During their 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night the Minnesota Wild made a brief announcement that top prospect Marco Rossi, the No. 9 overall pick from the 2020 NHL draft, has returned to Austria to rest with his family due to complications from COVID-19.
Rossi tested positive for COVID back in November after he played one game for Zurich in the Swiss hockey league. He did not play again for the team after several other players on the roster had also tested positive putting the team into quarantine. From there, he captained Austria at the World Junior Championships before returning to Minnesota. He did not participate in training camp after team doctors would not clear him to play.
According to a report from Michael Russo of The Athletic, Rossi will not play this season but is expected to return to Minnesota in six weeks for further evaluation.
More, from the report (read the full story here, subscription required):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.
Prior to Saturday’s announcement from the Wild, they had been calling his absence the result of an undisclosed upper-body injury.
UPDATE:
“Like many, I was originally shocked and very disappointed, yet at this time I am very optimistic that my health is and will be good to return to train/play. One thing I know is that I come back stronger than ever!!🙏🏻”.
— Marco Rossi (@marcorossi2383) February 1, 2021
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.