Marco Rosa has spent much of his hockey life trying to prove to others he is more than just an effective checker.
So when you talk to him about what it's been like to spend most of the American Hockey League season as the top-line centre with the Manitoba Moose, the pride in his voice shines through.
"I've put my time in being a third and fourth line checker, it took time for someone to believe in me," Rosa said before the Moose departed for Pennsylvania to open a six-game road trip against the Hershey Bears. "Last year, Kevin Constantine gave me that shot and coming here, I've been able to fill that No. 1 centre position. It's something I don't take for granted. It's a privilege and it's something I'd like to work on and get better at.
"There's a lot of responsibility and it's a change, but I like that challenge. It's a challenge I've had before. It's not new to me, but at this level it definitely is."
Rosa, a Scarborough, Ont., product who turned 28 last Friday, has proven to be a nice find for the Moose this season after signing a one-year AHL deal with the club following two seasons with the Houston Aeros.
Brought in to provide depth and versatility, Rosa has grown into a significant offensive contributor.
His 11 goals and 29 points in 45 games leave him second on the Moose in scoring to Russian rookie Sergei Shirokov and his 114 shots on goal lead the club - not bad for a guy known mostly for his responsible play away from the puck.
"Playing for a new coach, you want to make sure you do everything you can to give him confidence in you," said Rosa, who has five goals and eight points in his past nine games. "The biggest thing for me is making sure that every night I come to play, regardless of whether I get points or not, I have to play hard and do a lot of little things to help the team win hockey games. That's always been a part of my game.
"The biggest thing I've learned in this league is that 80 or 90% of the goals scored aren't from first shots, a lot of them come from getting pucks to the net and getting rebounds. The more shots you get on net, the more opportunities you're going to get to score."
With the parent Vancouver Canucks a little thin down the middle in terms of organizational depth, it wouldn't be a big surprise to see Rosa become the latest ECHL refugee to sign a two-way, NHL contract.
For now, all Rosa cares about is helping the Moose have a strong stretch drive.
"I don't think there's a particular part of my game that I'm not happy with," said Rosa, who spent four seasons at Merrimack of the NCAA before turning pro in 2004-05 with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the ECHL. "If anything, I want to make sure I'm consistent with my game. I'm definitely going to have to step it up a level in creating more chances and scoring myself."
Moose head coach Scott Arniel has been pleasantly surprised by Rosa's play in an expanded role.
"We thought he'd be a real solid second-line centre and maybe play some left wing along the way, but he's certainly been cast into that marquee spot being on that top line," said Arniel. "With that comes pressure to produce. He got off to a real good start and had a tough stretch through November there, where he probably felt he had to score every night and make plays. Recently here, the last three or four weeks, he's been excellent.
"He does have a real good skill package and he's putting up numbers to go along with it. He recognizes he can still be a real solid defender, as well as being a good top-end offensive guy."
The Moose open a six-game road trip tonight at Giant Center against the league-leading Hershey Bears.
ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca
