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ISAK ROSEN SEASON IN REVIEW

ISAK ROSEN: SEASON IN REVIEW

Jun 28, 2023

Isak Rosen's rookie season — and his first in North America — was a resounding success. His game grew on the ice, but he also grew as a person off of it. "I'm pretty happy with what I did," he said in his end-of-season interview.

"I think I progressed a lot throughout the season, and that's what you want. That was my goal coming over here, so I'm really happy I was here this year to play with this team."

Rosen tallied 14 goals during the regular season, including three game-winning goals. He got to work early, too: the rookie scored a goal and an assist in his AHL debut against Toronto on October 14.

He recorded his fourth multi-point outing in just over a month by scoring the game-winning goal against the Utica Comets on November 19. Despite seeing the scoresheet, he felt that he was too inconsistent in the beginning of the year.

"I felt some games before Christmas, I saw what I could do," he explained. "So I was just trying to be more consistent with it. I think I was after Christmas." He attributes his success after the break to having more confidence.

And maybe his six points (2 goals, 4 assists) for Sweden in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship helped, too. "It's very fun to represent your country," he said upon his return. He, unfortunately, lost to Jiri Kulich and Czechia in the semifinals.

"He's a good friend to me here, so he was always smiling on the ice," Rosen said of facing off against Kulich. He wasn't yet ready to talk about the loss, though. Amerks head coach Seth Appert was excited to welcome the duo back, and to see their success translate to the AHL.

"Rosen and Kulich were great. Obviously they had great World Junior tournaments," he said. Appert was also grateful to have them back with the team. "They're talented, they're young. They have energy. They bring a lot to practice. I missed them; they're fun to coach."

Appert was eager to see if they could "draw on the confidence and the swagger of how successful they were, and bring that into games." Both players certainly did.

Rosen's game really took-off the second half of the season, and his regular season was capped off with 17 point (8 goals, 9 assists) over his final 28 games. His success continued into the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Rosen added four goals and four assists in 14 postseason contests, but the experience of the playoff games was crucial in his development. "There's going to be failure and success in this playoff experience, and both are going to be great learning moments," Appert said in April.

"What he's really done is that he's starting to embrace using his skill and speed to get to the interior of the ice," he continued. "On goalies of this caliber, but also this time of the year, you're not scoring goals from the perimeter very often in the playoffs."

"His willingness and ability to get to the inside has grown exponentially with the puck, and then without the puck, his commitment to playing the right way: back-checking, stopping on pucks, winning puck battles."

Sometimes, Rosen might have been out-muscled, but strength is something you can correct and improve with time. "The will and the want and the commitment to do it are the things you need to do first, and he's changed those things in spades," Appert finished.

It was the growth off the ice that was noticeable in Rosen as well. This was the first time he's lived away from home — and it was in a new country with a new language, too. "I've grown a lot outside of the rink, and that's helped me to be more comfortable on the ice, too," he said.

He attributes his ability to adjust to his friendships with fellow rookies Kulich, Filip Cederqvist, and Tyson Kozak. "It was tough in the beginning, you don't really know what to expect when you come over here," he explained.

"To have them to lean against sometimes when you need them, and they do the same with you, it's just really good that we can help each other."

When asked if he was looking forward to playing with them for years to come, a big grin spread across his face: "That's really exciting, actually. I love to play with them, and they're great friends to me."

Rosen is already looking forward to next season — albeit after a little break. He played in far more games this season than he ever has, so some down time with friends and family back home in Sweden is definitely deserved.

When he returns, though, his goal is to be even more consistent. "Maybe dominate some games here, and stuff like that," he added. 

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