Red Wings activate Marco Kasper, Mason Appleton off IR

Kasper, 22, has been out since Detroit’s season-opening 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury. Last season, the Austrian national notched nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 81 games.

Selected eighth overall by the Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kasper spent the 2022-23 season playing mostly for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), where he had eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 52 games. He also made his NHL debut that season, going scoreless in one game for Detroit.

Kasper came to North America full-time for the 2023-24 season, in which he registered 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 71 games for the Red Wings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. His rookie NHL season came in 2024-25, when he put up 19 goals and 18 assists for a career-best 37 points in 77 games.

Appleton, 30, went scoreless over Detroit’s first two games this season, but has been out since with an undisclosed injury. Last season, the Green Bay, Wisconsin native had six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 65 games for the Red Wings.

Selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, Appleton spent seven of his first eight NHL seasons with the Jets, playing just one season for the Seattle Kraken in 2021-22, before signing a two-year, $5.8 million contract with Detroit in July of 2025. His career-best campaign came in 2023-24 with Winnipeg, when he notched 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 82 games.

The Red Wings visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.