Article: Marco Rossi May Be Following In One Prominent Wild Star's Footsteps

[Justin Hein]

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[MNCountryLife]

I have to give Rossi credit.  He has looked the part this year.  His dedication over the last year appears to be paying off.  You have to respect a guy that gets knocked down a few pegs and battles back even better than before.  It won't be easy to stay on a similar path to Ek.  Ek has gotten better every year... and he appears to be better this year again.  Hopefully Rossi can continue that path.

[Pewterschmidt]

Rossi looks like he's now on a path to be a consistent NHL'r and that's great news for Wild fans.

Comparing Rossi's game to Ek's game is comparing apples to oran... coconuts

[raithis]

I remember when I got my Eriksson Ek jersey that there were none on the racks in the Hockey Lodge because he wasn't much of a scorer and wasn't as popular.  The people there even seemed to try and push me towards something else just because they didn't want to go through the hassle of making one.  My Koivu jersey had gotten kind of tight across the chest and Ek is the I decided I wanted because I liked what I saw in his game and character.  It's easy to root for people like him and I knew I'd be glad to wear his jersey.  

While becoming what he has, Eriksson Ek has seemed to learn a lot of good things from Foligno, Koivu, and Staal while becoming a well-rounded player.  He works hard to be better every year, and Rossi has seemed to take that to heart too - something that's good to see.  Hopefully Rossi is learning from things from players like Ek along the way to becoming the kind of player he will be.  So far, I've liked what I've seen.

Those North Stars-themed alternate jerseys look nice and it's been a few years.  Maybe if he keeps playing as he has I might get one of those and have it be a Rossi jersey.  I haven't really seen enough yet, but hopefully he keeps working at it and keeps getting better.

Right now I'm leaning towards Brodin on the North Stars flavor jersey.  Plus, the slight similarity to Broten is kind of nice.

[M_Nels]

21 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

I have to give Rossi credit.  He has looked the part this year.  His dedication over the last year appears to be paying off.  You have to respect a guy that gets knocked down a few pegs and battles back even better than before.  It won't be easy to stay on a similar path to Ek.  Ek has gotten better every year... and he appears to be better this year again.  Hopefully Rossi can continue that path.

100%. Rossi has been noticeably better this year. Biggest thing I've noticed is him taking command of the puck when he has it on his stick instead of looking for an immediate outlet. He looks like he wants to have the puck on his stick and looks to create. Think that is purely a confidence thing. Strength along the walls has been noticeable too, also like how he's getting to the front of the net. Have seen him in a few dustups in the crease.

[Luke Sims]

I remember a Joel Erikson Ek snipe to score his third goal of his career. It then took like 4 years for him to actually break out.

The 120 OHL points got us all excited. 

Listen to Yoda 

Patience

[Citizen Strife]

If Rossi gets anywhere close to EEK, that is plenty.  He's already found a place to stay, but if he gets better, that is one less problem the Wild needs to deal with.  Faber and Rossi both are here, and hopefully the long haul.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Citizen Strife
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[Justin Hein]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Rossi looks like he's now on a path to be a consistent NHL'r and that's great news for Wild fans.

Comparing Rossi's game to Ek's game is comparing apples to oran... coconuts

Different play styles to be sure, but they're the only guys in Minnesota's system to track as a top-six center. Eriksson Ek struggled mightily his first 2-3 seasons in Minnesota, and he never lost a season to COVID. I think the player he is today makes Rossi's future very encouraging. 

[Justin Hein]

59 minutes ago, Luke Sims said:

I remember a Joel Erikson Ek snipe to score his third goal of his career. It then took like 4 years for him to actually break out.

The 120 OHL points got us all excited. 

Listen to Yoda 

Patience

Short side top right corner? I think I remember it too. I remember in the postgame interview Gorg asked why he tried that shot and Eriksson Ek said something like "Well, I've been trying to shoot short side more often." 

He's a real poet. 

[Greenbean]

Maybe it's because I really want him to succeed, but it seems like Rossi is noticeable every time he hits the ice. In a good way at that, but I just feel like it's hard to not notice 23 flying all over the rink. If the wild don't have the puck he is hounding the puck carrier, when he has the puck on his stick he's looking to create offense. When he doesn't buy the wild are in position, he's causing problems in front of the net, or finding open areas to settle down in for a shot. He really took his demotion to heart. 

