A year earlier, Marco Rossi had led Austria’s U20 national ice hockey team to the World Cup in Edmonton as a freshly drafted NHL first-round draft (number 9, Minnesota Wild). This year, the biggest international attention goes to red-and-white-red team Marco Casper.
The 17-year-old striker is traded as a candidate for the first round in the 2022 draft and could boost his share value further with strong performances at the A World Cups in Edmonton and Red Deer starting on 26 December.
The son of longtime EHV team defender Peter Kasper doesn’t want to be distracted by the prospect of the draft, for which Vinzenz Rohrer, who is the same age, is also a candidate. “I play without pressure, I don’t even look at the lists,” Kasper said in an interview with the APA – Austrian press agency. “I make sure I improve every day and we win games,” he said.
Austria still without victory in Under-20 World Cup
Austria has never won the U20 World Cup, a premiership success and staying in the league for the first time is the main goal of team boss Marco Peval’s team. To that end, Kasper wants to “try to take on the leadership role, always giving it a lot of gas”.
He can foresee what will happen to the young Carinthian and his allies. Last year, Wing was the youngest player in the World Cup when Austria finished last with no points and 1:29 goals, but was not relegated due to the coronavirus situation. “It was a great experience to play, even if it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to be,” Casper said.
EHV Team Overwhelming Outsider
This year also, Finland, Canada and the Czech Republic are waiting for three strong opponents, and Germany is also clearly above the EHV team. Led by team boss Dave Cameron, long-time coach of the Vienna Capitals, Canada has been referred to as No. 1 in the 2021 draft by Canada’s top talent, such as Owen Power, or Shane Wright, who by many experts as No. 1 in 2022. make guesses.
“You can see they’re doing everything really well, how fast the passes are. You want to do better. It’s important for us to play and develop at such a top level,” Kasper said. His personal growth is already impressive. After scoring 63 points in 22 games for KAC U18, the Klagenfurt native moved to Sweden. At the age of 16 he made his debut in the Swedish top league SHL and this season blossomed into top club Rosal as a regular player.
Casper: “Rogal was a good decision”
“I wanted to move to Sweden when I was younger. Rogel was a good decision. The quality of training and matches is great. It also works as a team,” said Kasper, who is one of the current league leaders from Small. City of Engelholm scored four goals and two assists and also scored goals and assists in the semi-finals in the CHL.
However, at the moment all his focus is on the Under-20 World Cup. Austrian Red Deer making their preparations in “Bubble”. “We’re not as fully protected as we were last year. But we’re not allowed to go out, wear masks, and are driven by shuttle buses to the ice rink,” says Casper, whose other major desire than sporting success Is: “Hopefully we get to play in front of the fans.” Which was missing for the last one year.
