67’s star Rossi gets boost from strong family bond
After watching one final Ottawa 67’s practice Friday morning, Michael Rossi embraced his son, Marco, before making the long trek back home to Rankweil, Austria.
“I try to be here every six to eight weeks,” he said. “I try to make sure he doesn’t get homesick.”
As strong father-son hockey relationships go, it’s hard to top the connection between the two. It also helps explain why Marco Rossi will begin the season as a potential top-10 selection in next June’s NHL entry draft in Montreal.
Long before Rossi began turning heads here by scoring 29 goals and 36 assists in 53 games as a rookie centre with the 67’s last season, his father was helping to open the doors to the hockey world for him.
From Rankweil to a higher level in Zurich, Switzerland, they went. Over and over again, all the way into pro hockey.
“Marco was 12 or 13, so we (drove) six days a week, 135 kilometres (each way) for four years,” said the senior Rossi, who played pro hockey in Austria for 20 years.
“I buy my car with zero kilometres. In four years, I bring it to the (mechanic). It has 470,000 kilometres. I went to work in the morning at six, I came home at 4:30, picked up my kid to be in Zurich at six for the start of practice and we got home at midnight. It was a hard decision about what to do with a talented kid, but if he stayed in Austria, I don’t know how much he could have improved.
“I lost two jobs because of that, but it makes me happy, what I see now.”
Indeed. Rossi’s decision to play major junior hockey — there were also offers to play pro in Sweden — certainly appears to have been a wise move, given the attention surrounding him in advance of the upcoming draft.
Like all top prospects, Rossi is doing everything he can to block out the noise.
He insists his No. 1 goal is to help lead the 67’s to an OHL title, taking care of the unfinished business of a year ago. After winning their first 14 games of the playoffs, the 67’s lost their final four to the eventual champion Guelph Storm.
The 67’s will open the regular season Sept. 20 against Guelph and the home opener is Sept. 29 against Peterborough. “Last year, I learned from a lot of leaders,” said Rossi, who turns 18 on Sept. 23. “Now I know what I have to do as a leader, helping the younger kids, the first-year kids.”
He has reached out to Austrian-born NHLers Thomas Vanek, Michael Raffl and Michael Grabner, seeking advice on how to handle the increased spotlight.
“They just say to not look at the (draft) rankings because if you look, you just give yourself pressure. It’s not necessary. Just play hockey and enjoy it.”
That’s certainly easier said than done. The closer the draft comes, the more a player’s strengths and weaknesses are talked about. At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Rossi’s size will be a big point of discussion.
67’s coach and vice-president of hockey operations Andre Tourigny acknowledges there will be “a ton of pressure” and “a ton of exposure” on Rossi.
The club has done what it can to prepare him for the attention, but Tourigny says all top teenage prospects have to live the experience themselves.
While with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2016-17, Tourigny coached NHL first overall selection Nico Hischier. Accordingly, Tourigny fully expects there could be some bumpy moments for Rossi along the way this season.
“The way he reacts will be the difference between an eightgame slump or a four-game slump,” said the 67’s coach. “Maybe he won’t score for eight games, but he can still be a really good player for the team. If you start to panic and go away from your (complete) game, you’re now not scoring and you’re not as effective as a leader.”
At this point, though, Rossi is bursting with confidence, saying his summer went according to plan.
“When last season ended, I talked to the coaches about where I wanted to improve myself and I set good goals for myself,” he said. “I wanted to improve my body, my skills, everything. I’m in really good shape. I’m going to try to stay at this size all year.”
According to his father, staying composed amid all the heat shouldn’t be an issue. The long car rides included plenty of conversations about being mentally strong in the toughest circumstances, including being a kid playing pro hockey against men in Switzerland.
“Marco is very, very calm,” said Michael Rossi. “He’s quiet. When he talks, he makes sense. His concentration is for the 67’s and to win the OHL title. We try to not talk about the draft. We try.”