Michael Rasmussen could be on the fast track to the NHL.
The Detroit Red Wings' top pick in this summer's draft - selected ninth overall - has impressed through the early goings of training camp. So much so that he could find himself suiting up in the winged wheel as early as this fall.
Through three preseason contests, Rasmussen has picked up a pair of goals, and his strong performance hasn't been lost on Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill.
"I'm excited about him as a prospect," Blashill told Ansar Khan of MLive.com. "He's big, he's smooth, he's got good hands, he's got good offensive sense."
With a franchise that typically slow roasts its prospects, Rasmussen's early success has come as a surprise, but times may be changing in Detroit as the team reluctantly enters a rebuild.
Only three months earlier, the Red Wings took some heat over Rasmussen's apparent early selection ahead of projected top-10 picks in Owen Tippett and Gabriel Vilardi, but the young Canadian is already turning heads.
The preseason has been a continuation of Rasmussen's play from 2016-17, when he tallied 55 points in 50 games with the WHL's Tri-City Americans. But whether he returns to the junior ranks will be determined in the coming days. As of Tuesday, Rasmussen is one of 47 players remaining at Red Wings camp.
Adding to the intrigue is that roster regular and fellow forward Andreas Athanasiou is still unsigned and threatening to continue his career in the KHL. His absence could create at least one more opening for Rasmussen.
"I want to be here and I want to play here," Rasmussen said. "I'm definitely trying to make it hard on them."
