By Ken Wiebe /

Marco Rosa is living proof that catching the eye of the opposition can lead to good things down the road.

After a strong American Hockey League season with the Houston Aeros, Rosa found a new home this summer with the Manitoba Moose — the team that knocked the Aeros out of the Calder Cup playoffs during an exciting six-game Western Conference final last spring.

When the Moose found themselves looking to restock their depth down the middle during the summer after losing Jason Krog and Mark Cullen, Rosa was high on their wish list.

“The reason he’s here this year was how well he played against us,” said Moose head coach Scott Arniel. “He played in a lot of key situations (for the Aeros) and he’s going to be a good player. He’s very versatile.

“He’s going to be a guy we try to utilize in a lot of different situations throughout the year. He’s got a great pair of hands on him. He might be one of the real sleepers in the pile here.”

Coming into the campaign, Rosa was expected to anchor the checking line, but he’s spent much of the early season anchoring the top unit and recorded at least a point in each of the first six games

“You have a job to do and you have to do it,” said Rosa, a 27-year-old from Scarborough, Ont. who had 16 goals and 40 points for the Aeros last season and added two goals and 10 points in 20 Calder Cup playoff games.

“I wasn’t going to be disappointed if I wasn’t on the top lines. I’ve been used all over the map — it depends on what the coaches need. When you’re on a good team and you want to stay in the lineup, you have to be able to play a lot of different positions. I’m a team player and wherever he puts me, I’m going to try 
my hardest.

“It doesn’t change your own game. You’ve got to be able to make plays and do the right things. We’ve got a deep team and you could throw a number of different guys on the top lines and they’re going to be able to do well.”

Aeros head coach Kevin Constantine believes Rosa has a bright future ahead of him.

“From a hockey standpoint, his hands and puck skills are extraordinary,“ said Constantine. “His ability to make plays — in traffic, in a phone booth, in corners is really good. And the second thing that hits me is his smarts about the game.

“He’s a really, really intelligent kid and he really knows the game. You add the work ethic and his character and you’ve got a heck of 
a player.

“He’s a guy that’s getting better all the time. He’s turned himself into a high-quality AHL guy who if the pattern continues, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him in the NHL one day.”

MOOSE NOTES
A pair of Moose players made their NHL debuts with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month after Daniel Sedin went down with a foot injury that could keep him out from 4-to-6 weeks. Winger Guillaume Desbiens suited up against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 11 and played nearly nine-and-a-half minutes on the third line before he was returned to the Moose, while Michael Grabner, the Canucks first round pick (14th overall) in 2006 played his first NHL game on Oct. 16 against the Calgary Flames. As Grabner went up, the Moose brought in veteran forward Matt Pettinger on a 25-game pro tryout offer. Pettinger, who had eight goals and 15 points for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season after he was claimed on re-entry waivers, is hoping a stint with the Moose will lead to an NHL contract. Pettinger, who is an unrestricted free agent, had been skating with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL. Russian rookie Sergei Shirokov, who was sent down to the Moose after going pointless in three games with the Canucks to start the season, had seven points in his first four AHL games. The Moose were hit by the injury bug early in the season as they lost defencemen Brian Salcido (concussion) and Lawrence Nycholat (shoulder/knee) in a game against the Chicago Wolves on Oct. 12.