At the Ice Hockey World Championship
Rossi demands a broad chest from Austria’s World Championship team
With strong self-confidence and recharged batteries, Marco Rossi strengthens the national ice hockey team. After a strong season with the NHL club Minnesota Wild, the Vorarlberg native spent a week relaxing at home in order to be full of energy for the World Championship in the Czech Republic on May 10. In the last test match on Sunday (7 p.m.) in Vienna against world champions Canada and one of his sponsors, Rossi wants to get into the swing of things with his colleagues.
"I always miss my family, friends, the mountains, hiking. And the schnitzel. I enjoy being at home. I haven't done anything for eight days, which is good for the head," said Rossi after starting team training on Thursday. The 22-year-old center played all 82 games in his first full NHL season and impressed with 21 goals and 19 assists. The result "is very positive. 20 goals is very good, but I'm one who says it could have been more. I'm not satisfied with 20, I had a lot of chances. I've made a big step, I've become stronger and faster, but you can never be too strong and too fast. And I want to improve my shot," explained Rossi.
"I'm trying not to put any pressure on myself!"
He wants to continue to bring that to Minnesota. His contract runs for one more season, so rumors about a transfer don't concern him. On the contrary, he would be happy to extend his contract this summer. "It's easier when you're signed, but that's not my focus, it's that I get better. I have no influence on anything else," he clarified. For now, however, his focus is on the national team. For the first time in five years, the ÖEHV team is traveling to a world championship with an NHL player. "I try not to put any pressure on myself, but I have more experience and can pass on more. I'm one player on a team, we need all 20 players," he emphasized, expressing his confidence.
"We are a very fast team, we have players who make good decisions. We have a very balanced team, if everyone does their job, the World Cup can be very positive." The goal is always to stay in the league, but that is also a minimum goal. "We have difficult games, but also games that you have to win, for example against the British and Norwegians. Of course, the start against Denmark is important, if we win that game, you're liberated and then go into the other games completely differently," said Rossi, who also doesn't want to lose the games against the top nations in advance.
"We have to have self-confidence and keep going!"
It's not enough for him to say "one win is enough to avoid relegation. If we want to get better as a nation, then we have to start going out more positively and with a broad chest. Belief is very important: if you're already telling yourself in your head that they're better, it's going to be tough." Of course, this is especially true for Canada, who are the opponents at the World Cup on May 14 and in the test match on Sunday. "They're the best players in the world. They're always hungry, always want to win. We have to have self-confidence and stand up to them," said the Vorarlberg native. The main thing on Sunday is to get ready for the World Cup. "It's important that we get a good feeling for the World Cup, because the start of the World Cup against the Danes is very important for us."
It will also be against one of his sponsors. The Canadians' team manager is Andre Tourigny, Rossi's coach with the Ottawa 67's in the Canadian junior league from 2018 to 2020. "He's a great guy. It's important for him that you feel comfortable as a player, everyone loves playing for him," said Rossi, who also appreciates Tourigny's perfectionism and clarity. "There have been games where I've scored four points and, as a young player, thought to myself with satisfaction: great! He said great, but these are the areas you still need to improve. That helped me a lot to never lose focus and to get better. The fact that he was a coach there was a very big reason why I went to Canada," explained Rossi.
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