Who would Detroit take at 4?

[Gniwder]

Why pick Rossi when Raymond is likely going to be the better winger? (possibly the 2nd best winger in this draft)

Moreover, why not pick Perfetti for the hope he could become an NHL centerman?

If you want BPA, you might should pick Drysdale. Though a top 4 of Seider/Drysdale/Powers/Hronek/McIsaak... and whoever else might be too redundant. Maybe we score 1 goal per game, and give up 0? That's Babcock hockey ladies and gents. Maybe he'll come back to DET and execute that.

It's Predators hockey, just sign Trotz when he leaves the Island.

 

[Dotter]

Ford Bronco Mule edition woulda worked for Franzen if he wa around still

Nobody outside the Detroit area would get it. Wouldn't be worth the parts complexity or tooling costs.

OJ Edition would be interesting... in all white. Maybe people are too young to remember that also.

 

[Marky9er]

Winning the faceoff isn't as important as Raymond doubling our threatening offensive zone time. We will see, but I certainly prefer the more dynamic talent than scrabbling a few more faceoffs.

Doubling? Your pulling rabbits out of hats lol. How did you arrive at that hyperbole?

I think your selling Rossi short. Pun intended.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Doubling? Your pulling rabbits out of hats lol. How did you arrive at that hyperbole?

I think one guy is an 80 to 90 point winger and the other guy is a 40 to 50 point winger at the NHL level. Yes that is projecting, obviously you can feel free to disagree.

I don't anticipate Rossi being a big scorer at the next level and I have stated that for months.

 

[Marky9er]

I think one guy is an 80 to 90 point winger and the other guy is a 40 to 50 point winger at the NHL level. Yes that is projecting, obviously you can feel free to disagree.

I don't anticipate Rossi being a big scorer at the next level and I have stated that for months.

I'm fine with that opinion. I could see that, the way you stated it there threw me off about zone time.

I think they have similar ceiling of 80-90 though I think Raymond is much more likely to achieve it.

 

[ArmChairGM89]

I think one guy is an 80 to 90 point winger and the other guy is a 40 to 50 point winger at the NHL level. Yes that is projecting, obviously you can feel free to disagree.

I don't anticipate Rossi being a big scorer at the next level and I have stated that for months.

There are only about 30 guys per year hitting 80+ points. My newly pessimistic viewpoint is that none of these guys are a top 30 player in the nhl.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I'm fine with that opinion. I could see that, the way you stated it there threw me off about zone time.

I think they have similar ceiling of 80-90 though I think Raymond is much more likely to achieve it.

I cannot stress this enough, if 80-90 points was considered to be a true potential outcome of Rossi, there would not be a discussion of him being a potential late top 10 pick. If Rossi actually had that kind of dynamic upside, with how advanced he is at this stage relative to his peers, he would be a lottery pick.

 

[Marky9er]

There are only about 30 guys per year hitting 80+ points. My newly pessimistic viewpoint is that none of these guys are a top 30 player in the nhl.

True enough. I mean that as an absolutely best case scenario, not an expectation. Any of these guys could flame out entirely unfortunately. I think Raymond is the safest pick but that's only my gut feeling.

 

[Marky9er]

I cannot stress this enough, if 80-90 points was considered to be a true potential outcome of Rossi, there would not be a discussion of him being a potential late top 10 pick. If Rossi actually had that kind of dynamic upside, with how advanced he is at this stage relative to his peers, he would be a lottery pick.

It's entirely on the height IMO, which I'm not going to deny is a big obstacle in that. Mostly height, a little bit skating. Not that it's bad but needs to be well above average to negate the height/reach.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Maybe some of you guys knew this about Perfetti, but I definitely did not:


Top prospect Cole Perfetti driven to prove doubters wrong - TSN.ca

Explains why he seemed surprisingly eager to be drafted by the Wings considering the season they just had. Kid knows Draper, Osgood, etc. I guess he was committed to Michigan before he went to the OHL, too? Pretty strong ties in the state of Michigan, seems like.

My take on the Perfetti pick has been that you have to really be confident in this kid's work ethic and character, because he has some real work ahead of him. And if you're Kris Draper, you actually know that about him, one way or another. If we pass on him, it will be with more insight and information than any other team.

