Wild demote struggling top prospect Rossi to AHL

Marco Rossi is AHL-bound.

The Minnesota Wild assigned their No. 1 prospect to their highest minor-league affiliate, the Iowa Wild, the NHL club announced Monday. The Athletic's Michael Russo reported Minnesota informed Rossi of the decision after a win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.

Rossi has been a healthy scratch for each of the last four contests and hasn't gotten into a game since playing 8:51 on Nov. 17. The 21-year-old center has a lone assist in 16 games with Minnesota this season, and that came back on Nov. 1. He's won only 45.5% of his faceoffs and has averaged 12:26 of ice time in 2022-23.

The Austrian was expected to make an impact in the NHL this season after setting Iowa's rookie points record with 53 across 63 games in 2021-22.

Last week, Rossi said his early-season slump has been "frustrating," but added that he felt staying in the NHL would be best for his development.

Rossi missed all but one game during the 2020-21 campaign - which he played in Switzerland - due to heart inflammation that resulted from COVID. "I'm just happy that I'm still alive," he said at the time.

The Wild drafted Rossi ninth overall in 2020. He amassed 120 points in 56 games with the OHL's Ottawa 67s during the 2019-20 season.

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