It was the 2020 NHL Draft and Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin and Director Of Amateur scouting Judd Brackett came to the table meaning business. It was long said before the draft that the Wild would like to pick a center with the 9th overall pick.
Picking 9th overall, The Minnesota Wild selected the reigning OHL points scorer and center from the Ottawa 67s, Marco Rossi.
Rossi was immediately thought of as the top center of the future for the Wild based off his production and performance in the OHL. At the beginning of the 2021 NHL season, the Minnesota Wild had invited Rossi to training camp in an effort to see if the young forward would be ready to see NHL action during the season. It had been said by Rossi and his agent that he would come to camp and perform his best and that he had felt NHL ready.
Unfortunately for Rossi, he would end up battling COVID-19 and after a long ravaging battle with the virus, he would go on to have a complete 18 month recovery period, a devastating blow to a player that had such high hopes to make an early impact in the NHL.
Marco Rossi returned to the ice in preparation to represent Austria at the World Junior Championship however, after playing just four gamed for Austria, the team would not qualify to advance further.
Coming into the 2021-2022 NHL season, Marco Rossi will be attending the Minnesota Wild’s training camp in hopes to once again show that he is NHL ready and with some roster spots available, Rossi will have a chance to compete for a spot.
Obviously if Rossi makes the opening night roster, one would think that the Wild’s coaching staff will do some line juggling to help Rossi adjust the best that they can and would be instrumental to his development. The absolute worst idea would be to place Rossi on the roster as the number one center and thrust him into a role he’s not quite ready for just yet.
On the flip side for Marco Rossi, if he weren’t to make that initial NHL roster out of training camp, Rossi would have an excellent opportunity to develop professionally with the Iowa Wild and could really strive in Tim Army’s system.
Final Thoughts
A lot of fans would love to see Marco Rossi play in Minnesota this season, although that is a possibility, it would seem more likely that Rossi will start in the AHL to adjust to the pro game here in North America but never the less, a stint in the AHL could be short for the ever evolving Rossi.
*Info used in this article was found at eliteprospects.com