Marco Rossi was in the Minnesota Wild lineup for two games this season. He likely will be a mainstay with the Wild next year.(David Berding-USA TODAY Sport)
The Minnesota Wild begin the season with the roster than finished last year.
Or at least for the most part.
The team released its opening night roster on Tuesday and a lot of the familiar names are back — KIrill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Foligno and Jared Spurgeon to name a few.
Cam Talbot, who was the No.1 goalie for the majority of last season , was moved to Ottawa and will begin this year on the injured reserve list.
The Wild also skate into Thursday’s opener with forwards Jordan Greenway and Pavel Novak and defensemen Dakota Mermis and Jon Merrill as injured non-roster players.
But of the 21 active players on the roster, who are the biggest additions or an individual in a key position at the start of the year.
Here is a look at three.
Wild fans got a glimpse of the 21-year-old Rossi last year as he was on the roster for two games last year. But the thought of Rossi being a regular contributor to the team has been in the thoughts of those same people since the center was drafted ninth overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Rossi had 18 goals and 53 points in 63 games in the AHL last season with the Iowa Wild, and folllowed that with a strong training camp this summer, and even earned an endorsement from team owner Craig Leipold
He is projected to center a line with Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar.
The Wild posted a video on Sunday in which general manager Bill Guerin and coach Dean Evason informed Rossi that he had made the roster.
The video also includes another addition to the Wild lineup to start the season.
Calen Addison, who has played 18 games in Minnesota during the past two season, made the roster out of training camp this summer.(Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports) /
The 22-year-old defenseman has played in 18 games with the Wild over the previous two seasons including 15 games during the 2021-22 campaign.
Now Addison, who was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2018 and traded to the Wild on Feb. 10, 2020, now is among the top six defensemen in Minnesota. He is projected to be on the third pairing with Alex Goligoski.
Addison is coming off a season in which he had seven goals and 34 points in 43 games with the Iowa Wild. He totaled 56 points over the past two years in Des Moines.
The next player is not really a newcomer to Minnesota but he will be put into a key role to start the season.
Tyson Jost was among the Minnesota Wild’s top producers in the preseason with seven points in five games(Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports) /
The 24-year-old spent 21 games with the Wild last year after being traded from Colorado for Nico Sturm. Of course, the Avs went on to win the Stanley Cup and Jost was reminded and harrassed by some Colorado fans in the offseason.
Jost had a strong training camp with the Wild and is projected to be paired on a line with Joel Eriksson-Ek and Marcus Foligno to open the regular season with Greenway out. Jost got a look on that line last season with so-so results, and will get another opportunity now.
Jost finished with eight goals and 20 points between the Avs and Wild last season. He finished the preseason with seven points in five games.
