Michael Anthony Rosati (born January 7, 1968) is a Canadian-born Italian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He played one game in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

during the 1998–99 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1989 to 2004, was mainly spent in Europe. Internationally Rosati played for the Italian national team at the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

, and nine

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Early years

As a youth, Rosati played in the 1981

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from

Wexford, Toronto Wexford is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city, on the western end of the district of Scarborough, spanning Lawrence Avenue East between Victoria Park Avenue and Birchmount Road. There a ...

. Rosati started his career by playing in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

and was soon drafted by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

1988 NHL Entry Draft The 1988 NHL entry draft was the 26th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Teemu Selanne, who retired after the 2013–14 season. Selections by round Be ...

(#131 pick). Rosati was initially placed in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

, but after a disappointing season, decided to play in Italy. Rosati would find much more success there, and played for the Hockey Club Bolzano. In the 1990s Rosati would lead Bolzano to two Italian Hockey Championships, and would earn himself the place of goaltender for the Italian national team that would go on to compete in the

and

The 1990s and the NHL experience

By the second half of the 1990s, the Italian hockey movement had gone through a difficult period, and Rosati moved to Germany. It was here that Rosati played for

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern par ...

of the

DEL Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes ...

. In 1998, after two seasons of consistent play with

, Rosati signed with the

as the third goaltender of the team, behind

Olaf Kölzig Olaf Kölzig (born 6 April 1970) is a South African-born Germans, German professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltender coach and player development coach for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). With the exce ...

and Craig Billington and played for their minor league affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

. On November 7, 1998, the incumbent Capitals goalie, Olaf Kölzig, suffered an injury, and Rosati made his NHL debut against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

in a match won by the Capitals 8–5. Rosati played 28 minutes and didn't allow a goal, making 12 saves. He finished the season with the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

of the IHL. Rosati returned to Mannheim where he played four more seasons.

Retirement and coaching

Rosati retired in 2004 while playing for a German second division team. In the 2004–05 season, Rosati was the

assistant coach and worked with Stéphane Richer and Helmut de Raaf (who played with Rosati for multiple seasons). Rosati is currently the goaltending coach of the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. He enjoys spending time with his 2 daughters, Jessica and Alyssa, who are his biggest supporters. In the offseason, Rosati lives in Niagara Falls.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosati, Mike 1968 births Living people Adler Mannheim players Bolzano HC players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Erie Panthers players Hamilton Steelhawks players Ice hockey people from Toronto Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Italian ice hockey goaltenders Manitoba Moose (IHL) players Naturalised citizens of Italy Naturalised ice hockey players New York Rangers draft picks Niagara Falls Thunder players Olympic ice hockey players for Italy Portland Pirates players Washington Capitals players