[Mateo3xm]

8 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

I have to give Rossi credit.  He has looked the part this year.  His dedication over the last year appears to be paying off.  You have to respect a guy that gets knocked down a few pegs and battles back even better than before.  It won't be easy to stay on a similar path to Ek.  Ek has gotten better every year... and he appears to be better this year again.  Hopefully Rossi can continue that path.

It took JEE quite a few years to become very productive though.

look at all the average years he had before he really started going.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/139633/joel-eriksson-ek

you could say it took him 4-5 years actually.

Rossi deserves that same type of patience.

 

 

[Luke Sims]

23 hours ago, Justin Hein said:

Short side top right corner? I think I remember it too. I remember in the postgame interview Gorg asked why he tried that shot and Eriksson Ek said something like "Well, I've been trying to shoot short side more often." 

He's a real poet. 

Yeah it was filthy.

[Willy the poor boy]

Prediction: Rossi, by the end of his career, will/would have challenged Ovi and the 'Great One' for goals scored in a career except for the fact they'll have taken 250 goals away from him by then.

[mnfaninnc]

On 10/27/2023 at 1:58 PM, raithis said:

Right now I'm leaning towards Brodin on the North Stars flavor jersey.  Plus, the slight similarity to Broten is kind of nice.

This sounds like a perfect set up for a Faber jersey 😎

[mnfaninnc]

I cannot believe that nobody has mentioned this yet. There is a huge similarity and everyone needs to go back and look at Eriksson Ek photos. When Ek made improvements from year to year, it started with him coming in noticeably larger. 2 straight offseasons, Ek put on 15 or so lbs. of muscle. 

Rossi decided to stay in MN this summer and put on 15 lbs. of muscle. It was desperately needed too, because he was way too small. Now, I don't expect Rossi to go banging people as the lead forechecker through the boards, but I do expect to see a couple of things:

1. He can protect the puck
2. He accelerates and gets to loose pucks in the corners and on the boards
3. His turns are elite
4. He doesn't get knocked off the puck easily

This is very important, and the key to his game. If Rossi does the same thing next offseason, there will be even more exciting improvement. Rossi's already got better mitts than Ek, he shows far more patience with the puck than Ek, and he has better east-west vision than Ek. 

Now, a little bit about the scouting of Ek before his draft year. I remember watching him being touted all season as a possible pick for the Wild. He is exactly who I had my eye on when they drafted, and I thought he'd be a great replacement for Koivu. 

But, it was his 2-way game, not his shot that got our attention. In his 1st World Juniors, his shot look pathetic. He got good shot volume, but he relied on getting shots close in, and they just weren't very good. He was playing 4th line C and PP2 in the tournament and I was very disappointed. 

In his 2nd World Juniors he looked far better, yet it wasn't his shot that stood out, it was his shot volume that stood out. One more thing on this, Ek was promoted to the big club more because he was needed for the position, since the club could afford to send Rossi down, and had the C position covered, they could develop him in the A. We ended up burning that year on Ek's deal by bringing him back for the playoffs because we were desperate. 

I'd like to think the timelines aren't necessarily the catalyst factor (maturity) as was the putting on muscle. This is a tough, physical league, even today, and the young guns need that muscle. I'm pretty sure that Bedard is going to need it too, and may end up struggling early on.

[MNCountryLife]

On 10/27/2023 at 9:17 PM, Mateo3xm said:

you could say it took him 4-5 years actually.

I've always felt like Ek passed the eye test.  Even in the early part of his career I never felt like the game was too much for him.  I would never say it took him 4-5 years to fit in as a legitimate NHL player.  He was productive right away.    But then I could also say similar things about Rossi.  He fits in this year and he is still quite young.  Rossi is passing the eye test this year.  He has played well enough to earn the right to be in the NHL right now.  But just as Ek has improved to become much more of a 1C/2C player that opposing teams hate playing against... I hope Rossi follows that similar path.

[DHockey]

I think his commitment over the offseason tells me that for Rossi himself failure (bust) is not an option.  He is determined to do whatever it takes to make it.  This is going to be an important year for him.  If he gains the needed confidence I think he going to settle in just fine.