Marco Rossi

Marco Rossi (born 23 September 2001) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player for 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. In 2018 he moved to North America and spent two seasons with the Ottawa 67's of the junior Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He led the OHL in scoring and was named the most valuable player of the league in 2019–20. Regarded as a top prospect for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Rossi was selected ninth overall by the Wild, and made his NHL debut in 2022. 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, with him and his father commuting two hours each way in order to allow Marco to stay at home and continue his education. He played in the junior system of Switzerland within the system of the ZSC Lions, frequently playing in older age categories. 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. 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. 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.