Ranking the top 31 prospects in the 2020 NHL Draft: 4. Marco Rossi

The highly skilled, uber productive centerman out of Ottawa in the OHL, offers everything you want down the middle of your lineup

Marco Rossi (C), Ottawa 67’s (OHL)

The first prospect outside the solidified top three, Rossi has been ranked as high as 9 by scouting networks and as low as 4. This tier is littered by great prospects, but Rossi brings so many facets to his game, which propels him to the fourth spot.

Despite being a late birthday (2001), his draft position shouldn’t be impacted by his age, as he produced at an historic clip last season when he was just 18.

With Ottawa needing a legitimate number one center, Rossi seems like an ideal fit and could take the ice with the Senators as early as next season. If Ottawa happens to get Byfield, they may lean to taking a winger like Raymond, Perfetti or Holtz if the need for a center isn’t as pronounced. Yet they could take the best player available if it happens to be Rossi.

Other than Lafreniere, Rossi may be the next prospect who is the most NHL ready, even more so than the highly regarded Byfield and Stützle. Despite being on the shorter side at 5’9″, Rossi has a very sturdy lower body and is hard to knock off the puck, which makes his size acceptable for the NHL game.

Strengths

Hockey Sense

Rossi plays with so much poise when he is on the ice, it seems like the game slows down for him like it does for many special players. He rarely turns the puck over in the offensive zone, always waiting for the best opportunity to find his teammates.

While Rossi does many things well, this is the facet of his game which shines the most, he always finds himself in good positions, and the puck just tends to follow him around the ice.

His hockey sense isn’t just on display on the offensive side, he is plenty capable in his defensive responsibilities as well. He is a master at breaking out his own end whether skating it out or making a nice first pass, while it will get tougher in the pros, expect Rossi to be solid in his own end at the NHL level too, also being no slouch in the face-off circle either.

A common sight when watching Rossi is his ability to strip opposing players, here on the back check he strips the Hamilton Bulldogs forward and quickly turns the play the other way for a chance.

Rossi is one of/if not the best player in the draft at completing passes, he rarely forces a pass through tight windows and usually waits for the perfect chance to deliver one. In the clip below Rossi doesn’t force the pass through the sliding defender and patiently side steps the defenceman to get a clear pass to his teammate for the goal.

Exceptional on the power play as well, due to his great poise with the puck coupled with his next level hockey sense.

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Passing

Finishing with a crazy 81 assists this season, there is no doubting Rossi is one of the premier passers in this years draft.

While Rossi makes many good passes, he makes it look so easy at points that the plays he makes are rarely highlight worthy, he just consistently makes the right plays.

A dynamo on the power play, Rossi finished with 38 points with the man advantage primarily due his great vision which allows him to find his teammates for high quality scoring chances.

Rossi’s head is up before the puck even gets to him in this play, where he reacts and quickly one times it right onto his teammates stick for the beautiful assist.

From his position on the half wall on the power play, Rossi either sets up his defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer, or looks to fire a cross seam pass for a chance. Just by a flick of the wrist below, Rossi is able to get the puck to his teammate at lightning speed for the goal.

While Rossi’s skating isn’t mentioned as high as his hockey sense and passing, his agility and balance while skating, especially with the puck is impressive as well.

Weaknesses

Size

Rossi is one of the prospects in the draft who has little to no flaws in his game. While his size shouldn’t hinder him much in the NHL because of his thick lower body, it still leaves some to be desired.

Being just 5’9″, there could be worries about Rossi being able to stay healthy with the bigger and stronger players in the NHL, primarily concussion problems could arise, from being hit in the head more due to his height.

If injury issues never surface height shouldn’t be a problem because Rossi uses his low center of gravity so well below the goal line to keep possession of the puck. There has been comparisons to Sidney Crosby because of the way he can work on his edges, and use his thick lower body to fend off defenders.

In terms of gameplay, Rossi’s size shouldn’t be an issue and he has the skillset to make it work, but just for potential injury concerns it is worth noting.

How does Rossi fit in Ottawa?

Without predicting who Ottawa selects at third because its not an exact science, we will look at how Rossi fits with the current roster.

Many think Rossi is already NHL ready, and the only way he might not see the big league in his first season is because of the pandemic.

He may be in Europe to develop his skills, and could be playing next season in Switzerland even before the NHL Draft starts.

While Ottawa is deep down the middle, they don’t have a surefire top line center as of now, with Josh Norris improving significantly last season he adds value to the top six but isn’t on the same level as Rossi. More of the same with Colin White and Chris Tierney who are more suited to be occupying roles in the middle six, but more likely being third liners. While Logan Brown is in a flux among many fans and most likely the organization, he will have to prove himself next year. With the depth at center increasing while Ottawa adds more young studs , Browns situation will become more dire.

Ottawa Senators

On the power play Rossi would be a great fit for Ottawa, he can patrol the half wall, with Chabot being in the Noel Hoefenmayer role which he relied on in junior. Having Duclair on the other side of the ice, Drake Batherson in position at the goal line to distribute and Brady Tkachuk creating havoc in front of the net, would have the looks of a very strong power play in the future for Ottawa.

With Rossi living in Ottawa for the last two seasons, he would be a seamless fit both on and off the ice for the Senators.