Marco Rossi - I'm just glad to be alive (heart-wrenching related)

[Ask Not]

From Russo:



In a span of three weeks earlier this year, Marco Rossi guesses that he had more doctor’s appointments in Minnesota than he had in his entire life combined.

There continues to be one absolutely terrifying comment that still reverberates around his head. As the Minnesota Wild’s 2020 first-round pick attempted to negotiate with experts that he should at least be allowed to exercise and skate a little bit rather than be completely shut down for two months, it was explained bluntly to the teenage hockey star just how serious his medical diagnosis was.

“The doctors told me if I played one more game in the World Junior Championship, this could have ended completely different,” Rossi said Tuesday, his voice still quavering from the memory of how close he may have been to a tragic ending. “I’m thankful to God that he supported me. … I’m just happy that I’m still alive.”

In January, the 19-year-old was on the verge of his first Wild training camp and NHL debut. That’s when complications from having COVID-19 in November interrupted his bright, up-and-coming hockey career and doctors would not clear him to play after a failed cardiac screening. During an exclusive interview Tuesday by phone with The Athletic, Rossi revealed that the exact diagnosis was myocarditis, a broad term that essentially means inflammation of the heart.

Knowing Rossi was devastated by the realization that he was that close to potentially having his heart stop on the ice, Wild general manager Bill Guerin sent Rossi home to Austria to be with his parents.

Rossi was petrified. Anytime he was alone, he worried his heart was going to stop. After returning home to Austria, Rossi lived with his parents and each night begged his mother, Claudia, and father, Michael, to sleep in his room.

“Every time before I went to sleep, I was so scared that I won’t wake up anymore,” Rossi said. “Every night, before sleep, I was really sad and always crying because I was scared of that. I told my parents, ‘Could you sleep right next to my bed and be here ‘til I fall asleep?’ And every day I woke up in the morning, I was so glad that I woke up. It was really hard.”

Rossi received the same diagnosis as former Wild goalie Alex Stalock earlier this season, a complication of having COVID-19 during the offseason.

“We’re trying to focus on what is tomorrow and forgetting what is yesterday,” said Michael Rossi, Marco’s father who played hockey professionally for 20 years in Austria. “We’re looking always forward and Marco is very, very mentally strong. At the beginning, it was really hard for him to understand the situation. He was very scared about it. In the moment, he had the feeling that he could die and he was in panic.

“But I would say after a couple of days in Austria when he got back, he was feeling more comfortable every day. We had a lot of doctor appointments, and more and more you could see Marco getting healthy and right now he looks really, really good. His energy is back and he’s very strong.”

Doctors are confident Marco Rossi’s on the mend.

Last week, he had his latest series of tests and consultations in Austria. His blood work, agent Serge Payer said, came back perfect.

In mid-May, Rossi will have three days’ worth of tests. He’ll travel to Dornbirn, Austria, where Rossi said medical experts have examined several athletes who have returned to sports after being diagnosed with similar heart conditions. He’ll get further clarity from a cardiologist, then take an MRI, get a second opinion and finally a stress test and EKG.

If he’s given the all-clear, Rossi will be allowed to slowly begin training for next season with the Wild. Up until now, Rossi has only been allowed to go for short walks and do some non-strenuous mobility training. This hasn’t been easy for a self-described workout freak, a player largely regarded as one of the most NHL-ready, physically mature players in last fall’s draft.

With 39 goals and 120 points in 56 games last season for the Ottawa 67’s, Rossi became the first European in history to lead the OHL in scoring and the first European to lead the entire Canadian Hockey League 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 pick and New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafrenière (2.15), who played in the Quebec League for Rimouski.

“I’m used to training every day like really hard,” Rossi said. “For the first few days, it was really weird because I was just sitting on the couch watching movies. I was like shaking. I wanted to do something. That’s been the hardest part of this time.”

So, how did this all start?

After being drafted by the Wild in October, Rossi signed his three-year, entry-level contract a few weeks later. The Wild assigned him to the ZSC Lions in Zurich, Switzerland, to allow him to play hockey and ramp up for a potential Wild training camp in the winter. He played one game, registered an assist but was then diagnosed with COVID-19. He experienced mild symptoms, including lower back pain. By the time he was cleared and ready to return, three other players tested positive and the team was put into quarantine.

