By Tony Abbott -
For the third season in a row, Marco Rossi enters training camp with something to prove. Two seasons ago, it was that he could hang in the NHL after a disappointing 19-game stutter-step. He did, posting 21 goals and 40 points in Take 2 of his rookie year. Last year, had to prove that he could be a legitimate top-six center. He did again, with a 24-goal, 60-point campaign.
When he went to cash in coming off his entry-level contract, the Minnesota Wild didn't treat him like Matt Boldy or Brock Faber, franchise pillars worthy of a long-term deal. Instead, he got a "prove-it" deal: three years and $15 million. Rossi's commitment to improving hasn't been questioned, but if there was ever a reason to have extra motivation after a breakout campaign, this is it.
Rossi spent his summer training, working on faceoffs with Coolest Player of All Time Joe Thornton and generally working on getting stronger and faster. John Hynes reportedly called his center "thicker," and Rossi claims to weigh in at 196 pounds -- up from his official listing of 182. "I feel much better now and much faster," he told the media last week.
It's one preseason game, but we saw that work pay off on Thursday night. Rossi logged 21 minutes, 14 seconds, the most of any forward on the ice that night, but it took just 12 seconds to do the bulk of his damage.
The first goal is nothing that we haven't seen from Rossi over these last two years. He sneaks his 5-foot-9 frame into a soft spot of space around the net, collects a nice feed from Matt Boldy, and cashes in. That net-front game has been his bread-and-butter, and getting stronger and faster certainly didn't hurt his ability to score from that area.
It's the second goal that Wild fans might want to take more notice of. When you watch Rossi's goals from last season, you'll find that only seven can be categorized as scoring on the rush. But on his second goal of the night, he follows Boldy on the breakout and deposits a Royal Road pass into the net.
The best players continually add to their toolbox, and if Rossi is incorporating a rush game into his, that's a significant step forward for the center.
He'll have the opportunities, at least the way things are currently set up. Rossi centering a dynamic player like Boldy would be reason enough to take notice, but he's also stapled to Kirill Kaprizov, one of the most electric puck-carriers in the game. Boldy's a solid puck-carrier in his own right, and an elite forechecker. There are going to be a lot of offensive chances coming in a variety of ways.
Rossi needs to be prepared for all of them. Again, he has little issue generating offense on the forecheck, where his hockey sense can take over and find those pockets of open space in the defense. However, the rush is largely about speed. While Rossi improved his skating last offseason -- he went from the 50th percentile in top speed in 2023-24 to the 75th percentile in 2024-25, per NHL EDGE -- he clearly felt there was another level to get to.
Looking at the numbers, he was right.
Rossi got a lot of shot quality last season, but his shot quantity has been lacking early in his career. He averaged just 4.42 shots on net last season, which is mind-bogglingly low. We're talking fewer than Marcus Johansson (5.76), Yakov Trenin (5.46), Freddy Gaudreau (5.12), and even a defenseman like Jared Spurgeon (4.70). Playing with volume shooters like Kaprizov and Boldy is a factor, but there is room for him to carve out a greater share of the offensive load.
Being able to threaten offense in more ways than cleaning up the trash around the net will only help with that. Last night was an example. Rossi had four shots on goal, a mark that he only got to in 10 games in 2024-25. Not surprisingly, he was over a point per game (six goals, 12 points) in games he had four or more shots.
Rossi needs to do more than prove himself for his next contract in three years. He might be starting his year between the Wild's two best wingers, but he's not guaranteed to stick there. Joel Eriksson Ek has always worked well with both Kaprizov and Boldy, and the Wild sees Danila Yurov as a top-six center eventually. Rossi will have to justify his spot and hold it amid intense competition.
It's hard to draw a ton of conclusions from one preseason game. However, given our experience with Rossi's year-to-year improvement, his strong performance suggests that he has taken his offseason seriously and is well-prepared for the task ahead.
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