The Minnesota Wild's patience with Marco Rossi is paying off

Marco Rossi could have spent the entire season in the NHL. 

As a first-round pick, who already had AHL seasoning, the Minnesota Wild could have used that justification to keep him with the NHL club, even when he started the season with one point in 16 NHL games. 

But the Wild went the other way. Instead of asking Rossi to break through at the NHL level, they sent him to the AHL and the Iowa Wild. He was given a chance to reset with the minor-league team and find his game again.

It turned out to be the right decision. 

Rossi has 49 points in 49 AHL games, he's fitting the profile he had coming out of OHL in his draft year, and the Wild seem better for it in both Iowa and Minnesota. 

After a slow start with Iowa, Rossi’s production and overall performance improved significantly. Now, six months i