After the first period of a mid-January game against Grand Rapids, Marco Rossi got called into coach Tim Army’s office.

Rossi, the 21-year-old prized Wild prospect, was in his second full month with AHL Iowa after a late-November reassignment from the NHL club. The Wild brass wanted Rossi to regain confidence, play more minutes and, as general manager Bill Guerin put it, add a little more “F-U” into his game.

Rossi was playing well with Iowa, doing the little things to help the team win, but during this first period against the Griffins, he had passed up two golden opportunities to shoot.

Army sat Rossi down and showed him clips of the plays.

“When you’re in position to shoot, you shoot it,” Army told Rossi. “You’ve got to command it.”

Rossi nodded and admitted he had to be more aggressive.

“It helps when you see it from a different view,” Rossi told The Athletic on Tuesday. “You just get hungrier.”

It certainly shows.

Rossi is on a roll, heading into Wednesday’s game in Dallas on a six-game points streak, with three goals, nine points and 18 shots during that stretch. The coaching staff gave him a letter after the holiday break, a nod to both his play and his relationship with teammates.

“He’s commanding the puck,” Army said. “He’s a dominant player right now.”

Rossi would rather be doing this in the NHL. He was initially disappointed to get sent down Nov. 28, but he understood. He had zero goals and one point in 16 games. He was getting healthy-scratched. There was pressure that came with being the ninth pick in the 2020 draft, and he felt it.

But Rossi admitted Tuesday that getting demoted might have been the best thing for him. He’s playing 20-plus minutes a night — in all situations. He’s enjoying bonding with teammates, including goalie Jesper Wallstedt and Simon Johansson. There’s no timetable for returning to the NHL, but when he does, he expects to be a much-better version.

“It’s important my confidence gets back up there, and the last few games especially, my confidence has been really good,” Rossi said. “I try to play my game and create a lot of chances, just bring my game back up to where it was.”

It wasn’t helping anyone when he was a healthy scratch in the NHL, not playing for about 10 days before his reassignment. He wanted to work through his struggles with Minnesota but knew he could be sent down.

“I wasn’t playing bad,” Rossi said Tuesday. “I was just unlucky with the points. … But after they told me, I was thinking positive. ‘Now I can bring my game back up. I can grow my confidence as a player — and just get better.’”

Evason praised Rossi’s play defensively at the time, saying he was ahead of the curve for a young player. But he wasn’t dynamic. He had zero shots on goal in his last two Wild games, playing in the bottom six when he played. It was the longest scoring drought of his life.

“As a forward, you want to make points, you want to help the team win,” Rossi said. “When you don’t do that, your confidence is not really up there.”

Army and his staff had a game plan for Rossi, including drills that would help him engage physically in battles and create separation. They put him on the flank on the top power play and paired him with Adam Beckman on the penalty kill. His ice time more than doubled.

The progress was gradual. Army noticed Rossi digging in on faceoffs, using his legs in a second effort to win key draws. He’d come out of corners with the puck. Army no longer shelters Rossi against bigger centers. He’ll put him out against anyone, at any point in the game. When Rossi scores, instead of a nod, he’s giving a fist bump, showing emotion. When he comes to the bench, he wants to get back on the ice quickly.

“That’s an F-U attitude,” Army said. “It’s not just a scrum after the whistle, pushing someone back. It’s winning battles and holding onto pucks in tight situations and coming out with it. It’s blocking a shot. It’s winning a big faceoff when your feet are in there and pull it out. It’s on the bench wanting to come back on the ice. It’s after goals, showing that emotion. ‘Yes!’ That’s an F-U attitude. It’s not just getting engaged after a whistle, which he still does. All those little things go into an overall game, and he’s showing it.”

The natural question, with Rossi finding his game, is when that will mean a trip back to Minnesota.

“I’ve heard nothing about that,” Army said. “That hasn’t been a point of discussion.”

Why?

The Wild are healthy up front, and when they’ve had injuries, they’ve mostly been to wings — not centers. And the team sees that Rossi is in a really good place, so they don’t want to mess with that. If there’s a move at the trade deadline that creates an opening, though, you’d imagine Rossi returning would be part of a discussion.

Army thinks he’s ready when the time comes.

“He’s in a far better place than when he showed up,” Army said. “He knows this is a long-term process. There’s a lot of hockey out in front of him. This is just part of it. This is the part to get him where he ultimately wants to be.”

“We’re happy with what he’s doing,” Guerin said. “The thing about Marco is that he trusts us. He knows we’re doing the best thing for him. We’re not mad at him. We’re just trying to help him.

“We could have kept Marco and had him grind it out. But that’s not good for him either. When he’s ready and there’s room, he’ll be in the mix with other players. We’re not saying he’s coming up at any time, but he’ll get a shot again.”

Rossi, who lives in a West Des Moines apartment complex with many teammates, often watches Minnesota games over dinner with Wallstedt and Johansson, his best buddies in Iowa.

“I want to be up there,” Rossi said. “It gets me hungry. But I can see what they’re doing, how they’re playing well.”

He’s making the most of his time in Iowa. The new “A” on his sweater means a lot, too.

“It’s huge for me — the next step in my career,” he said. “That’s confidence, too. I can help the younger guys a lot. They may be more afraid to go to the older guys, and I can be in a position to help them.”

Rossi laughed when it was pointed out that he’s still a young guy, too.

“Yes, you know what I mean,” he quipped.

He will eventually back up with the Wild, whether it’s this season or next. He’ll have competition getting there, with linemates Sammy Walker and Beckman both making strong impressions in their short NHL stints. But he can’t worry about who has gotten the most recent call-up or who is next.

“I just have to stay patient,” he said. “If I think every day, ‘When are they going to call me back up?’ it’ll put pressure on me, and that’s not the best for me. I’ve got to think positive and keep my mind in the AHL. If I’m thinking about the NHL, my mind is not going to be in the right place. I can’t play the right way when you’re thinking about things you can’t control.

“One day, when you get the call, I’ll be ready.”