Marco Rossi (ice hockey)

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Marco Rossi
Born (2001-09-23) 23 September 2001 (age 20)
Feldkirch, Austria
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Minnesota Wild
Iowa Wild (AHL)
ZSC Lions
NHL Draft 9th overall, 2020
Minnesota Wild
Playing career 2018–present

Marco Rossi (born 23 September 2001) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rossi grew up in Austria and moved to Switzerland in 2011 to further his career. He spent several years there, making his professional debut in 2018 with the GCK Lions of the Swiss League, the second tier of hockey in Switzerland. Selected by the 67s in the 2018 CHL Import Draft, Rossi moved to North America that year and has played two seasons there. In 2019–20 he led the OHL in scoring and was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as the most valuable player in the league. Regarded as a top prospect for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Rossi was selected 9th overall by the Wild. Internationally Rossi has played for the Austrian national junior team at the under-18 World Championships and World Junior Championships.

Playing career[]

Rossi first played hockey in his native Austria when he was 3-years-old. At the age of 10 Rossi moved to Switzerland to further his career, and Feldkirch, his hometown, is close to the Austria��Switzerland border. At the age of 13 Rossi moved to Zürich again to help his career.[1] He played in the junior system of Switzerland within the system of the ZSC Lions, frequently playing in older age categories.[2] He made his professional debut in the 2017–18 season, playing 18 games and recording 7 points for the GCK Lions of the Swiss League, the second-highest league in Switzerland. After the season he was selected 18th overall by the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.[3] He played 53 games with Ottawa in 2018–19 and scored 65 points, finishing fourth on the team in scoring, and had an additional 22 points in 17 playoff games. Rossi was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team as a result.[4] Rossi returned to Ottawa for the 2019–20 season and led the OHL, and the entire CHL in scoring with 120 points in 56 games. He was awarded the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy and CHL Top Scorer Award for leading the OHL and CHL in scoring, respectively, and was named the most outstanding player in the OHL, winning the Red Tilson Trophy, and was also named to the OHL's First All-Star Team.[5] He was the first European player to lead the OHL in scoring (Stan Mikita, who was born in Slovakia and raised in Canada, did so in the 1958–59 season).[6]

Heading into the 2020 NHL Entry Draft Rossi was regarded as a top prospect, and the NHL Central Scouting Bureau had him ranked as the sixth-best North American-based skater for the draft.[7] He was selected in the first-round, ninth overall, by the Minnesota Wild. On 23 October 2020, Rossi was signed by the Wild to a three-year, entry-level contract.[8] Five days later, he was loaned to the ZSC Lions until the start of NHL training camp.[9] He holds a Swiss player-license after having played most of his junior hockey in Switzerland. The NHL delayed the start of the 2020–21 season until January 2021, and Rossi was invited to join the Wild's training camp prior to the season starting.[10] However, he returned to Austria due to long-term complications from COVID-19; he had tested positive late in 2020 for the virus.[11] Speaking about his battle with the virus, Rossi stated: "I’m thankful to God that he supported me. … I’m just happy that I’m still alive."[12]

On September 25, 2021, Rossi joined the Wild for their training camp for three games before being assigned to the Iowa Wild on October 9, 2021.[13]

International play[]

The first International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament Rossi played at was the 2017 World U18 Championship Division IB, the third tier of the tournament. He scored 8 points in 5 games, leading the Austrian national team in scoring and playing third overall.[14] Rossi subsequently played at the 2018 World Junior Championship IA, the second tier at that level. With 5 points in 5 games he led the Austrian national junior team and finished tied for fifth overall.[15] He returned to the under-18 level for the 2018 Division IB tournament, recording 7 points in 5 games to place second for Austria and tied for fourth overall.[16]

Rossi served as Austria's captain during the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He went scoreless in four games, as Austria only scored one goal, losing all four games.[17][18]

Personal life[]

Rossi is the youngest of three children; he has two sisters, Estelle and Marielle. His father, Michael, played hockey for 20 years, mainly with VEU Feldkirch.[1]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 ZSC U17 U17-Elit 29 28 23 51 12 11 8 3 11 6
2016–17 GCK Lions U20 U20-Elit 9 3 4 7 6 — — — — —
2017–18 GCK Lions U20 U20-Elit 34 22 29 51 30 9 5 5 10 8
2017–18 GCK Lions SL 18 4 3 7 6 — — — — —
2018–19 Ottawa 67's OHL 53 29 36 65 32 17 6 16 22 18
2019–20 Ottawa 67s OHL 56 39 81 120 40 — — — — —
2020–21 ZSC Lions NL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
OHL totals 109 68 117 185 72 17 6 16 22 18

International[]

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Austria U18-IB 5 6 2 8 4
2018 Austria U18-IB 5 4 3 7 4
2018 Austria WJC-IA 5 3 2 5 8
2021 Austria WJC 4 0 0 0 2
Junior totals 19 13 7 20 18

Awards and honours[]

Award Year
OHL
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy 2019–20 [6]
Red Tilson Trophy 2019–20 [5]
First All-Star Team 2019–20
Second All-Star Team 2018–19
CHL Top Scorer Award 2019–20

References[]

  1. ^ a b Rossi, Marco (17 October 2019). "2020 Draft Diary: Marco Rossi". NHL.com. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  2. ^ Nemetz, Matthias (21 June 2017). "Neuer Vanek? Das ist Österreichs Eishockey-Juwel" [New Vanek? This is Austria's ice hockey gem] (in German). Laola1. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  3. ^ "67's select Austrian centre Marco Rossi in CHL Import Draft". Ottawa 67s. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Top 5 impact players from 2018 CHL Import Draft". Canadian Hockey League. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b Kennedy, Ryan (21 May 2020). "The OHL's Most Outstanding Player is 2020 Draft Prospect Marco Rossi". The Hockey News. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b "67's Rossi claims Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as OHL's top scorer". OHL. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 Draft Prospect Rankings — North American Skaters". NHL.com. 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Wild signs forward Marco Rossi to three-year, entry-level contract". Minnesota Wild. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  9. ^ McLellan, Sarah (28 October 2020). "Wild loans Marco Rossi to ZSC Lions in Switzerland". Star Tribune. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Wild opens training camp Jan. 4 at Tria Rink". NHL.com. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Wild's Rossi returns to Austria to rest due to complications from COVID-19". Sportsnet.ca. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. ^ Williams, Thomas. "Wild prospect Marco Rossi details terrifying battle with COVID-19 complications". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Wild reduces training camp roster to 24 players". NHL.com. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  14. ^ "2017 World U18 Championship IB — Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  15. ^ "2018 World Junior Championship Division IA — Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  16. ^ "2018 World U18 Championship IB — Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  17. ^ Warren, Ken (4 January 2021). "Austria's tough world junior experience behind him, Rossi is ready to fight for NHL spot". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  18. ^ Johnson, Randy (20 December 2020). "Wild training camp will feature newcomers Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi". Star Tribune. Retrieved 6 January 2021.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Minnesota Wild first round draft pick
2020 		Succeeded by
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