Report: Wings prospect towers above competition

The Detroit Red Wings found themselves in an unfamiliar position at this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. Selecting inside the top 10 for the first time since 1991, the Wings were certain they’d get a good prospect, but when 6’5, 220  pound power forward Michael Rasmussen fell into their lap at pick #9, the team couldn’t be any happier.

The 18-year-old native of Surrey, British Columbia, was one of the top ranked North-American skaters all season long and put up 32 goals and 55 points in 50 games with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans in 2016-17. Gregg Krupa of The Detroit News recently caught up with the big winger to get some insight into how he’s feeling now that he’s part of the Red Wings franchise.

“For me, I try to keep my world small and kind of just lie low with my family and kind of hang out with those who matter and those who have been there a while,” Rasmussen said to Krupa before adding, “For me, it’s just a dream come true, obviously.”

Rasmussen has spent much of the summer improving his game in the hopes of impressing the team’s coaching staff at training camp later this offseason. “I have a strength coach, speed coach, power-skating coach. “I’m going to put my head down and work hard, and show them I want to play in the NHL, I want to play for the Red Wings and help them win,” he says.

While Rasmussen looks like a long-shot to make the NHL as an 18 year-old, there’s no denying his physical capabilities. The teenager has the body type of a grown man and would not get pushed around the NHL ice, as is the case with most youngsters. For Rasmussen, his focus will be on increasing his speed and overall awareness of the defensive game, but he notes he doesn’t plan on making drastic changes to his game saying, “I’m just going to continue to be myself, and that’s what got me to that honor.”