who’s no stranger to significant injuries. He missed the entirety of the 2017-18 season and most of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL and upper-body injury, respectively. Fabbri also missed the end of 2021-22 with another ACL injury, and an MCL injury cost him the first few months of the 2022-23 campaign.
Fabbri, 27, still managed to produce when healthy this season, scoring seven goals and nine assists in 28 games. He was acquired by the team in a trade with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
Minor Moves: Hirose, Ferguson, Woll
Taro Hirose has been called up as an emergency loan to the Detroit Red Wings, according to CapFriendly. Hirose will see his first NHL action of the season if he appears in a game for the Wings, but has played sparingly with Detroit for parts of the past four seasons. He has just four goals and 16 assists in 57 career NHL games, but has been over the 50-point plateau in the AHL the past two seasons, including 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points in 64 games this season. The Red Wings host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
- Also among minor league transactions, goaltender Dylan Ferguson was sent down to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, according to CapFriendly. Ferguson signed with the Senators earlier this month, and played well in two games with Ottawa, his first NHL action since 2017-18. He registered a .940 save percentage in those two games, and has a .935 save percentage in six games with the Belleville Senators this season. He also played five games for the Toronto Marlies before signing with Ottawa, and carried an .888 save percentage in those tilts. Ferguson held down the fort for the Sens on March 20, stopping 48-of-49 shots in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburg Penguins.
- Goaltender Joseph Woll was sent to the Toronto Marlies by the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to CapFriendly. Woll has played well in a short stint for the Maple Leafs, winning three of four games played with a .934 save percentage while allowing just eight goals in that span. He last played Sunday, stopping 23-of-25 shots in a 3-2 Maple Leafs win.
Red Wings Sign Carter Mazur
The Detroit Red Wings have signed left winger Carter Mazur to an entry level contract, which will begin next season. Mazur will play with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL on an amateur tryout for the remainder of this season.
Mazur, 21, is a Michigan native who just completed his second season with the University of Denver, coming off of a productive NCAA career with 36 goals and 39 assists for 75 points in 81 games. He also notched seven points in five games for the United States at the World Junior Championships, helping the Americans to a bronze medal.
Mazur helped DU to a national championship in 2022, only adding to an impressive resume since being selected in the third round in 2021 by the Red Wings. Mazur has an opportunity to get his feet wet at the AHL level with Grand Rapids, but won’t have the benefit of a playoff run as the Griffins sit in last place with eight games remaining on the schedule.
The Red Wings have signed a handful of their drafted prospects in recent days, and Mazur adds to that list. He has been a steady point producer going back to his days in the USHL, and enters the Detroit organization at a time when many of the team’s prospects are starting to find their way in the professional ranks.
Mazur will likely spend as much time in the AHL as Detroit feels, as the team is known for taking its time with prospects just entering the Red Wings system. The Red Wings also likely won’t be shy about letting him develop as much as possible before giving him an NHL shot.
Ville Husso Could Be Done For Season
EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro reports Robby Fabbri is likely done for the season. The Detroit Red Wings winger has not played since March 8 when he was ruled out with a lower-body injury. It initially sounded like he could return this season, but Head Coach Derek Lalonde spoke with media today and shut down any hope of a return for the 27 year old. Fabbri had scored seven goals and 16 points in 28 games this season after missing the first three months of the season with a knee injury.
This is just the latest in a series of serious injuries for Fabbri. He missed the entire 2017-18 season, was limited to 32 games in 2018-19, 30 games in 2020-21, 56 games last season and will finish this year with just 28. A skilled forward, Fabbri could be an impact player for the Red Wings if he were able to remain healthy. Hopefully Fabbri is able to bounce back quickly from his latest setback and have a productive offseason and a strong 2023-24.
Detroit Red Wings Sign William Wallinder
The Detroit Red Wings have announced the signing of defenseman William Wallinder to a three-year entry-level contract beginning with the 2023-24 season. Financial details will be added as they become available.
Wallinder will immediately report to North America. The Red Wings also revealed that he will report to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins on an amateur tryout for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
The 20-year-old Wallinder, born in Sweden, was the Red Wings’ second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, taken 32nd overall. He has spent the past two seasons playing for Rögle BK in the SHL, recording 45 points in 97 games.
Wallinder is a highly-touted prospect for the Red Wings and is known for his exceptional skating ability and offensive confidence. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 190 pounds, he’s got a pro-ready size that could help ease his transition to North American ice.
Wallinder appeared in seven games for Sweden at the 2022 World Junior Championship, recording three assists and a +3 rating in seven games. He also recorded the most points among all junior-aged SHL players in 2021-22 and was named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year.
Robert Mastrosimone Unlikely To Sign With Detroit
Generating the production of an average forward for Boston University, forward Robert Mastrosimone turned things around upon joining the Arizona State Sun Devils. In his first career season at Arizona State, Mastrosimone scored over a point per game, putting up 42 points in 38 games. Unfortunately, for the third straight season, he was unable to help the Sun Devils reach the NCAA tournament.
Mastrosimone was drafted 54th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, hopefully, to become one of the better forwards on the next contending Red Wings’ team. However, Greg Powers, the head coach of Arizona State, relays that Mastrosimone may not be joining the Red Wings altogether.
“He’s playing the waiting game and seeing what’s going to be available as a free agent. There’s a lot of teams that are interested in him, but it doesn’t look like Detroit is going to happen. It’s just a waiting game, but he has the option to come back. It’s a good option and he’s open to it.”
If Detroit and Mastrosimone are unable to come to a contract resolution, the young prospect should nevertheless find his way onto an NHL team. Including his standalone year with Arizona State, Mastrosimone has played in 121 regular season games, scoring 32 goals and 60 assists. Mastrosimone will have one more season of eligibility due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and should he play out his final season with Arizona State, he will likely be joining a new organization around this time next year.
Injury Notes: Filip Zadina
- The Detroit Red Wings announced today that Filip Zadina is day-to-day with a lower body injury and will not be available for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Zadina also missed over three months earlier this season with a lower body injury after blocking a shot in early November against the New York Islanders. It’s been a tough season for the former Halifax Moosehead, he has struggled to stay on the ice, and when he has played, he has been largely ineffective with just seven points in 30 games. The 23-year-old had a career year last season with 24 points in 74 games but has yet to live up to the expectations the Red Wings had for him when they took him sixth overall in 2018.