C Michael Rasmussen - Tri-City Americans, WHL (2017, 9th, DET)

[MBH]

Rasmussen is a big lumbering player with some good hands. Skating has always been an issue. NHL is playing a high tempo speed game, so it's more challenging to be a productive player. DET should keep him or trade him for another undeveloped prospect ie. Mittelstadt.

Yeah... I tend to agree,
But I don't see much need for trading him.
Wings have time to be patient with him whether it's at C or W.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

He will put up a lot of points in the NHL. What he does well (scoring in tight) never goes out of style.

 

[Ezekial]

Well, if you are a North American playing in Europe you were probably an AHL or ECHL player at some point.

Also, just to be more exact, Rasmussen is at 0,8 PPG which places him 34-36th in the league scoring. For context, JJ Peterka, who was drafted a couple of months ago and is yet to turn 19, is at 1,33 PPG.

I mean yea, but also for context JJ Peterka has played on Euro ice his whole career and just might be more conducive to his playstyle than the NA ice. Rasmussen on the other hand has played on NA ice almost exclusively to this point and his game is less conducive to more open ice, as he's spent more time there it seems he's getting more comfortable and taking close to 5 shots a game.

 

[spiderweb]

Well, if you are a North American playing in Europe you were probably an AHL or ECHL player at some point.

Also, just to be more exact, Rasmussen is at 0,8 PPG which places him 34-36th in the league scoring. For context, JJ Peterka, who was drafted a couple of months ago and is yet to turn 19, is at 1,33 PPG.

1.0 PPG

 

[SoundAndFury]

I mean yea, but also for context JJ Peterka has played on Euro ice his whole career and just might be more conducive to his playstyle than the NA ice. Rasmussen on the other hand has played on NA ice almost exclusively to this point and his game is less conducive to more open ice, as he's spent more time there it seems he's getting more comfortable and taking close to 5 shots a game.

..or he is simply a way more talented player, offensively. Rink size is like the lamest excuse one can come up with. Literally dozens of players make the transition from NA to EU ice every year. Among those is Colin Campbell, for example, the guy none of us have heard before who has spent his whole pro career until this season as a mediocre AHLer and is now at 1,37 PPG in Austria.

Who cares is if I picked him as an example, or Peterka, or anyone else. Point was that Rasmussen isn't a dominant player offensively even at this level of competition meaning his offensive upside at the NHL level is very limited.

1.0 PPG

Nice first post man, very insightful. Yes, if someone scores 4 points in a single game their PPG average is going to grow. That's how math works.

 

[teemussalami]

..or he is simply a way more talented player, offensively. Rink size is like the lamest excuse one can come up with. Literally dozens of players make the transition from NA to EU ice every year. Among those is Colin Campbell, for example, the guy none of us have heard before who has spent his whole pro career until this season as a mediocre AHLer and is now at 1,37 PPG in Austria.

Who cares is if I picked him as an example, or Peterka, or anyone else. Point was that he isn't a dominant player offensively even at this level of competition meaning his offensive upside at the NHL level is very limited.


Nice first post man, very insightful. Yes, if someone scores 4 points in a single game their PPG average is going to grow. That's how math works.

First in 5 years, you should feel somewhat honored.

 

[spiderweb]

..or he is simply a way more talented player, offensively. Rink size is like the lamest excuse one can come up with. Literally dozens of players make the transition from NA to EU ice every year. Among those is Colin Campbell, for example, the guy none of us have heard before who has spent his whole pro career until this season as a mediocre AHLer and is now at 1,37 PPG in Austria.

Who cares is if I picked him as an example, or Peterka, or anyone else. Point was that Rasmussen isn't a dominant player offensively even at this level of competition meaning his offensive upside at the NHL level is very limited.


Nice first post man, very insightful. Yes, if someone scores 4 points in a single game their PPG average is going to grow. That's how math works.

Looks dominate to me at 21 years old and with just 16 games and 16 points. Have you looked at how many shots he has had on goal? He was playing real well in Grand Rapids at .63 PPG considering he was hurt.

 

[Dr Quincy]

Looks dominate to me at 21 years old and with just 16 games and 16 points. Have you looked at how many shots he has had on goal? He was playing real well in Grand Rapids at .63 PPG considering he was hurt.

Dominant is tied for 15th in a 3rd tier league in PPG with guys like Jack Skille and Hunter Fejes.

 

[Henkka]

Looks dominate to me at 21 years old and with just 16 games and 16 points. Have you looked at how many shots he has had on goal? He was playing real well in Grand Rapids at .63 PPG considering he was hurt.

His shot split was interesting to see.