Perfetti and Raymond are my favorites at 4, but I will not question passing on either given our connections to Saginaw and Frolunda.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

It's entirely on the height IMO, which I'm not going to deny is a big obstacle in that. Mostly height, a little bit skating. Not that it's bad but needs to be well above average to negate the height/reach.

There have been a couple NHL prospect podasts where scouts are interviewed, and a common topic is "Where would Rossi be if he were 6'1."
The consensus was he would push Stutzle and Byfield to 3 and 4.

Rossi is a legit top 6 pick in this draft despite his small stature. Anyone that states he has low potential, is a poor skater, isn't good offensively, is a grinder, either hasn't watched the kid or is full of shit and just needs to come out and say that they don't like the idea of drafting someone that's 5'9" because that's the ONLY negative in his game.

 

[Hen Kolland]

It's entirely on the height IMO, which I'm not going to deny is a big obstacle in that. Mostly height, a little bit skating. Not that it's bad but needs to be well above average to negate the height/reach.

Consider this:

Rossi played on a stacked Ottawa team in the Eastern Conference of the OHL. He played with a likely top 10 pick, 52 goal scorer in Jack Quinn, and Quinnw wasn't even top 3 point per game producers on the team. Excluding Rossi, there were still two 1.5+ ppg producers in Ottawa, and Jack Quinn at 1.44. Cole Perfetti's best support player was Nick Suzuki at 1.52 (which would have been 4th best in Ottawa), and that was over only 23 games in Saginaw. The best player in Saginaw for the full season was at 1.29. He played in the Western Conference, which had a higher competition level than the Eastern Conference by a healthy margin.

Take out the 4 worst teams in the OHL this year: Niagara, North Bay, Kingston, and Sarnia (3 EC, 1 WC) from their production this year.

Rossi drops from 56 games @ 2.143ppg down to 41 games @ 1.805. A point per game drop of 0.338.
Perfetti drops from 61 games @ 1.820ppg down to 50 games @ 1.700. A point per game drop of 0.120.

We know Rossi is at an advanced physical and mental level than a majority of juniors level players. He tore up the bad talent, with the support of pretty elite company as far as the OHL is concerned. Perfetti was nipping at his heels against the better talent in the league, with significantly less supporting cast.

This is why the offensive upside of Rossi I feel ends up over hyped, inflated, or exaggerated. I think he was a driving force of his team to be certain, but I think his elite production is more of a product of his situation, more so than it is a reflection of how high end his ability is.

And this is actually a flip from where I was earlier. I took the stance that points were points, and there wasn't enough behind the numbers to be worth looking into. That Rossi was still performing against better teams. But the extent at which his drops, and the fact that his team had damn near a first top line's worth of players better than anyone not named Perfetti on Saginaw's roster...it's really hard to ignore.

 

[Marky9er]

Consider this:

Rossi played on a stacked Ottawa team in the Eastern Conference of the OHL. He played with a likely top 10 pick, 52 goal scorer in Jack Quinn, and Quinnw wasn't even top 3 point per game producers on the team. Excluding Rossi, there were still two 1.5+ ppg producers in Ottawa, and Jack Quinn at 1.44. Cole Perfetti's best support player was Nick Suzuki at 1.52 (which would have been 4th best in Ottawa), and that was over only 23 games in Saginaw. The best player in Saginaw for the full season was at 1.29. He played in the Western Conference, which had a higher competition level than the Eastern Conference by a healthy margin.

Take out the 4 worst teams in the OHL this year: Niagara, North Bay, Kingston, and Sarnia (3 EC, 1 WC) from their production this year.

Rossi drops from 56 games @ 2.143ppg down to 41 games @ 1.805. A point per game drop of 0.338.
Perfetti drops from 61 games @ 1.820ppg down to 50 games @ 1.700. A point per game drop of 0.120.

We know Rossi is at an advanced physical and mental level than a majority of juniors level players. He tore up the bad talent, with the support of pretty elite company as far as the OHL is concerned. Perfetti was nipping at his heels against the better talent in the league, with significantly less supporting cast.

This is why the offensive upside of Rossi I feel ends up over hyped, inflated, or exaggerated. I think he was a driving force of his team to be certain, but I think his elite production is more of a product of his situation, more so than it is a reflection of how high end his ability is.

And this is actually a flip from where I was earlier. I took the stance that points were points, and there wasn't enough behind the numbers to be worth looking into. That Rossi was still performing against better teams. But the extent at which his drops, and the fact that his team had damn near a first top line's worth of players better than anyone not named Perfetti on Saginaw's roster...it's really hard to ignore.

I have considered it. I'm just a fan of Rossi

Consider this:

Rossi played on a stacked Ottawa team in the Eastern Conference of the OHL. He played with a likely top 10 pick, 52 goal scorer in Jack Quinn, and Quinnw wasn't even top 3 point per game producers on the team. Excluding Rossi, there were still two 1.5+ ppg producers in Ottawa, and Jack Quinn at 1.44. Cole Perfetti's best support player was Nick Suzuki at 1.52 (which would have been 4th best in Ottawa), and that was over only 23 games in Saginaw. The best player in Saginaw for the full season was at 1.29. He played in the Western Conference, which had a higher competition level than the Eastern Conference by a healthy margin.

Take out the 4 worst teams in the OHL this year: Niagara, North Bay, Kingston, and Sarnia (3 EC, 1 WC) from their production this year.

Rossi drops from 56 games @ 2.143ppg down to 41 games @ 1.805. A point per game drop of 0.338.
Perfetti drops from 61 games @ 1.820ppg down to 50 games @ 1.700. A point per game drop of 0.120.

We know Rossi is at an advanced physical and mental level than a majority of juniors level players. He tore up the bad talent, with the support of pretty elite company as far as the OHL is concerned. Perfetti was nipping at his heels against the better talent in the league, with significantly less supporting cast.

This is why the offensive upside of Rossi I feel ends up over hyped, inflated, or exaggerated. I think he was a driving force of his team to be certain, but I think his elite production is more of a product of his situation, more so than it is a reflection of how high end his ability is.

And this is actually a flip from where I was earlier. I took the stance that points were points, and there wasn't enough behind the numbers to be worth looking into. That Rossi was still performing against better teams. But the extent at which his drops, and the fact that his team had damn near a first top line's worth of players better than anyone not named Perfetti on Saginaw's roster...it's really hard to ignore.

I have considered all that, I watched a lot of Rossi and yeah he played with Keating and Garreffa 2 overage player's as well as Hoefenmayer on the back end. I honestly try to check my bias as much as I can because I'm flat out a fan. I'm open to Perfetti I think he has better raw skill and has huge upside. I think he's a little more boom or bust than Rossi who will likely fall in the middle. He was the guy I wanted going back more than a year so it'd be a dream come true actually. My head says Raymond, but if we do pick Perfetti I'll be excited. Maybe nervous but excited.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Consider this:

Rossi played on a stacked Ottawa team in the Eastern Conference of the OHL. He played with a likely top 10 pick, 52 goal scorer in Jack Quinn, and Quinnw wasn't even top 3 point per game producers on the team. Excluding Rossi, there were still two 1.5+ ppg producers in Ottawa, and Jack Quinn at 1.44. Cole Perfetti's best support player was Nick Suzuki at 1.52 (which would have been 4th best in Ottawa), and that was over only 23 games in Saginaw. The best player in Saginaw for the full season was at 1.29. He played in the Western Conference, which had a higher competition level than the Eastern Conference by a healthy margin.

Take out the 4 worst teams in the OHL this year: Niagara, North Bay, Kingston, and Sarnia (3 EC, 1 WC) from their production this year.

Rossi drops from 56 games @ 2.143ppg down to 41 games @ 1.805. A point per game drop of 0.338.
Perfetti drops from 61 games @ 1.820ppg down to 50 games @ 1.700. A point per game drop of 0.120.

We know Rossi is at an advanced physical and mental level than a majority of juniors level players. He tore up the bad talent, with the support of pretty elite company as far as the OHL is concerned. Perfetti was nipping at his heels against the better talent in the league, with significantly less supporting cast.

This is why the offensive upside of Rossi I feel ends up over hyped, inflated, or exaggerated. I think he was a driving force of his team to be certain, but I think his elite production is more of a product of his situation, more so than it is a reflection of how high end his ability is.

And this is actually a flip from where I was earlier. I took the stance that points were points, and there wasn't enough behind the numbers to be worth looking into. That Rossi was still performing against better teams. But the extent at which his drops, and the fact that his team had damn near a first top line's worth of players better than anyone not named Perfetti on Saginaw's roster...it's really hard to ignore.

Fact: Ottawa was a stacked team. Best overall in the OHL.
Also a fact: Rossi being an exceptional player is a huge reason why they were successful.
Also another fact: Rossi almost never played with Quinn.
Also ANOTHER fact: All good scorers rip apart the bad teams. Perfetti is no exception to this rule.
Also ANOTHER ANOTHER fact: Perfetti was also on a powerhouse team in the OHL this year. He was also a reason they were a powerhouse team. 3rd best in the OHL. Huge f***ing surprise; Great players lead great teams.
Here's another fact!: Ottawa scored 296 GF in 62 games. Saginaw scored 289 in 62 games.

You know where the biggest differences between the two teams was? PIMS and goals against.
Rossi's team had 17 more penalty minutes than Saginaw. Rossi was counted on to kill a good chunk of those penalties.
Ottawa had 164 goals against. Saginaw had 225.
Rossi was voted amongst the 3rd best penalty killer, 2nd best defensive forwards and 2nd best on faceoffs in the the eastern conference for the OHL coaches poll this year. This may have had something to do with the goal differential.
Perfetti was tops in stickhandling, playmaking, shootout and smarts in the western conference. Rossi was voted as best playmaker , in shootouts, and smartest player in the east.

Your bias is showing.

*EDIT: Fixed the PIM count.

 

[Marky9er]

Fact: Ottawa was a stacked team. Best overall in the OHL.
Also a fact: Rossi being an exceptional player is a huge reason why they were successful.
Also another fact: Rossi almost never played with Quinn.
Also ANOTHER fact: All good scorers rip apart the bad teams. Perfetti is no exception to this rule.
Also ANOTHER ANOTHER fact: Perfetti was also on a powerhouse team in the OHL this year. He was also a reason they were a powerhouse team. 3rd best in the OHL. Huge f***ing surprise; Great players lead great teams.
Here's another fact!: Ottawa scored 296 GF in 62 games. Saginaw scored 289 in 62 games.

You know where the biggest differences between the two teams was? PIMS and goals against.
Rossi's team had 302 more penalty minutes than Saginaw. Rossi was counted on to kill a good chunk of those penalties.
Ottawa had 164 goals against. Saginaw had 225.
Rossi was voted amongst the 3rd best penalty killer, 2nd best defensive forwards and 2nd best on faceoffs in the the eastern conference for the OHL coaches poll this year. This may have had something to do with the goal differential.
Perfetti was tops in stickhandling, playmaking, shootout and smarts in the western conference. Rossi was voted as best playmaker , in shootouts, and smartest player in the east.

Your bias is showing.

I was heartbroken they were my bandwagon team.

 

[Hen Kolland]

Fact: Ottawa was a stacked team. Best overall in the OHL.
Also a fact: Rossi being an exceptional player is a huge reason why they were successful.
Also another fact: Rossi almost never played with Quinn.
Also ANOTHER fact: All good scorers rip apart the bad teams. Perfetti is no exception to this rule.
Also ANOTHER ANOTHER fact: Perfetti was also on a powerhouse team in the OHL this year. He was also a reason they were a powerhouse team. 3rd best in the OHL. Huge f***ing surprise; Great players lead great teams.
Here's another fact!: Ottawa scored 296 GF in 62 games. Saginaw scored 289 in 62 games.

You know where the biggest differences between the two teams was? PIMS and goals against.
Rossi's team had 17 more penalty minutes than Saginaw. Rossi was counted on to kill a good chunk of those penalties.
Ottawa had 164 goals against. Saginaw had 225.
Rossi was voted amongst the 3rd best penalty killer, 2nd best defensive forwards and 2nd best on faceoffs in the the eastern conference for the OHL coaches poll this year. This may have had something to do with the goal differential.
Perfetti was tops in stickhandling, playmaking, shootout and smarts in the western conference. Rossi was voted as best playmaker , in shootouts, and smartest player in the east.

Your bias is showing.

*EDIT: Fixed the PIM count.

There's no bias in me sharing what is real. Stats are stats. I can't fabricate them. I can't fabricate that 38% of Rossi's production came in the 27% of his games that were against the 4 worst teams in the OHL. I can't fabricate that 23% of Perfetti's production came in the 18% of his games that were against the same 4 worst teams.