Still, during his comeback attempt with the Lions, Rossi said he was absolutely exhausted. He figured it was because he was so used to pushing his body to great lengths and his body must have been shellshocked from not being allowed to do anything during his 10-day COVID-19 quarantine.

With NHL training camps pushed back to January, the Wild assigned Rossi to the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, where he would captain Team Austria.

“My exhaustion (from Switzerland) always kept going. It didn’t stop. Like, it was never, ‘Now I’m back to 100 percent,’” Rossi said. “At the tournament, that was the highest point where I said, ‘OK, I can’t do it anymore. I’m so tired.’”

His dad wondered if his son just had jetlag. Following his dad’s instructions from Austria, Rossi asked his coach if he could take practices off. That’s when Rossi said his team and his teammates knew something had to be wrong because Rossi never takes a practice off.

“Everyone was like, ‘What’s wrong, Marco? You always go on the ice,’” Rossi said. “I said, ‘I can’t. I’m so tired.’ Everyone was shocked.”

The Austrians bowed out of the tournament in four disappointing games, and Rossi’s play, in hindsight, was clearly affected by his fatigue. Nevertheless, Rossi was so excited to fly from Edmonton to Minnesota.

“So motivated (for Wild training camp), I forgot everything, like my tiredness and everything,” Rossi said.

When he arrived in the Twin Cities, Rossi had to enter a mandatory NHL COVID-19 quarantine protocol. But on Day 2, the Wild gave him a pre-training camp physical. That night, Rossi got a call. The Wild doctors had found some alarming numbers in his bloodwork and wanted to do more tests.

Dr. Bill Morice, the president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories and chair of Lab Medicine and Pathology at the Rochester, Minn.-based hospital, explained there are four ways to diagnose myocarditis: Blood work can show an elevation of some of the enzymes specific to the heart muscle that can leak into the blood if there’s inflammation; EKG abnormalities; imaging, like an MRI; and a heart biopsy, which is the most definitive but not commonly done.

After follow-ups to the initial bloodwork, Rossi and the Wild got definitive news that he indeed had myocarditis.

“Yeah, it was a really crazy time. I was really sad and scared,” Rossi said.

Morice hasn’t cared for Rossi, but he confirmed how serious myocarditis can be.

“Think of myocarditis almost like a rash,” Morice said. “If you have a rash on your skin, it doesn’t cause permanent damage to your skin, but it’s irritating. And what happens is that in the heart, what that can lead to is electrical abnormalities because the electrical signal has to pass through the heart.

“So one of the concerns with myocarditis is sudden cardiac death from the inflammation causing electrical abnormality. It basically causes an abnormal heartbeat, which if it hits the heart just right, their heart can stop beating.”

Over the next three weeks, Rossi went from doctor to doctor. Luckily, he wasn’t alone. Rossi was living with Thomas Vanek, the former Gophers star and Wild forward who is arguably Austria’s most famous former hockey player.

“He helped me so much and I’m so thankful for everything he did,” Rossi said. “Like, he bought the medicine for me. He drove me to the hospitals. He did everything for me. I’m so thankful that he was there and that he helped me. I don’t want to imagine what would be if I would have been alone at the hotel or anywhere else.”

Rossi said he also got a lot of support from Stalock, who was also secretly going through his own struggles with a similar diagnosis. Stalock, who was plucked off waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, would pick Rossi up at Vanek’s house before every Wild home game and would try to lift Rossi’s spirits during their drives to the arena.

Eventually, Rossi returned to Austria, where he is surrounded by family and friends. He’d watch movies and go on family walks, and to get his mind off his diagnosis, his family played card games and did jigsaw puzzles, including a 2,000-piece puzzle of New York City.

Most special?

Michael Rossi went on an intense diet and training regimen to lose weight and alleviate any concerns about his own health for his son, who asked his dad to lose weight after he was drafted by the Wild.

The 5-foot-10 Michael Rossi, now 47, had a listed playing weight at the end of his career in 2010-11 at 201 pounds. Since retiring, Michael gained weight in large part because of the number of miles he put on his truck driving his son three hours, round-trip, six nights a week from Feldkirch, Austria, to Zurich, Switzerland, for four years’ worth of hockey practices.

