With the NHL Draft approaching, the Anaheim Ducks will have an important decision to make with the sixth-overall pick. I wrote an article in June, which highlighted seven players who the Ducks could select with the sixth-overall pick and over the next week or so, I’ll be doing individual player profiles on them. This article will focus on Marco Rossi.
I got the chance to watch Rossi with the Ottawa 67’s quite a bit this year, so I’ll say right away that I’m biased here. But to me, if Jamie Drysdale is gone and Marco Rossi is available when the Ducks are picking, Anaheim has to capitalize and take Rossi.
His production this year was ridiculous, scoring 39 goals and 120 points in just 56 OHL games, to go with a plus-69 rating. For what it’s worth, here’s how those numbers compare to Alexis Lafreniere's stats in the QMJHL, who is less than three weeks younger than Rossi.
Rossi: 0.70 goals per game, 2.14 points per game
Lafreniere: 0.67 goals per game, 2.15 points per game
In terms of his game, the thing that stands out to me about Rossi more than anything is his consistency and his work effort. He never takes a shift off and seems to be always trying to improve. He’s also very reliable defensively and is just as engaged in his own zone as he is in the other team’s end.
Rossi is agile, very smart and has excellent puck control skills. Once he gets the puck, it’s very hard to get it off him and he’s usually able to wait out opponents until a passing lane opens up. Speaking of which, he’s an excellent playmaker as well and never panics with the puck, which makes him extremely dangerous when he’s in the offensive zone.
Realistically, Rossi would be a top-three pick in pretty much any other draft and he’s a sure bet to be an effective top-six NHL center. If the Ducks get the chance to take Rossi, they should do it.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Would you be in favour of the Ducks selecting Marco Rossi with the sixth-overall pick?
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