The data suggests is a direct relationship between the decline in level of competition, and the increase in Rossi's production. Nowhere did I suggest that Rossi wasn't the best player on his team. He was clearly the best player on his team. My point is that the margin in which he seemed ahead of the competition can likely be attributed to playing more stat padding games, against bottom 4 teams, with the help of better talent than all of his direct peers. I included Byfield in this snap shot too, but didn't feel the need to include him due to the likelihood of him being gone by #4. His numbers drop a bit more than Perfetti's, but still like closer to 50% of the point per game drop that Rossi's endured.

From that point, you can make your own conclusions.

Don't accuse me of being biased and then show up trying to weasel your way out the backdoor because you don't like how the data looks.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

There have been a couple NHL prospect podasts where scouts are interviewed, and a common topic is "Where would Rossi be if he were 6'1."
The consensus was he would push Stutzle and Byfield to 3 and 4.

Rossi is a legit top 6 pick in this draft despite his small stature. Anyone that states he has low potential, is a poor skater, isn't good offensively, is a grinder, either hasn't watched the kid or is full of shit and just needs to come out and say that they don't like the idea of drafting someone that's 5'9" because that's the ONLY negative in his game.

Or has watched him and is very concerned about those things. Because he is a below average skater and most of his offense really is manufactured in a grinding style. Everything you think he has answered for, I see with concern when watching him. It works fine in juniors no doubt. He is about to be playing against the best hockey players and some of the best athletes in the world. They exploit your weaknesses a lot better than your Wednesday night game in Mississauga.

Yes they are big issues in a player his size. We had this conversation a lot with Hicketts. It is a compounding factor but it is the playing style and tools together that concern me. I really don't have a NHL comparable that works, so you're gambling on an outlier in the top 5. Not a great idea at all in my opinion.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

There's no bias in me sharing what is real. Stats are stats. I can't fabricate them. I can't fabricate that 38% of Rossi's production came in the 27% of his games that were against the 4 worst teams in the OHL. I can't fabricate that 23% of Perfetti's production came in the 18% of his games that were against the same 4 worst teams.

The data suggests is a direct relationship between the decline in level of competition, and the increase in Rossi's production. Nowhere did I suggest that Rossi wasn't the best player on his team. He was clearly the best player on his team. My point is that the margin in which he seemed ahead of the competition can likely be attributed to playing more stat padding games, against bottom 4 teams, with the help of better talent than all of his direct peers. I included Byfield in this snap shot too, but didn't feel the need to include him due to the likelihood of him being gone by #4. His numbers drop a bit more than Perfetti's, but still like closer to 50% of the point per game drop that Rossi's endured.

From that point, you can make your own conclusions.

Don't accuse me of being biased and then show up trying to weasel your way out the backdoor because you don't like how the data looks.

It's moving the goalposts. "If you take away all the points he scored against team X, Y and Z, then he looks a lot more pedestrian with a 1.81 PPG instead of a 2.14PPG"
People did that with the super bowl MVP. "If you take away Mahomes performances against A, B and C, then he's not really MVP worthy and was only average."
It's a bullshit argument. My statement still stands that the best players clown the worst teams. We don't change the record books because the competition was bad. And even if you were to do that, Rossi's PPG pace was still higher than Perfetti and Byfield.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Or has watched him and is very concerned about those things. Because he is a below average skater and most of his offense really is manufactured in a grinding style. Everything you think he has answered for, I see with concern when watching him. It works fine in juniors no doubt. He is about to be playing against the best hockey players and some of the best athletes in the world. They exploit your weaknesses a lot better than your Wednesday night game in Mississauga.

Yes they are big issues in a player his size. We had this conversation a lot with Hicketts. It is a compounding factor but it is the playing style and tools together that concern me. I really don't have a NHL comparable that works, so you're gambling on an outlier in the top 5. Not a great idea at all in my opinion.

You are literally the only person I've read or heard on HFBoards or anywhere state that he is a below average skater. SEVERAL pro scouts have reported that he's quick, shifty and agile. Never once have I read or seen anything that would indicate his skating is what would hold him back at the next level.
If he's what you consider below average, I wonder what you deem as average.

 

[newfy]

There have been a couple NHL prospect podasts where scouts are interviewed, and a common topic is "Where would Rossi be if he were 6'1."
The consensus was he would push Stutzle and Byfield to 3 and 4.

