It was Willie Sutton, and not the more-famous American outlaw John Dillinger, who, when asked why he robbed banks replied, “That’s where the money is.”

In a similar vein, when NHL players are asked why they put up with the physical abuse that often comes with going to the front of an opponent’s net, they’ll tell you, “That’s where the goals are.”

Going to the so-called “dirty areas” of the rink is one thing when you are blessed with six feet or more in size common among modern-day forwards. But when Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi — officially 5-foot-9, 182 pounds — goes there and scores goals, as he has done 21 times this season in a career-best offensive campaign, an element of fearlessness is clearly at play.

“That’s what we like about Marco. He does get in there, and he gets his stick free and he gets rebounds and he gets tips,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “He’s not there kind of taking the temperature of what’s going on. He’s going there with a purpose and an intent to be able to score a goal or win a puck battle.”

An ‘eishockey’ family

Sons all around the planet tend to adopt at least some of their father’s interests and hobbies. Growing up in smalltown western Austria near the borders with Switzerland and Lichtenstein, Marco Rossi’s father Michael played hockey. So, even in this non-traditional hockey country, the younger Rossi followed suit.

“It was pretty easy for me to follow in his footsteps. I just loved it. Every second of it,” Rossi said after a recent Wild practice. “Since I was a kid, I always wanted to be on the ice, so it was pretty easy for me to get into hockey.”

As with many young players who show some promise, Rossi’s hockey journey took him away from home at an early age after he proved himself as one of the nation’s best young players. First, he and Michael would spend hours in the car commuting to play for a Swiss team. Then when Marco was 13, he moved to Zurich, where he was one of the league’s top young players.

Evolution in Ontario

Being a high-end hockey player in Austria and Switzerland is akin to being the best player in Utah or Montana in the U.S. There is a notion that playing at a higher level in a more hockey-centric place will reveal the true nature of a player’s game. For Rossi, that opportunity came in the summer of 2018, when the Ottawa 67s in the major junior Ontario Hockey League drafted him, and showed they were serious about bringing him to North America by flying across the Atlantic to make an in-person pitch.

“The GM from Ottawa came over, from the 67s. He showed me everything, and since that I said to him, ‘Okay, I’m going to Canada,’” Rossi recalled. “I’m really happy I made that decision. It was good for me to mature more and everything. It was a very good step for me, for sure.”

In Ottawa, he led the entire OHL offensively while learning better English and maturing off the ice. He was considered a top-10 prospect for the 2020 NHL draft, and with the ninth overall pick, the Wild called his name. Rossi admits that the State of Hockey was a mystery to him.

Asked of his Minnesota knowledge before that, he said, “To be honest, nothing.”

Illness, then ignition

From there, things got challenging for Rossi, who battled through a nasty bout with COVID-19 that kept him off the ice for almost all of the 2020-21 season. Signing with the Wild, Rossi played 21 NHL games over the next two seasons, registering one assist, which had some impatient Wild fans ready to call him a first-round bust.

That talk has disappeared after Rossi put up 40 points last season, scoring 20 goals and playing in every Wild contest. Now 23, his game has taken another step forward, partially by necessity as the team’s healthy forwards have been forced to step accept more responsibility because of injuries to players such as Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek, both on injured reserve.

For Rossi, that means going to the net-front, knowing the physical punishment that can come with it.

“I don’t know why I play like that. Maybe it’s passion, but I’ve always played like that. I don’t think when I play, I just play. I want to win and help the team win,” he said. “We know for sure who is missing, who’s out of the lineup, but I think that’s what the team is. Everyone tries to step up and help the team to win.”

Still far from the biggest player on the rink on any night, Rossi and his number 23 sweater are easy to find. These days, just look for the guy causing the defense and the other goalie trouble from the top of the crease.