Rossi is an intriguing center to track because he’s got a lot of plus qualities that are encouraging, but there are some elements to his game that make me wonder what his top-end potential could be at the NHL level. He’s lightning fast through the neutral zone, and generates his speed with quick, rapid crossovers and an explosive stride. He’s also able to use his edges well to subtly change up his speed of attack to either throw defensemen off course or widen the gap as he attacks. There’s no hesitation to engage in board battles, either, and in this particular game — which would determine relegation — he played incredibly close to the edge both between whistles and after them without managing to take a resulting penalty. There was a lot of emotion here, that he kept in check. Defensively, Rossi is effective. He can always be found deep in the defensive zone helping his blue liners, and doesn’t cheat to create offense. Despite his height, he looks to have good physical strength, both upper and lower, in how he battles. His low center of gravity helps him, too. Where I’m concerned about his game is in the fact that he didn’t use his teammates near enough in this one, opting to work more individually as opposed to collectively. He didn’t display much in the way of creativity or playmaking skills, either, just barrelling to the net with his speed for the most part. I’d be curious to see him in future viewings to determine if this was a one-off or not. There were also times where he lacked any sort of urgency in changing on the fly…even when the puck was working back into his own end. That probably won’t sit well with a lot of coaches. Just too many times he entered his glide to the bench from way too far out. Overall, though, there’s some curiosity here. I’d peg his projection as a middle-six center, potentially a second-liner if he’s able to sort out his play in the offensive zone.