Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League is pleased to recognize Ottawa 67’s forward Marco Rossi who claims the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the League’s Top Scorer presented by Kubota Canada.
The draft eligible centreman finished atop the CHL scoring charts with 120 points including 39 goals, 81 assists and an impressive plus/minus rating of plus-69 over just 53 games. His 2.14 point-per-game pace led the OHL and is the highest such figure by an OHL scoring champion since London’s Patrick Kane (2.50) in 2006-07. He becomes the first Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy recipient of European descent since Stan Mikita of the St. Catharines Teepees claimed the honour in 1958-59.
“Kubota Canada is thrilled to be the presenting sponsor for the OHL 2019-20 Top Scorer award. Even though the season was abbreviated, we saw some great performances this season and it gives me great pleasure on behalf of Kubota’s employees and the Kubota dealers across Canada to congratulate Marco Rossi as this year’s OHL Top Scorer!,” said Rob Allison, Director of Brand & Corporate Partnerships for Kubota Canada Ltd. “Well done, Marco!”
The 18-year-old from Feldkirch, Austria helped power the first place 67’s with the League’s top power play, rounding out the campaign with a total of 34 multi-point performances, 23 of which included three points or more. His top performances included a five assist showing on October 20th against Hamilton, another five point outing on November 17th in Sarnia and a career-high six point output on November 27th in Kingston. The 5-foot-9, 187Ib. centreman finished the schedule with an impressive 58.5% success rate in the faceoff circle and was held off the scoresheet just four times.
“Thank you to the Ontario Hockey League for awarding me the Eddie Powers Trophy,” said Rossi. “I am extremely grateful to receive this recognition. This award is truly a team award, and I want to thank the entire first-class 67’s organization for their support over the 2019-20 season. From the ownership group, to the management staff, to the coaching staff, to the training staff, to my teammates, to my billeting family, to my immediate family, to the fans and to everyone who had a helping hand for me during this last season and the time leading up to it: Thank you! I am honored and forever grateful to receive this prestigious award.”
Rossi’s 120 points are the most by a 67’s player in a single season since Corey Locke (151) in 2002-03. His plus-69 rating is the fifth-highest by any player since the League began tracking plus/minus in 1996-97, trailing fellow 67’s Nick Boynton (plus 81, 1996-97) and Sean Blanchard (plus-74, 1996-97) as well as London’s Danny Syvret (plus-70, 2004-05) and Sault Ste. Marie’s Morgan Frost (plus-70, 2017-18).
“Marco plays a team game and the way that he shares the puck with his teammates was a pleasure to watch this season,” commented 67’s general manager James Boyd. “The fact that Marco was able to lead such a talented group of peers in league scoring, while maintaining the highest standard of defensive play, makes this achievement even more remarkable.”
The sixth-ranked North American skater on NHL Central Scouting’s Final Draft Rankings competed in the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game this past January in Hamilton. Rossi, who was named to the OHL’s second all-rookie team in 2018-19, has accumulated 185 points (68-117–185) over just 109 regular season games since being selected by the 67’s with the 18th overall pick of the 2018 CHL Import Draft. He was widely recognized in the 2019-20 OHL Coaches Poll, appearing in six different categories as he earned recognition as the Eastern Conference’s smartest player, best playmaker and best shootout shooter.
Rossi becomes the seventh player in 67’s franchise history to earn the award, following Tyler Toffoli (2011), two-time winner Corey Locke (2003, 2004), Andrew Cassels (1988), Jim Fox (1980), Bobby Smith (1978) and Blake Dunlop (1973). He follows other recent OHL standouts who won the award in their draft eligible seasons including Erie’s Dylan Strome (2015), Windsor’s Taylor Hall (2010), Plymouth’s Tyler Seguin (2010), London’s John Tavares (2009) and London’s Patrick Kane (2007).
The Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy was donated by the Toronto Marlboro Athletic Club in memory of Eddie Powers and was first awarded in 1945-46 to Tod Sloan of St. Michael’s who scored 79 points in 25 games. Jason Robertson of the Niagara IceDogs was last year’s recipient with 117 points in 62 games including 48 goals and 69 assists. Other recent winners include Barrie’s Aaron Luchuk (2018), Erie’s Alex DeBrincat (2017) and Barrie’s Kevin Labanc (2016).
2020 OHL Awards announcements continue on Monday when the League announces its Matt Leyden Trophy recipient as OHL Coach of the Year.
For full coverage of the 2020 OHL Awards, be sure to visit ontariohockeyleague.com or follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league. For more information visit http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/.
OHL Writers 