Red Wings Kasper Not Going To Olympics

The Olympic dreams of Detroit Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper came to a crashing halt on Friday morning. Kasper and Austria fell 2-1 to Kazakhstan in Group D of the Olympic quaifying tournament in Slovakia.

That outcome was dropping the Austrians to 0-2 in the four-team pool with one game to play. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, improved to 2-0.

Kasper, selected eighth overall by Detroit in the 2022 NHL entry draft, was held off the scoresheet by the Kazakhs. He was the scorer of Austria’s only goal in their 2-1 loss to Slovakia on Thursday.

Marco Kasper wins the faceoff gets to the net and tips home a GOAL 🚨for Austria 🇦🇹 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/tnpNaPSWGy

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) August 29, 2024

Meanwhile, in Group F action, Norway was setting up a Saturday showdown with hosts Denmark for the lone qualifying spot from Group F. The Norwegians, including Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, dumped Great Britain 6-2. Brandsegg-Nygard, selected 15th overall by the Red Wings in the 2024 NHL entry draft, was a two-goal scorer in Norway’s opening win over Japan.

He was held without a point against the Brits. Brandsegg-Nygard registered two shots on goal and was assessed a high-sticking minor penalty.

Red Wings Pick Dower Nilsson On The Board

It was only a preseason game and an empty-net goal for that matter. Still, seeing Noah Dower Nilsson’s name on the scoresheet instead of the injury list has to offer some encouragement to Red Wings fans.

Noah Dower-Nilsson has had a solid game today and gets rewarded with an empty-net goal #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Qp9AvD5J6k

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 27, 2024

The player Detroit chose 73rd overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft was scoring an empty-net goal to clinch Frolunda’s 3-1 victory over HV 71 in SHL preseason play. Last season, the 19-year-old left-winger underwent separate surgeries to repair torn labrums in both his left and right shoulders. Those surgeries wound up limiting the Swedish teenager to a total of nine games all season.

“It has been tough,” Dower Nilsson told Goteborgs-Posten. He bulked up in the offseason, adding nearly 10 pounds of muscle to his six-foot frame. Dower Nilsson now tips the scales at 183 pounds.

His older brother Liam Dower Nilsson, also a Red Wings draft pick (134th overall, 2021), plays for Bjorkloven IF in the Allsvenskan, the Swedish second division.

Liv Makes SHL Debut

Herman Liv, the son of Red Wings draftee Stefan Liv, was also making news during the SHL preseason. Just recently turned 18, he made his first SHL appearance for Orebo in an SHL preseason game, tending goal for the same team as his late father.

Stefan Liv was Detroit’s 102nd overall selection in the 2000 NHL entry draft. He spent parts of the 2006-07 season with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins (34 games) and ECHL Toledo Walleye (three games). The elder Liv was among those killed in the 2001 plane crash involving the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL club.