The nightly routine, which came after a full day’s work for Michael and school for Marco, took a toll on his dad’s health and finances. Marco constantly worried about his dad falling asleep at the wheel. They drove daily to Zurich around 5 p.m., returned at midnight, then woke up early the next day to do it again.

Marco watched as his dad’s health deteriorated, his hands becoming stiff and discolored from gripping the steering wheel, his profuse sweating as he become a big, burly man.

So, in an attempt to motivate his son, Michael decided to get his health in order and lost 40 kilos, going from 127 kilos (279 pounds) to 87 kilos (191 pounds).

“I told Marco by the time he makes his first run at training to come back that I will do the first hour with him,” Michael Rossi said. “I had a goal for myself to get healthy, and also so that Marco can see how to have fight when you want something. I’m very healthy right now. I’m feeling so good. I have a lot of energy.”

It’s another thing Marco is grateful for, saying he can’t wait to go on that run: “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen from a dad.”

Rossi is convinced this nightmare will be behind him in a month and that he’ll be back to his old self. He’s even changed his diet to vegan because his nutritionist worried that eating meat would cause inflammation.

“I try to do everything that helps me be better and to be more healthy, and this is my fifth week now eating vegan, and I feel an improvement,” Rossi said.

Neither the Rossis nor Payer are blaming the ZSC Lions or Team Austria for clearing Rossi to return after his bout with COVID-19.

“I don’t want to blame anyone,” Rossi said. “The COVID is so new to everyone, and nobody really knows what is the best reaction to do. … I’m just happy that I’m still alive.”

Payer said he didn’t see what good would come from finger-pointing. “We caught it quick enough,” he said. “Marco’s healthy, he’s recovering. … We’re just very, very grateful for the medical group in Minnesota for catching this. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened had this not been caught.”

Rossi agreed. “I’m just thinking sometimes what if I played one more game?” he wondered. “So, I’m so thankful to the doctors in Minnesota, and to everyone in Minnesota, like the organization, how that they handled it so good. It means a lot to me.”

Rossi’s dad, too, lauded Guerin for the number of times he called and checked in on not only Rossi, but Rossi’s parents.

“They were so professional,” Michael Rossi said.

Rossi’s dad does worry about the COVID-19’s lasting effects. Even Morice said, “We just don’t know yet.”

“The problem with the heart muscle is it doesn’t re-grow, so if you damage your heart muscle, that’s irreversible,” Morice said. “That’s why we tell athletes to shut everything down if we find inflammation because if it doesn’t get calmed down, you can damage the tissue itself. The near-term concern for an athlete is that he suddenly has cardiac death. The long-term concern is if you lose 10 percent of your cardiac function, for an elite athlete, that’s going to be very noticeable and they’re going to have a significant decrease in their athletic performance.”

Over the past several months, Payer, 41, has had lots of heart to hearts with Rossi. When Payer was an 18-year-old OHL player for the Kitchener Rangers, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. At 19, Payer worked valiantly to return to hockey and ultimately signed a free-agent contract with the Florida Panthers. He went on to play 124 NHL games, scoring his first NHL goal at age 21 in Ottawa 20 months after being hospitalized and given his traumatic diagnosis.

He ended his North American pro career in 2007-08 with the then-Wild AHL affiliate Houston Aeros.

“I reassured Marco,” Payer said, “the good Lord throws you obstacles and challenges in life for a reason, And we’re not meant as human beings to understand everything that’s thrown at us. But it’s how we deal with it and how we answer the bell that ultimately dictates our future. He’s got a choice to make and that’s to take this unfortunate circumstance as a life lesson, as an experience and make the best of it. And that’s what he’s doing.”

Take away the four games Rossi played at the world juniors and one game for the ZSC Lions last fall, by the time the Wild report for training camp tentatively on Sept. 22, a day before Rossi’s 20th birthday, and open next season tentatively on Oct. 12, Rossi will not have played consistent competitive hockey since the OHL season was shut down March 10, 2020, after he notched a four-point game for the 67’s against the Niagara Ice Dogs.

Payer doesn’t feel the time away will hurt his client’s development or mean he’ll have to start next season in the AHL.

“If he was in his mid- to early-30s, that’d be difficult to recover from. There’s no denying that. But Marco’s a teenager,” Payer said. “I’m probably a good example of this. I was out of hockey for a year at the age of 19, 20. I came back the very next year, trained as hard as I could for an extended period of time and played in the National Hockey League.

