ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marco Rossi has never been through this before.
The prized Wild rookie forward is in the longest goal-scoring drought of his career at 16 games. He’s been a healthy scratch twice, and is likely to be again for Wednesday’s game against the Jets at Xcel Energy Center. The 21-year-old could very well be on his way to AHL Iowa soon for a confidence-building stint.
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So it helped last week when Rossi got a quick pep talk from his hockey hero.
Former Wild forward Thomas Vanek is Rossi’s idol, with the fellow countryman becoming the highest-drafted Austrian in history (No. 5 overall in 2003). Vanek, 38, has formed a bond with Rossi, even welcoming the prospect into his Stillwater home to live for six weeks last year.
So Vanek touched base via text message week to check in. He told Rossi that many players have been through this — not just him. “You’ve just got to go through it.”
“My main advice is to stay with it,” Vanek told The Athletic Tuesday. “It’s an easy one to say. But at the end of the day, this game is confidence and that’s not given by the coaching staff, it’s something you have to earn. It’s hard when you’re a kid like him who is scoring goals and expected to score and put up points and they’re not coming — it’s a frustrating game. But at the same time, you’ve got to realize he’s still young. When he gets back in, hopefully a game or two, where he can produce, I still believe he’ll take off.”
The question is, will Rossi’s next game be in Minnesota or Iowa? Coach Dean Evason said it’s something he and the staff have discussed, and while he said no decision has been made, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Rossi sent down for a temporary assignment. He can get his confidence back, play 20-plus minutes in all situations. As Iowa coach Tim Army said, it’s worked before for players like Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway.
With Marco Rossi a healthy scratch + the debate about whether he needs to go to @IAWild temporarily, I remember asking Tim Army earlier in year on what scenario he saw Rossi coming back? Rossi has one point in 16 games w/#mnwild https://t.co/k6QKTotZn1 pic.twitter.com/jpzv0B8IOr
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) November 19, 2022
Rossi isn’t ready to make the drive down I-35.
“I think here is better for my development,” Rossi said. “Because then you have the feeling how it is to be here, the surroundings here. It’s a process you have to go through. Down there, you don’t learn those things. In your career or seasons, you always have ups and downs. In your downs, you probably learn the most. The things I learn here maybe I would never learn again.
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It’s not like Rossi hasn’t played well. Evason said they’ve liked a lot of things about Rossi’s game, from his compete level to his play in the defensive zone. You can see flashes of his offensive skill and hockey IQ. Teammates rave about Rossi’s work ethic and attitude. Rossi has had a positive influence on shot generation, but the quality hasn’t been there. The team is allowing more shots and chances against with him on the ice too, relative to his teammates, according to Evolving-Hockey.
But while Evason said they had no expectations for Rossi’s offensive numbers, zero goals and one assist (and just 11 shots) in 16 games should be a red flag. Even to Rossi. This holds especially true for a Wild team that has often struggled to score. Rossi has averaged just 12:47 per game.
“It’s frustrating because I never had that before,” Rossi said. “The process is the important thing. Maybe now I don’t really understand it, but maybe in 10 years I will. All the other guys are telling me the same thing — be patient. It’s going to come. Then you don’t have to worry too much about it.”
Vanek watches most Wild games on TV. What does he see with Rossi?
“You can tell he’s trying,” he said. “He’s super creative, skill-wise, but he’s overthinking. He’s trying too hard. It’s easy to do when you’re a competitor like him, his love of the game, how driven he is. It’s hard to not overthink the game and let your hockey IQ take over and skill take over like it always does.”
Vanek had a different development path than Rossi, who went No. 9 in 2020. Vanek played three seasons in the USHL, then two at the University of Minnesota (winning a national title) before another full year in the AHL with Rochester. Vanek noted that Rossi basically had his 2020-21 pandemic season cut short and is dealing with a lot of pressure.
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“You look at Shane Wright in Seattle, a top pick, and he’s getting sent down,” Vanek said. “I think sometimes when you’re a high pick and expectations are high and when it doesn’t happen right away, the media and fans get irritated. Not irritated, but they question it. As a player, I don’t think you doubt yourself, but it’s a confidence thing. He obviously can play in the league.”
Evason said Rossi sitting out Saturday might help in terms of giving him a different perspective, and the rookie saw some benefits in it.