Rossi is a legit top 6 pick in this draft despite his small stature. Anyone that states he has low potential, is a poor skater, isn't good offensively, is a grinder, either hasn't watched the kid or is full of shit and just needs to come out and say that they don't like the idea of drafting someone that's 5'9" because that's the ONLY negative in his game.

Yeah if he were 6'1 he would be, because his style of play is a lot easier to project going forward if he isnt one of the smallest forwards in the NHL. Unfortunately he is ~5'8 and absolutely does play a grinder style of hockey. If you watch him play and dont think hes a skilled grinder, I think youre full of shit actually. To be fair, Crosby plays like this too but Crosby is a diferent beast.

And I dont think theres a single person saying he isnt good offensively or has low potential. Right now hes filthy ofensively but the whole point of the draft is projecting his offense to the next level, not what he can do in junior. At his size and his style of play, there absolutely is (and should be concerns) about how that game will translate. Do you really think hes setting up below the goal line against Shea Weber and fending him off at his size? He very well might, but thats not some guarantee shoo in either.

As for the low potential comment, theres absolutely nothing wrong with saying he has low potential compared to guys like Perfetti and Raymond. Someone said it earlier, but with how advanced he is on draws, defensively and with how much hes been scoring, if there werent concerns about his upside he would already be a shoo in for fourth. Its been said 100 times already but hes the one of the oldest in the draft and really physically mature, hes got a lot less room to grow and develop physically compared to the other top guys. Thats why he has "low potential", even though it isnt low, its just less room to grow compared to the guys hes going up against in the draft around him.

No one has a worse production split vs top and bottom teams than Rossi either, just another thing to add to questioning him at the next level

 

[Hen Kolland]

It's moving the goalposts. "If you take away all the points he scored against team X, Y and Z, then he looks a lot more pedestrian with a 1.81 PPG instead of a 2.14PPG"
People did that with the super bowl MVP. "If you take away Mahomes performances against A, B and C, then he's not really MVP worthy and was only average."
It's a bullshit argument. My statement still stands that the best players clown the worst teams. We don't change the record books because the competition was bad. And even if you were to do that, Rossi's PPG pace was still higher than Perfetti and Byfield.

It's not moving the goal posts. It's quantifying the who and how he accumulated his points. And doing the exact same for the players he's being compared to.

All this bullshit from the person trying to support their argument by saying "if he was 6'1 he would be picked in the top 3." Yeah, and if your aunt had a penis, she'd be your uncle.

My argument is rooted in quantifiable facts; your argument is rooted in the f***ing upside down. You are getting butthurt over the fact that your favorite prospect stands the most to lose by adjusting the sights and digging into the details.

 

[lilidk]

Now for me it's between Rossi and Perfetti. We shouldn't draft defenseman or winger at #4 and I believe SY not going to do it. We are set At d-prospects so no to Drysdale, especially Sanderson.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Now for me it's between Rossi and Perfetti. We shouldn't draft defenseman or winger at #4 and I believe SY not going to do it. We are set At d-prospects so no to Drysdale, especially Sanderson.

Neither will play center at the NHL level with their combination of size and skating.

 

[Frk It]

I enjoy this discussion on Rossi... I think he's a very interesting and unique prospect. I love some of the things he does well, but also understand the reservation.

Seems like there is a big gap among us between how skilled he is, and how good/bad his skating is.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

You are literally the only person I've read or heard on HFBoards or anywhere state that he is a below average skater. SEVERAL pro scouts have reported that he's quick, shifty and agile. Never once have I read or seen anything that would indicate his skating is what would hold him back at the next level.
If he's what you consider below average, I wonder what you deem as average.

His skating today, on the whole, is below average by NHL standards. Now he obviously has room to improve, but he is currently below average by NHL standards (FWIW 95% of draft eligible players are below average skaters by NHL standards).

My concern with Rossi (especially in terms of explosiveness and quickness) is that even if he improves his skating to an average NHL level (or a slightly above average NHL level), will it be good enough given his size. Being small is not a death sentence in today's NHL game. Being small and not being a plus (almost elite) skater, however, is a bad combination no matter how smart you are as a player.

I like Rossi, but his biggest supporters do tend to overrate his skating in my judgment.