5. Marco Rossi — C, Ottawa 67’s, 5-foot-9
Rossi has reached video game levels in the OHL. He’s probably junior hockey’s most dominant three-zone player, frankly. And while he’s older than most in this class, the number of remaining doubts I have in the translation of his game sits at zero. Don’t listen to anyone who says he will have to switch to winger at the pro level, either. Rossi is a dominant defensive center who is so strong on his feet and low to the ice that I have literally seen him throw people over his shoulders. There have been times this season when Rossi was so good on faceoffs that teams have moved players to the wing because they can’t beat him. He’s got it all. He’s slick with the puck, he absorbs contact effortlessly and stick checks effortlessly. He can open up and go heel-to-heel to survey the offensive zone and he sees things that other players don’t. Though you have to consider the strength of team and age, I have little doubt as to whether Rossi would be terrorizing teams no matter where he played.
I recently asked Ottawa 67’s general manager James Boyd for his honest opinion on Rossi. He didn’t hold back.
“He’s a phenomenal player. Phenomenal. A few teams that have picked up on it. I’m biased but I think he’s the best player in our league. It’s not often you’ve got a player on your team who is the best offensive player, the best defensive player, the best guy on faceoffs, the best guy on the power play, the best guy on the penalty kill and probably your No. 1 shootout shooter,” Boyd said.
“And the thing is he doesn’t cheat, so as the game goes along, he takes over. The No. 1 thing for me is his skating — which was a concern for some people — is phenomenal. He’s just continued to improve. He is obsessed with getting better. Some guys are interested in getting better, he’s obsessed. If I told him to eat a pound of sunflower seeds every day because it would help him get to the NHL, he’d be right on it. It’s only going to continue. You hear this sort of stuff about Sidney Crosby or Shea Weber when they were juniors, it’s almost like a disorder, the striving to get better. I see the same thing in Marco, nothing’s going to stop him.”
