Wild's Marco Rossi Earns NHL First Star Of The Week

ST. PAUL - Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi earned the NHL's first star of the week honors.

Rossi, 23, had three goals, five assists, and eight points for the Wild in three games. He opened the week with two goals and an assist against the Nashville Predators and followed it up with a late goal against the Washington Capitals.

The 5-foot-9 center ended the week by assisting on all four of the Wild's goals against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Minnesota's the ninth overall pick form the 2020 NHL Draft, ranks second on the Wild in goals with 15, assists with 22) and points 37 through 40 games this year. He is on pace for 31 goals, 45 assists, and 76 points this year.

“I think he’s done a really good job in the faceoff circle where he really digs in, and that’s a big part of his game," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Rossi. "He’s playing tenacious. I think his battle level is high everywhere. He’s playing a speed game, and he’s getting to the scoring areas. Where he scores a lot of times it’s in and around the net and now you see him there more and more and more consistently and that goes back to his competitive nature.

"When you have the type of skill and hockey sense that Marco has and the speed, when you combine that with his competitiveness and his work ethic on a very consistent basis, that’s why he’s really taken his game to another level.”

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