Red Wings spot more growth in towering rookie

DETROIT Michael Rasmussen easily crossed the 10-game rookie threshold last month because he never thought about returning to the Western Hockey League.

Call it confidence or the Detroit Red Wings realizing they may have something special in the Vancouver native and Surrey-raised product, who has nothing left to gain in the junior ranks.

The 19-year-old Rasmussen could have been re-assigned to the Tri-City Americans before his 10th game and avoid burning a year of his entry-level contract.

However, the early returns on the 6-6 winger, who can also play centre, have been so encouraging that coach Jeff Blashill is playing him more, and in more important roles. As a second-line winger, Rasmussen had two goals and an assist in his previous three games before facing the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in the Motor City. He also logged a season-high 17:31 on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, and there’s more to his four points (2-2) in the first dozen games.

Rasmussen’s emerging game has also given the Wings a West Coast feel because 20-year-old Langley native Dennis Cholowski is leading the club’s back end with eight points (2-6) in his first 12 outings.

As for Rasmussen, the challenge is to use his imposing size. The ninth-overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft has been protecting pucks better and making plays to earn him power-play time with the injury-riddled Red Wings, who are going through a tough transition. And if Rasmussen’s progress continues, it will be difficult for the club to lend him to Team Canada for the world junior championship next month.

“He had to learn to create space,” said Blashill. “In major junior he could just kind of be bigger than people, and now he has to learn to bounce people off their strides. And when people are checking him, he’s got to use his shoulders and his stride to create a little bit of space for himself.

“He’s had to learn tricks in how to spin off to get to the net and when he does, he’s a very good presence. We’ve sat him a couple of times that was schedule driven and making sure that it’s the long-term development that we’re looking at. He has played a number of good games in a row and his confidence has grown. He’s done a great job.”

Gaining the coach’s trust has put Rasmussen in a good place. He was high on the Wings’ wish list at the draft because of his versatility, size and potential to be a power winger or strong two-way centre. The offence came naturally to him with 59 points (31-28) in just 47 WHL games last season — he had a wrist injury that required surgery — but learning the NHL game has been a work in progress.

“I’ve done my best to earn my way, but I’ve got to continue to do that and just get better,” said Rasmussen.