“Sometimes, you have too much pressure, so when you sit out, you have a different point of view on the game,” Rossi said. “Maybe you can think about that a little bit, ‘What should I have done there?’ The important thing is my head is free, so I don’t have too much pressure on myself,”
Rossi said the biggest adjustment in the NHL is how mature and experienced his opponents are. They know where guys want to go, where they don’t like to go.
“Especially for a young guy, we have to learn instincts,” Rossi said.
Center Freddy Gaudreau said Rossi has handled his struggles extremely well. He works hard, has a positive attitude, and “doesn’t bring anyone down.” Gaudreau has been there, having bounced back and forth from the NHL to AHL in his early seasons, admitting there were times he got discouraged and it didn’t help him.
“He’s got all the skills in the world, the vision, all the talent in the world,” Gaudreau said. “It’s just a matter of time. Unfortunately it’s starting the way where he can’t find the back of the net. Once he finds it, we all see his talent and skill, it’ll go uphill from there.
“I’m not worried about him at all.”
Neither is Vanek. He believes part of it is finding the right line for Rossi to fit in and click with. Rossi has moved around the lineup, mostly in the bottom six, only having a few occasions where he played with Matt Boldy, his linemate in Iowa. Rossi has been most successful with Connor Dewar and Mason Shaw.
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“Zuccarello and Kaprizov, those two found something years ago and they mesh really well,” Vanek said. “Marco, not that he’s on Kirill’s caliber, but having a guy on your side you can trust, knowing where they’ll be, I don’t think he’s found that yet.”
Rossi has appreciated Vanek’s insight, which really gives him perspective.
“He has so much experience, he knows what he’s talking about,” Rossi said. “He’s a superstar I looked up to, and I wanted to be like him.”
Whether Rossi is better served sticking in the NHL or going back to Iowa, Vanek said it’s tough for him to have an opinion “from the couch.” He’s not around Rossi day to day. But he knows Rossi’s potential, his hockey IQ, and his attitude.
“One thing I do agree with,” Vanek says, “Is you have to play games. That’s how I see it.”
Other practice notes
• There was an encouraging sight Tuesday as Marc-Andre Fleury was on the ice after practice facing shots for a good amount of time. He looked sharp, and as competitive as ever in a lengthy session. Evason said Fleury skated on his own Monday as well, but there’s no timetable for his return.
Marc-Andre Fleury out here after #mnwild practice. Competitive as ever. Good sign he’s facing shots. pic.twitter.com/kgQpKwl0Dv
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) November 22, 2022
Evason said last week the hope was that Fleury would be able to practice by Tuesday, but didn’t seem to indicate there’s been any setback. Fleury isn’t going to play Wednesday, and Evason was noncommittal on whether Friday was an option or the rest of the seven-game homestand.
“Again, don’t know, right? We’ll see. We’ll see,” Evason said. “He’s going to skate today. We don’t know. Crystal ball I broke it a long time ago.”
• It’s no surprise that Alex Goligoski will be back in the lineup Wednesday, and he got reps on the top power-play unit, too.
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“Crazy how fast things can change,” Goligoski said.
Goligoski is coming off his emotional win Saturday where he was the overtime hero on a night he was honored for his 1,000th game. Evason wouldn’t say who was coming out for Goligoski Wednesday, noting the team could go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. But the fact that rookie Calen Addison wasn’t on either power-play unit in practice (Jared Spurgeon ran point on the other) seemed like a sign he might be getting a game off.
• The Wild will get Jordan Greenway back on Wednesday, which should be a big boost. Greenway has been limited to just two games this year. He was first delayed after coming off a shoulder injury, then suffered an unrelated injury on the same shoulder.
“He brings a lot of different elements to the game and a lot of different elements to our team,” Evason said. “His size being one of them. Are we excited he’s in the lineup? Absolutely.”
#mnwild lines:
Kaprizov Steel Zuccarello
Greenway Gaudreau Boldy
Duhaime Ek Foligno
Shaw dewar (Rossi) petan— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) November 22, 2022
• Ryan Hartman (upper body) doesn’t appear to be making much progress from an injury that sidelined him since Oct. 30. Evason said Hartman hasn’t skated, not even on his own.
“He’s not close,” Evason said.
(Photo: Matt Blewett / USA Today)
