“You should have had more of a ‘nice attitude to you'”

Marco Rossi is developing him in Des Moines with great patience and motivation.

Soon sent from Vorarlberg to the Minnesota Wild’s farm team, the 21-year-old is averaging more than one point scorer per game for the Iowa Wild on his way to the playoffs at the American Hockey League (AHL) club from D.C.

A promotion to co-captain proves that the Wild are happy with the position.

Rossi is said to take more risks in attack

Rossi earned a spot on the Minnesota Wild’s NHL roster with a stellar start to the season, but after 14 games with only one assist, he was called up to the farm team in late November.

“The preparation was great and not everything was so bad in NHL games either. I should have taken more risks in the offensive game and, as General Manager Bill Guerin told me, more ‘f*** you (whistle-you-nothing ), explains Rossi.

In Des Moines he should regain his confidence and accept the challenge quickly. “Of course, when you go down, you’re disappointed, but at the same second this battle starts again,” Rossi confirms.

Now also assistant captain

The result was great. After 24 games, Rossi has 25 points (8 goals, 17 assists) and an average of 1.04 points that is clearly better than in his first AHL season (0.84).

He is currently on a personal streak, having scored in his last six matches and registering three goals and six assists. In addition, Iowa has a 13-point lead from a non-promotional spot in the playoff race.

“I’m content because a lot of things are going in a positive direction again. I’m well supported in the Wild organization and they believe in me. The Iowa-Minnesota exchange is my day and the trend is right,” says Rossi happily.

The rise to leadership confirms this. “Of course, being a co-captain is also an honor, and Team Army and GM coach Bill Guerin wants me to take on more responsibility,” Rossi explains.

Calder Cup or NHL

So he’s working toward two goals: success with Iowa and a return to the NHL.

“I’m going to keep working on myself, being patient and giving the team everything to win. We’re in a playoff now and we want to win the Calder Cup,” he said, hoping for an AHL victory.

or climb. “Of course I want to step up, but if I keep playing like this, he’ll take care of himself,” Rossi said.