Can the Detroit Red Wings Forward Rasmussen Elevate His Game to Another Level?

One thing the Detroit Red Wings have lacked over the years is size and toughness at the forward position. Although they have have many skilled players, they have been average-sized and lacked that physical style. Enter forward Michael Rasmussen. He is the perfect blend of size, skill, and toughness Detroit needs down the stretch. He has stepped up his game in recent seasons, but is looking to take another step in being that dominant player in the trenches.

Red Wings and Rasmussen have a nice partnership

Rasmussen, a 6-foot-6 and 220-pound center had struggled early in his career, but may have found that switch to turn things around. The Surrey, British Columbia, Canada native has blossomed into a dependable two-way forward who seems to have it all to be successful. The Red Wings had high expectations of him when they drafted him ninth in the 2017 NHL Draft.

He struggled early in his NHL career after a successful career with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL). With Tri-City, he was a man among boys and it showed with his production. In 161 games, he scored 81 goals and 76 assists for 157 points, dominating the smaller competition. However, that did not translate to the NHL right away as he failed to maintain that energy and did not get his skating underneath him in a league where skating is pivotal in scoring goals.

Over his time in the NHL, not only has he improved his skating, but his overall game is better. His defense awareness is twice as good as it was before, getting into the right spots, while his cycle game is stronger , and his offensive production has increased every year since 2021-22. In 2018-19, he scored 18 points, but he dipped to 12 points in his sophomore season. Since then, he scored 27 points in 2021-22, 29 points in 2022-23, and had a career-high 33 points in 2023-24.

Rasmussen has another step to take and 50 points this season is not out of the question. He is finally reaching his potential at a pace where the sky is the limit. He is excellent on the ice and his two-way game has allowed him to create more offense and be more precise in all three zones. A lot of focus will go to forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider, as it should. However, Rasmussen is only 25, does everything well on the ice, and should get more attention for his progress over the years. He is the kind of player who can take this team on his back in the playoffs with his size, board play, and physical style in all three zones. Do not count him out to take another massive step this season as he can improve more with an icreased amount of ice time. Good, young player for Detroit that seems to be just gettign started.