Getting to Know: Marco Rossi

The NHL Entry Draft is set for Oct. 6-7 and the Detroit Red Wings hold the No. 4 pick in the first round.
The draft was originally set for June 26-27 in Montreal but was postponed and shifted to a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DetroitRedWings.com continues to take a look at players who are expected to be available when the team makes its selections.
The experts have all agreed that Alexis Lafrenière is the best player available and he is expected to go No. 1 overall, followed by Quinton Byfield and Tim Stützle in some order.
After that, the opinions start to differ a bit but nearly all of them consider forward Marco Rossi to be at the very least a top 10 talent.

Although born in Feldkirch, Austria, NHL Central Scouting listed him among the North American skaters in its final rankings because he played for the Ottawa 67's in the Ontario Hockey League the past two seasons.
But Rossi didn't just play in the OHL, he dominated it with 120 points (39-81-120) in 56 games and was named the league's Most Outstanding Player.
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Rossi is only the second European import to win that award.
In its final rankings, released April 8, NHL Central Scouting had Rossi sixth among North American skaters, with only Lafrenière, Byfield, Jamie Drysdale, Jake Sanderson and Cole Perfetti ahead of him.
When the OHL and other Canadian Hockey League teams canceled the remaining regular-season games on March 12 and then the 2020 Memorial Cup on March 23, Rossi returned home to Austria.
With an extended offseason looming, Rossi decided to make the most of it.

"My main goal was getting more faster, more speed, more explosiveness. Just getting quicker," Rossi said during an NHL prospects Zoom call last week. "I started to do that right away when I came back from Canada in mid-March. Me and my personal coach started to work on that right away, because that's my goal, to be much quicker. He did a really good job. We've been working for 6-7 months. It's going really good. You can see a big improvement off the ice, on the ice. I've never felt that good on the ice, especially my body. I got so much better with my body. It was really good before, and now it's so much better."
The only thing holding Rossi back from fighting Lafrenière for the overall top spot is the fact that he is 5-foot-9, 183 pounds.
Craig Button, TSN's director of scouting, had Rossi eighth in his final Craig's List, which came out March 30.

"Rossi is an excellent playmaker with the vision and creativity to make something out of nothing. He has a style of play similar to (Washington's) Nicklas Backstrom," Button said.
TSN's Bob McKenzie had Rossi seventh overall.
"Like Lafrenière, Rossi has a late 2001 birth year. In fact, he missed being eligible for last year's NHL draft by only eight days," McKenzie said. "That extra year allowed Rossi to dominate last season, becoming the first European to win the OHL scoring title, with 39 goals and 120 points in 56 games. He remains in the same No. 7 slot he was in on the mid-season list.
"At 5-foot-9, size isn't on Rossi's side, but he doesn't play a small man's game. At 183 pounds, he's a strong, physically mature soon-to-be 19-year-old with a low center of gravity and some power in his game. He doesn't have huge pop in his skating but he's smart and agile. He's an outstanding playmaker and a very good goal-scorer. He's plays a responsible two-way game and exhibits pro-level maturity on everything from how he trains to his overall approach on and off the ice.
"Some scouts wonder how much more untapped potential there might be versus some of the younger, less physically developed prospects, that Rossi might be more of a what-you-see-is-what-you-get player. That said, nine of 10 scouts ranked Rossi as high as No. 5 and no lower than No. 10 with the exception of one outlier at No. 18."

Rossi is aiming to be the 10th player born in Austria to reach the NHL and could be the fifth taken in the first round, joining former Wing Thomas Vanek (No. 5 in 2003), Michael Grabner (No. 14 in 2006), Andre Burakovsky (No. 23 in 2013) and Marko Dano (No. 27 in 2013).
"They did a lot for the Austrian Hockey Federation and for everything in Austria for hockey," Rossi said. "Then you start to dream about playing in the NHL one day, because if you see Thomas Vanek and Michael Grabner, even Mike Raffl playing in the NHL, it's a childhood dream for every kid in Austria, so it was my motivation, too, because I saw them playing in the NHL, so it was my goal, too."
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler is very high on Rossi, ranking him third in his "Final ranking for the 2020 NHL Draft's top 100 prospects."
"Rossi isn't far off from my idea of a perfect hockey player," Wheeler said. "He can break teams down through seams, he can beat defenders one-on-one both off the cycle and the rush. He can score with his release or his hands and footwork. He plays in the middle of the ice but knows when to take the outside lane. And he's the best defensive forward in the draft. Some evaluators point to his height and question whether he'll stick at center. Others question his late birthday and dominant team for the effect they had on his remarkable production. And while the latter has some effect on my evaluation, the former is lazy and doesn't account for how strong he is or the way his low center of gravity in his stance helps him fight off bigger defenders.
"He's also one of the most determined, focused prospects I've ever interacted with and is probably the most NHL-ready player in the draft after Lafrenière, so the team that selects him is getting an impact player from Day 1."