“I think with Marco’s determination, Marco’s consistent work ethic, this ultimately is going to put him in a position where not only does he appreciate the very little things, but it’s going to fuel the drive. As committed as he was before, he was put through this life experience, scared to death, challenged in every possible way, emotions high, emotions low, I think this fuels him to the point where now he can go through anything.”

Starting in mid-June through the end of July, Michael Rossi has already rented an entire sheet of ice for his son to practice on. Not only will Michael be in good enough shape to get on the ice with his son, he has commissioned a number of coaches to help re-train his son.

“He’s got the big swagger on his back, so don’t worry about that,” Michael Rossi said. “He will be very strong. I talked to him again today and he says, ‘Daddy, listen, I think I’m coming out stronger than I was before.’ … I tell Marco, ‘It’s three or four months of your career and you’ll have 15 years.’”

Added Marco, “I’m gonna be even better and stronger. And I’m going to be more mature because right now I have a different view of everything. Because what happened was really hard. I’m so thankful that I’m healthy. Normally, when you’re healthy, you don’t really think too much about that every day. But I’m healthy. My family’s healthy. I just have a different view. I have a new challenge right now and you always need new challenges.

“I love challenges. So I think I’m even better than I was before.”

[Slap Shot]

Wow what a read. This shit is no joke - of course some of us knew that already.

[Ron Burgundy 4 President]

Hopefully this doesn't have any lasting effect on his long term health. He's young enough that there is a real possibility that he'll be back to his old self sooner rather than later, but you have to wonder how much his stock would have dropped if he had been a year younger and wasn't eligible for the draft until this season rather than last? I'm sure the Wild will say they would have still drafted him where they did, but I find it hard to believe it wouldn't have caused most teams to move him down a few spots on their draft boards at the very least.

On a related note, they NEED this kid to work out. The inability of this team to roster a high end center has plagued it since it's inception.

[Slap Shot]

[Hoop Dreams]

[Hornets]

It IS great news....seriously doubt he'll be able to make an impact on next years squad but hope he can eventually be a long term playa for our Wild!

[INSIJS]

I saw that he posted on Twitter that he was able to finally get on the ice to skate. Great news!

I wanted to ask him if he can win a face off once in a while but thought it would be rude in his first Tweet post-Wuhan battle.

[ILLogic]

I saw that he posted on Twitter that he was able to finally get on the ice to skate. Great news!

I wanted to ask him if he can win a face off once in a while but thought it would be rude in his first Tweet post-Wuhan battle.

[Hummdrum]

The hockey Angels were looking over him.

[media]

[Hoop Dreams]

[Hoop Dreams]

[Hornets]

Great news!

[Hoop Dreams]

[Slap Shot]

We're talking about practice?

That said the Wild definitely need more scoring punch - hoping Rossi makes the roster straight out and has an impact.

[Martyball]

There is a vacancy at center this season for the Minnesota Wild, and Rossi (5-foot-9, 182 pounds) is poised to fill it. The 20-year-old is coming off a productive rookie season with Iowa of the American Hockey League despite missing most of the 2019-20 season after being diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-November and myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, after reporting to Wild training camp in early January. He led Iowa in assists (35) tied for first in points (53) and was fourth in goals (18) in 63 regular-season games last season.


A person doesn't get Myocarditis from Covid. A person get Myocardiris from the Vaccine.

[Slap Shot]

[Hornets]

"You find that funny Mr. Grow?"

[Slap Shot]

"You find that funny Mr. Grow?"

Your what hurts?

[Martyball]

Typical from the liberal moron. Do some real research.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... ditis.html

The vaccine weakens people's immune systems.

[Slap Shot]

Typical from the liberal moron. Do some real research.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... ditis.html

The vaccine weakens people's immune systems.

Not only has the CDC said it's extremely rare to have come from the vaccine, but it's also known that Covid itself is one of the known causes: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/ ... lammation.

So you have no idea what was the most likely cause for him coming down with myocarditis.

[Martyball]

Typical from the liberal moron. Do some real research.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... ditis.html

The vaccine weakens people's immune systems.

Not only has the CDC said it's extremely rare to have come from the vaccine, but it's also known that Covid itself is one of the known causes: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/ ... lammation.

So you have no idea what was the most likely cause for him coming down with myocarditis.

