By most accounts, Marco Kasper has an NHL-ready game and could be ready for action with the Detroit Red Wings as soon as 2023-24. Despite that, his road to the big leagues anytime soon became quite murky over the last few weeks. General manager Steve Yzerman has not been in the business of clearing the way for high-end prospects to jump to the NHL level since taking over the team in 2019. No one will make the roster based on pedigree alone, and that’s been made clear multiple times—Filip Zadina perhaps being the most recent and obvious example.