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TJSweens -> RE: Minnesota Wild 2021 Season / Game Day (2/3/2021 10:48:43 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: stfrank
And more bad news from the Athletic.
Wild’s top pick Marco Rossi will not play this season: Sources
By Michael Russo Jan 30, 2021 181
There are not a lot of things that could overshadow Saturday night’s blowout defeat to the division rival Colorado Avalanche, a game in which the Wild were already playing without their best player, Kevin Fiala, because of a three-game suspension; a game in which they’d lose forward Marcus Johansson to injury and eventually defenseman Matt Dumba to an injury that could sideline him indefinitely.
But during the second intermission of a 5-1 loss, the Wild confirmed a report from The Athletic on Friday that first-round pick Marco Rossi had returned home to Austria and acknowledged for the first time that what kept him off the ice during training camp and beyond this month is complications due to having COVID-19 in November.
The Wild were vague in their announcement in part because of the federal law restricting the release of medical information. They provided no specifics as to what lasting effects Rossi has been dealing with, but sources told The Athletic on Saturday night that the team’s medical staff is confident the 19-year-old center will make a full recovery. While not getting into details, general manager Bill Guerin also said on a recent The Athletic podcast that the Wild are confident he’ll be OK long term.
However, he will not play this season, sources said.
Rossi will return to Minnesota in six weeks to be re-evaluated by doctors. But until then, he’s supposed to stay off the ice, not work out and pretty much take it easy. The objective is for Rossi to solely worry about his health and focus on getting ready for training camp next fall.
After Rossi signed his entry-level contract in late October, the Wild assigned the young center to the ZSC Lions in the Swiss League to play professionally until Wild training camp would open up. Rossi played one game, then tested positive for the virus and missed all of November. After recovering, Rossi was actually set to return to Zurich’s lineup after Thanksgiving, but then multiple players on Zurich tested positive for the virus and the team was put into quarantine.
Because of the delay to the start of the NHL season, the Wild let Rossi have the honor of captaining his native Austria in the world junior championships. Rossi played in the tournament, then flew to Minnesota, excited for training camp.
Sources say Rossi was “exhausted” throughout the tournament, but he never knew anything was wrong with him until Wild doctors wouldn’t clear him to begin training camp after undergoing a physical.
As part of the NHL COVID-19 protocols, all players that have tested positive for COVID-19 must undergo a cardiac screening and bloodwork. It’s unclear if Zurich or Team Austria followed similar protocols, but regardless, the Wild aren’t disclosing the nature of Rossi’s complications.
With 39 goals and 120 points in 56 games last season for the Ottawa 67’s, Rossi became the first European to lead the OHL in scoring and the first European to lead the three-league CHL in scoring since Alex Radulov (152 points) in 2005-06.
Rossi led the OHL with 81 assists and a plus-69, and was the second European import in OHL history to be named MVP. His 2.14 points per game ranked second in the CHL behind No. 1 overall pick, New York Rangers rookie Alexis Lafreniere (2.15), who played in the Quebec League for Rimouski.
Even though the Wild are confident Rossi’s health situation isn’t career-threatening, there could be real implications for his development with all this lost time.
By September, other than four games played at the World Junior Championships and one game for the ZSC Lions, Rossi will have not played consistent hockey in 18 months since the OHL season ended due to the pandemic last March.
I guess that explains Rossi's disappointing performance in the world junior championships. I had forgotten about him getting covid-19. Sucks to lose another year of development. I just hope the kid makes a full recovery and hasn't suffered permanent lung damage.
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