If you believe that, I can't help you. CDC also has lied over and over.

It's not rare. A buddy of mine just died yesterday 36 years old. Vaxxed, shortness of breathe, had a heart attack.

[Slap Shot]

Typical from the liberal moron. Do some real research.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... ditis.html

The vaccine weakens people's immune systems.

Not only has the CDC said it's extremely rare to have come from the vaccine, but it's also known that Covid itself is one of the known causes: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/ ... lammation.

So you have no idea what was the most likely cause for him coming down with myocarditis.

If you believe that, I can't help you. CDC also has lied over and over.

You quoted the CDC not me so don't cite them and then dispute them, Baby Huey and your friend that died wasn't vaxxed yesterday. If even that happened which I doubt.

[Martyball]

Not only has the CDC said it's extremely rare to have come from the vaccine, but it's also known that Covid itself is one of the known causes: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/ ... lammation.

So you have no idea what was the most likely cause for him coming down with myocarditis.

If you believe that, I can't help you. CDC also has lied over and over.

You quoted the CDC not me, Baby Huey and your friend that died wasn't vaxxed yesterday. If even that happened which I doubt.

See, you are totally clueless. It can happen with days, weeks, months and years. It attaches to your organs.

No research, Just a little bitch spouting off.

[Slap Shot]

If you believe that, I can't help you. CDC also has lied over and over.

You quoted the CDC not me, Baby Huey and your friend that died wasn't vaxxed yesterday. If even that happened which I doubt.

See, you are totally clueless. It can happen with days, weeks, months and years. It attaches to your organs.

No research, Just a little bitch spouting off.

You have no idea what you're talking about as usual. Do your own research and look up numbers on vaccine deaths. Deaths for the unvaccinated are multiples worse than deaths by vaccine. Grow up.

[Martyball]

You quoted the CDC not me, Baby Huey and your friend that died wasn't vaxxed yesterday. If even that happened which I doubt.

See, you are totally clueless. It can happen with days, weeks, months and years. It attaches to your organs.

No research, Just a little bitch spouting off.

You have no idea what you're talking about as usual. Do your own research and look up numbers on vaccine deaths. Deaths for the unvaccinated are multiples worse than deaths by vaccine. Grow up.

Brainwashed as usual. Deaths from the vaccine have been label Covid. Other deaths have also been called Covid on death certificates. Because the hospitals get money for Covid deaths. They have lied about Covid deaths. You are the one who is clueless.

But hey, you believe Rossi got Myocarditis from Covid.

[Slap Shot]

See, you are totally clueless. It can happen with days, weeks, months and years. It attaches to your organs.

No research, Just a little bitch spouting off.

You have no idea what you're talking about as usual. Do your own research and look up numbers on vaccine deaths. Deaths for the unvaccinated are multiples worse than deaths by vaccine. Grow up.

Brainwashed as usual. Deaths from the vaccine have been label Covid. Other deaths have also been called Covid on death certificates. Because the hospitals get money for Covid deaths. They have lied about Covid deaths. You are the one who is clueless.

But hey, you believe Rossi got Myocarditis from Covid.

[Martyball]

Can't back anything he says up. Just spouts off like a little bitch. The vaccine has over 1 million side effects. Probably more. They classified Vaccine deaths as Covid. More Vaccined and Boosted in the last 6 months got Covid that people that are unvaccinted. Try doing real research. You know the research that doesn't fit you liberal lies/agenda.

He cares about deaths from a hurricane, but not deaths from the vaccine.

[Slap Shot]

Everything I've said is backed up including from one of the very links you provided. Meanwhile you insist vaccine caused the illness despite the fact your link confirms covid can be the cause, despite the fact he and his doctors state covid was the cause, and despite the fact he got sick at the very same time he contracted the virus rather than when he was boosted or vaccinated.

jfc think about that for a minute.

[Martyball]

Here's the problem. The misinformation out there goes both ways. I can find links to support myocarditis from the vaccine. You can find links to support myocarditis from Covid. But, you are so far left you cannot be objective.

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/09/0 ... -young-men

[Slap Shot]

No the actual problem is you don't actually pay attention to what anyone else writes and fly off the handle when you see the name of the poster.

I never said myocarditis cannot be caused by the vaccine, I objected to you definitively claiming it was the cause for Rossi when you can't possibly know that.