Minnesota Wild News: What’s next for Marco Rossi?

The Minnesota Wild are struggling to get their scoring under control and have now fallen into the realm of poor gameplay as they try to cement a playoff berth this spring.

With that in mind and the slight panic, many fans called on the Wild to recall Marco Rossi and bring back the team’s top NHL prospect. In his first 16 games this season, Rossi couldn’t produce anything offensively – he got just one assist – but was defensively responsible enough to stick around for a bit longer as his pointless streak continued.

He was sent to the AHL where he has now scored 26 points in 25 games. Only Calgary Flames prospect Jakob Pelletier has a higher points-per-game ratio than Rossi of all AHL forwards under 21. Simply put, he’s been dominating since a young age. Hell, he’s already fifth on the Iowa Wild in scoring, but has played far fewer games than three of the four scorers ahead of him.

So with that rejuvenated confidence in Rossi and the struggling NHL team, Joe Smith of The Athletic went to visit the AHL Wild and head coach Tim Army to see how Rossi was doing.

At the moment there is no timetable for his return to the NHL, but Rossi is such a key player for Iowa and is getting buckets of ice time compared to the scraps he got up with the Wild. . Smith makes it clear in his article:

The Wilds are healthy up front, and when they’ve had injuries, they’ve mostly been on the wings, not crosses. And the team sees that Rossi is in a very good position, so they don’t want to play with that. If there’s a move at the trade deadline that creates an opening, you imagine Rossi’s return would be part of a discussion.

The army thinks he’s ready when the time comes.

“He’s in a much better place than when he showed up,” Army said. “He knows it’s a long process. There’s a lot of hockey ahead of him. This is only part of it. This is the part to get him where he ultimately wants to be.

“We are happy with what he is doing,” Guerin said. “The thing with Marco is that he trusts us. He knows we are doing what is best for him. We are not angry with him. We’re just trying to help him.

“We could have kept Marco and had him grinded. But it’s not good for him either. When he’s ready and there’s room, he’ll be in the mix with other players. We’re not saying he’ll come anytime, but he’ll get a chance again. – Athleticism

There just isn’t a spot for him right now, but there may be a spot that opens up if the Wild moves a few plays at the NHL trade deadline.

It’s Wild Elsewhere in Iowa, goaltender Jesper Wallstedt just won AHL Goaltender of the Month honors after saving almost everything in January. [Hockey Wilderness]

Off the beaten path… A report has revealed that there is a significant drop in NHL viewership in the United States, but what’s behind the numbers? [Yahoo Sports]

Yeah. Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is out indefinitely while undergoing back surgery. [NBC Sports]