First 6 games 11 shots on goals. (1.83 per game) 5 points on those 6 games.
Last 10 games 40 shots on goal. (4.00 per game). That's like Jeff Carter level of shooting at NHL level. That's the level where he should be always.
11 points in last 10 games.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Looks dominate to me at 21 years old and with just 16 games and 16 points. Have you looked at how many shots he has had on goal? He was playing real well in Grand Rapids at .63 PPG considering he was hurt.

I actually have seen 3 of his games this year and well, to me, he did not look dominant. Nowhere near, actually. But those weren't necessarily his best games. However, statistics support the eye-test. What he did in both NHL and AHL is nice and all, that's why there was never a question he is going to be a good player for Graz. The question was how good. And well, "good, not great" is the answer. He isn't relied upon much defensively. He is 3rd on the team in faceoffs taken strongly supporting the argument he is the team's 3rd center in TOI (albeit Graz often rolls 3 lines). He is one of the 4 top scorers on the team which, again, is good but nowhere near special.

I'm not saying Rasmussen is a bust much like I wouldn't have said Raffl is a sure-fire NHL player when he played in Austria. It's more nuanced than that. But he, even considering his age, has very obvious limitations as to what can he become (or not become) at the NHL level.

 

[MBH]

I actually have seen 3 of his games this year and well, to me, he did not look dominant. Nowhere near, actually. But those weren't necessarily his best games. However, statistics support the eye-test. What he did in both NHL and AHL is nice and all, that's why there was never a question he is going to be a good player for Graz. The question was how good. And well, "good, not great" is the answer. He isn't relied upon much defensively. He is 3rd on the team in faceoffs taken strongly supporting the argument he is the team's 3rd center in TOI (albeit Graz often rolls 3 lines). He is one of the 4 top scorers on the team which, again, is good but nowhere near special.

I'm not saying Rasmussen is a bust much like I wouldn't have said Raffl is a sure-fire NHL player when he played in Austria. It's more nuanced than that. But he, even considering his age, has very obvious limitations as to what can he become (or not become) at the NHL level.

You don't need to have great skill to do what Rasmussen is going to be asked to do. Which is why I wish they gave up on the Center pipedream.
Stick him on the wing. Have him battle on the wall, feed the points and go to the net.

I don't think he's ever going to prove he's worth the 9 overall pick. But the men responsible for that pick are in Edmonton now, thankfully.

 

[raymond23]

I don’t think it’s hard to admit that Rasmussen is never going to put up a lot of points. But I’m not sure that a small sample size in an Austrian league is that telling about his future.

The fact is, he was put in a very difficult position to succeed in his D+2 year - 19 year old in the NHL, playing wing when he’s a natural center, on a below average team.

This past season was actually pretty promising for Wings fans. He was the 1C on a decent Griffins team and did relatively well for what should have been his first pro season. His production faded toward the end but he was close to a PPG for a good chunk and was battling injuries all year (which is concerning). He also showed a lot of promise in his two-way game.

He’s a big kid but he needs to get a lot stronger which is taking some time. He also needs to keep improving his skating so he can carry the puck more often. If he can do those two things, it will be pretty difficult to take the puck from him and he’ll be very hard to play against.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Dominant is tied for 15th in a 3rd tier league in PPG with guys like Jack Skille and Hunter Fejes.

I'll take a 21 year old pacing 25+ year olds, and I'm pretty sure you lost credibility with Wings fans after that time you tried arguing that Reinhart was a better player than Mantha.

 

[EnglishJet]

Another year in the can, where we falling on this guy now? I know he's never going to live up to 9ths overall, but I'm still not ready to believe he's just 3rd/4th line grinder. Where are the rest of your heads on Rasmussen?

 

[NickH8]

Another year in the can, where we falling on this guy now? I know he's never going to live up to 9ths overall, but I'm still not ready to believe he's just 3rd/4th line grinder. Where are the rest of your heads on Rasmussen?

Good third line center/top 6 winger. I think the higher in the lineup you play him the more you want him as a winger. As the defense he's up against gets better he can't really handle the center position, but he clearly has a knack for scoring goals as he's flashed a bit this year. His frame and shot are great tools that would make him a great third guy on a scoring line. I think as he gets better at using his frame the numbers will come. He's a typical case of a big guy being slower to develop.
Edit: I feel like guys are gonna push him out of that top 6 winger role on Detroit though, and we'll see him in the 3c slot more.

 

[Get North]

Keith Primeau type of player. The more physicality he uses, the more effective he can be. He's got enough skill and skating to keep up, but needs to more noticeable as a big body to get cheap points.