Welcome back to the Red Wings prospect report, a series from The Athletic giving you a deeper look at the players in the organizational pipeline.



Last edition, we caught you up on a pair of defensemen in Grand Rapids. This time, we check in on another young blueliner — Boston University’s Kasper Kotkansalo.



Kasper Kotkansalo, D, Boston University, NCAA



A 2017 third-round pick, Kotkansalo had a typically quiet freshman season with the Terriers offensively. He posted six points — two goals, four assists — on a team loaded with NHL prospects such as Dante Fabbro, Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Greenway.



He did block 51 shots, though, and his plus-minus of 12 was good for third on the team. After notching just one goal and 11 assists in the USHL the season prior, the low offensive output probably wasn’t a surprise. Going up a level and transitioning to the college game, it was always going to get tougher to...