Prospect Weekly: The forgotten Martin Kaut

Due to his month long absence while recovering from a concussion, the first missed games since moving his career to North America, many had written off this season for Martin Kaut. Since his return on December 13th Kaut has started to have the season expected of him and in line with merit for an NHL opportunity.

It was only a matter of time before Kaut got on the board and when he put the first puck in the back of the net more would come as seen below in a 4-3 win in Tucson as Kaut uses his quick release and heavy shot to do most of his damage.

In a 4-3 overtime loss in Manitoba this goal seen below was for naught as video review took it away for apparently kicking the puck. Still, good read and reaction for Kaut. He would get his third goal back the following contest on a breakaway as he left the penalty box on a matching roughing penalty in a 5-1 win over Tucson. Kaut generates an average of two shots a game and has increased his output to 2.33 per game with a shot in each contest since his return.

In typical Kaut fashion he’s getting his work done at even strength. With the exception of one power play assist his points have been at even strength and all have been primary. This matches the type of production Kaut had in the 2018-19 season. While his 26 point total seemed modest, 18 of those were even strength primary points. The prime offensive opportunities belong to the veterans on the Eagles as Kaut sees exclusively second unit power play and limited special situations.

Kaut’s latest assist in a just concluded two point weekend as seen below was a zone entry and little dish to Jayson Megna in a 4-2 loss to Tucson which snapped the Eagles’ 12 game point streak. That run just so happened to coincide with Kaut’s return and while he is clearly not the main producer of offense with six points including three goals thus far he does eat a lot of minutes and works to stabilize the lineup on one of the top two lines. He has discovered some chemistry with Megna and that seems to be a critical component to Kaut feeling comfortable.

While points make the headlines and are easy to find in the boxscore Kaut does a lot of the dirty work along the boards and the heavy lifting defensively. He has been elevated to the first unit penalty kill as of late and has found success in that role. Defensive statistics in the AHL are limited so in just looking at the dreaded +/- Kaut has only posted three -1 games and only one since his return. After 86 AHL games in his career Kaut is an intelligent and responsible player ready for at least a look at the next level.

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Credit Colorado Eagles for the photo