Wheeler's colleague at The Athletic, Corey Pronman, had Rossi ninth in his final draft rankings.
"Rossi dominated the OHL this season, scoring more than two points per game as one of the best players in the entire CHL," Pronman said. "He was a major reason why the 67's were an elite team. Rossi is an exciting player due to his skill and IQ. He has tremendous stick-handling ability in tight areas and can slide off checks. He's a great passer with a high level of offensive creativity who projects to play the half-wall on an NHL power play. Rossi's skating is good, but he's more of a skill player than a speedy player. He's not the quickest small player you'll ever see, but he has a powerful stride and good edge work to elude checks. While Rossi is undersized, he's a very competitive player. He drives the net consistently, he can kill penalties very well and he can be used in tough defensive situations. His great skill and production are very appealing. He doesn't raise to the top tier of the draft due to his size and speed combination, but he projects to be a top-line NHL forward because of how smart, skilled and competitive he is."

Dobber Hockey said, "The CHL's leading scorer led the way for one of the CHL's top teams. There were several stretches where Rossi was on another planet. His offensive game is predicated on a tenacious and disruptive style that mixes playmaking and finishing ability in equal parts. His advanced two-way game will aid in his transition to the NHL -- potentially as soon as 2020-21. If that fails, expect him to play professionally in Europe for a season before making the jump. Rossi plays the game in a similar mold to Brad Marchand, minus most of the antics. Despite standing just 5'9, The 18-year-old plays a fearless style. The question remains whether he will stay down the middle or transition to the wing."

Red Line Report was aligned with Wheeler, ranking Rossi third overall in its 2020 Draft Guide, saying, "Not big, not strong, and not super fast. But is a supremely intelligent playmaking center. Has uber soft hands and phenomenal vision, and is able to thread the needle with imaginative set-ups. Makes touch saucer passes through traffic off both sides of the blade. Tremendous instincts around offensive zone. Also crafty in the neutral zone; lifts sticks from behind for steals and anticipates opponents' passing plays, stepping in almost as though he was the intended target. Smooth skater is more elusive and shifty than explosive, but has good cruising speed. Great east-west lateral movement with puck. "On the small side, but willing to get his nose dirty. Deadly dangerous on the PP, where he runs things from the half-wall. Is both an outstanding distributor and a terrific finisher from the circles in. Physical tools may not be imposing, but he's the most intelligent and instinctive player in this entire class. "
Rossi's father, Michael, was a defenseman who played 20 years as a professional in Austria from 1992-2011 and his son gives him a lot of credit for the player he has already become.

"It was my dad since Day One," Rossi said. "He was the biggest reason why I started playing hockey because my dad played hockey 25 years in Europe, in Austria, and I always watched him play, and then I went on the ice for the first time and he was like, 'keep practicing on the ice all the time.' And then when I was 6-7, I was really good for my age in Austria, but my dad always wanted to show me there are other good hockey players, so we flew to Sweden, Finland, went to different tournaments all over Europe. He wanted to show me there are other good hockey players. He did a lot for me.
"They sacrificed so much for me, my whole family, especially my dad. I got up in the morning at 6, my dad got up at 5. I had to go to school, my dad had to go to work. He picked me up at school at 4 p.m. We drove, it was like one hour, 30 minutes away and then we came home after practice like midnight. I was really hungry, so he had to cook for me something. Then the next day again. We did that for four years. My dad lost two jobs during that time. It was really tough for my whole family, especially for my dad. So my dad, everything he did for me, I wouldn't be here, without my family, I wouldn't be here."
Although the draft will be very late at night for Rossi, who is six hours ahead of Eastern time in Austria, he still plans to celebrate.
"It's going to be a lot of adrenaline," Rossi said. "I think the draft is going to be 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. here, so I'm just going to enjoy the time with my family, some friends, just enjoying that time."