Minnesota Wild Prospect Just Happy to be Alive After COVID Battle

One of the Minnesota Wild's top prospects Marco Rossi has been very open about his journey through the battle of contracting COVID-19 and on Tuesday Rossi admitted he's just happy to be alive after the complications he's faced.

The 2020 ninth overall pick tested positive back in November 2020 while playing over in the Swiss League. His symptoms subsided enough to join his Swiss teammates for the World Juniors tournament but little did he know at the time, if he would have played one more game, the Doctor's think his body would not have been able to handle it, and this all could have ended very differently.

Here's what Rossi told Michael Russo of The Athletic:

The doctors told me if I played one more game in the World Junior Championship, this could have ended completely different. I’m thankful to God that he supported me. … I’m just happy that I’m still alive. Every time before I went to sleep, I was so scared that I won’t wake up anymore. 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.

Scary stuff to say the least. The great news now is that the 19-year-old had his latest series of tests last week and his blood work came back perfectly. He's slated to have another series of tests in May and if all goes well he can begin training for next season. Rossi is starting to get antsy and wants to get back training and doing what he loves to do, play hockey.

Wishing him continued health and happiness.

Photo credit:  USAToday