The buzzer sounded, announcing the end of a painful 60 minutes. Austria’s 6-0 loss to Germany spurred immediate upheaval, with columnists, athletes, and fans chanting the now familiar tune of despair. Those were followed by many parties projecting a bleak and unchanging future for Austrian hockey. Other parties, without bothering to examine the prospect situations of each respective nation, began to proclaim Austria firmly entrenched behind other mid-major programs such as France, Norway, and Slovenia.
It may seem strange to some how little I have written thus far about Marco Rossi, despite being expressly an Austrian hockey writer. The explanation for this is simple. Marco Rossi is already a name well respected in many European scouting circles as well as many fan circles of European hockey. However, many other talented Austrian kids such as the afore-written Paul Huber and Marcel Zitz (link to article below) are severely overlooked and deserve a chance to demonstrate what they can do with their great potential. Nevertheless, for now there is one reason why Austrian fans can hold to faith that Austrian hockey is one as good a track as any other Nation among the mid-majors.
We have Marco, no one else does
The kid has been drawing comparisons to Nico Hischier and Denis Malgin for forever. At this, the start of his Draft-3 season, he has 8 points in 2 games in the Swiss Elite Novizen (top U17 league). Hischier had 3 points in 2 games at the same level in his Draft-3 year, he went on to score an assist in two playoff games. Malgin had 36 points in 25 games in his draft-3 season. Rossi also obliterated Malgin’s marks from the year before in the Top Novizen (second U17 league), and projects to grow taller than Malgin has. He’s only 14, stands a rather diminutive 5’8″, weighs 160 pounds, and has a nice competitive streak. His late birthday affords him entry to the 2020 draft, which seems like an eternity from now. He led goal-scoring for the Austrian U16 National Team last season with 9 goals (Paul Huber and Benjamin Baumgartner tied for second) and has dominated at each level of competition he’s played in. This all earned him a listing in Elite Prospects’ first NHL Draft prospects list for the 2020 draft. He is the most hyped Austrian since Michael Grabner, and perhaps by his draft year some will say since Thomas Vanek, his promise is undisputed.
The first time I saw Marco play was against Italy in the Austrian Hockey Board U16 Tournament. Playing alongside fellow magician Benjamin Baumgartner, the two were the embodiment of the saying “as if on skates” with their great pace and exceptional efficiency of movement. Both have high hockey IQs which they combined well when playing together. Individually neither have any pronounced weaknesses, especially Marco, but together with similarly diminutive Benedikt Wohlfahrt there was perhaps a little bit too much finesse on the first line. Despite this, Marco was demonstrated the ability to create space on his own with good usage of body positioning. Even if only subconsciously, Marco gets the game. There’s a moment for an athlete in every team sport except American football where the Xs and Os are replaced by an understanding of the natural rhythm or motion of the game. Especially in hockey, a sport where iso-matchups are relatively uncommon, hockey IQ and an understanding for the flow of the game is important. Marco has had this for a while, and is in effect merely waiting for his body size to catch up while still working diligently to improve his strength and conditioning.
Marco is still a boy. His 15th birthday is a week away and he still celebrates it with cake, gifts and those closest to him. He’s quieter, perhaps shy, but still very serious and competitive. He enjoys magic card tricks, and plays soccer and basketball with friends. The draft isn’t in another 4 years, and anything could happen in that timeframe. It is the wrong notion to believe that between now and then there are no players to be excited about. Quite the contrary, many other talents wearing the Black Eagle promise to bring a strong future to the state of Austrian hockey. Many other kids show promise, and deserve attention, respect, and recognition. But for those whose faith have been shaken and for those who fail to trust to hope.
Marco Rossi is an incredible kid, and he’s Austrian.
Further Reading on other promising Austrian Hockey Prospects:
https://authockeytxreports.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/bold-prediction-austrias-laine-aho-puljujarvi/
For more Austrian Hockey News, Reports, and Prospect Rankings on Twitter:
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