Since being traded to the Canucks on December 12, 2025, Marco Rossi had only played in eight games for the team prior to the NHL Olympic break. Rossi played his first game for Vancouver on December 14, but was still recovering from a lower-body injury he had sustained while playing for the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild]. Rossi had not played since November 11 prior to the trade, and was shut down again just before the new year. The 24-year-old centre was placed on injured reserve for the second time this season on January 2, and did not return fully healthy until after the conclusion of the Olympic Games [http://thn.com/international] in Italy. “[The break] was nice, it was very good,” Rossi told The Hockey News, “I think even mentally, just to get away a bit from hockey and the injury I had. Just to not think about hockey, it was nice.” Rossi has played in all four Canucks games since the break, registering six shots on net, a 46.5% faceoff win percentage, and an average ice time of 16:05. The Canucks have yet to earn their first win since the break, and are navigating another chaotic week as the NHL trade deadline looms over the rebuilding team. “We know the season hasn’t been how we want to have it, you know, but that’s just how it goes,” Rossi commented on the dismal year in Vancouver, “I think it’s important to stay together as a group, and just try to learn as much as we can from game to game.” “I think we have a really good group together. We just need to find ways to win games and always find ways to build as a team. You want to go far as a team, but these are all little things we have to learn now.” The Canucks are facing their worst possible season record in the thirty years since the NHL moved to an 82-game schedule. Barring seasons shortened by lockouts or the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canucks’ worst year was the 1998-99 season, where the team had a 23-47-12 record, culminating in 58 points on the year and eventual draft shenanigans that got the Sedin twins. The Canucks are at 18-36-7 through 61 games, and are the only team yet to reach the 50 point mark on the season. The lowest win total the Canucks have had in a full season was 20, which happened in the 1971-72 and 1977-78 seasons. As the 2025-26 campaign begins to wind down for the Canucks, the trade deadline and subsequent postseason rush are just heating up for much of the league. With Vancouver on the outside looking in, attention will turn to the seasons ahead, particularly in the future of younger players like Rossi. “I have a lot of experience now too,” Rossi commented on his leadership potential having just eclipsed the 200-game mark shortly before the trade to Vancouver, “Minny had a good time, [we] made the playoffs.” “We had a tight group, and we had so many leaders on that team. I could learn a lot, and I tried to teach our young guys too, what it takes to win games.” Looking even further ahead, Rossi is trying to qualify for the 2030 Winter Olympics with the Austrian men’s hockey team. Austria did not qualify for the 2026 games, beating Hungary in a shootout and dropping tight 2-1 results to Kazakhstan and qualifiers and eventual semifinalists Slovakia. Following the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championships last May, Austria is ranked 11th in the world, having finished 8th in the tournament. Rossi did not play in the 2025 tournament, but played in both the 2023 and 2024 World Championships for Austria, scoring 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 14 games. Rossi also captained the Austrian World Junior team in the 2021 tournament, the country’s first appearance in the World Junior Championships Top Division since being relegated in 2010. Dec 30, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Marco Rossi (93) handles the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/493c8645-9ee5-43aa-ba74-fa3f71981198.jpeg] Dec 30, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Marco Rossi (93) handles the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images “We just have to win the qualifier, that’s what it is,” Rossi said about his Olympic dreams, “I mean, with a good team we have, we almost made it this year. And you hear from all the guys, they say it’s one of the best experiences they have.” “Every nation, everyone wants to make it. For a small nation like us, it’s always really hard, but our goal is to make it for sure.” Ice hockey will be played at the Stade de Nice, the home of the Ligue 1 OGC Nice football team. The stadium also hosted six football matches during the 2024 Summer Olympics. The stadium will be split into two arenas with an estimated capacity of 17,000 each for the ice hockey tournament, which was one of the seven sports confirmed to occur in the Games by the International Olympic Committee in 2024. 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