Season in Review: Blake Rossi Published on 4/20/2012 7:32:00 PM
#8: Blake Rossi
Position: Defense
Height: 5’6
Weight: 185 lbs.
Birth Year: 1994
A long shot to make the team out of training camp, defenseman Blake Rossi forced the coaching staff’s hand with his strong, aggressive play and began the season in the top six of defensive pairings.
An undersized defenseman in every sense of the word, Rossi makes up for his size with relentless effort and aggressive play. He isn’t afraid of the physical play and is a decently thick kid that can throw the weight around but must pick his spots, as he’s susceptible to running around at times.
At the beginning of the season, Rossi was a main stay on the backend, playing in 18 of the first 22 games.
His only point of the season came on December 19 at the All-League Showcase in Las Vegas against the Dallas Snipers, as he assisted on an Eddie Keshishian goal.
After the holiday break, the Flyers picked up a couple of key defensemen and Rossi was relegated to bench duty but took it in stride.
He continued to work hard in practice and showed the coaching staff how bad he wants to come back in the fall and contribute.
He is working on getting leaner over the summer, as well as improving his overall skating. He is positionally sound and Head Coach Jocelyn Langlois loves d-men that can play with that un-teachable “edge” so Rossi will have a great chance to make an impression again in the fall.
When on top of his game he is a solid depth defenseman that is well liked by teammates, as they know he won’t hesitate to sacrifice for the team.
