Hawks’ Olli Maatta never had an illness like this before

A big statement from someone who had to fight cancer early in his career!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Hawks’ Olli Maatta never had an illness like this before
Post-Gazette

It’s quite the statement coming from someone who once underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour. Chicago defenseman Olli Maatta says he’s never had an illness like the one he’s going through right now, and it’s getting him down.

"You're trying to get better day by day and every day you want to play, and obviously it's not easy when you can't do that. It's mentally pretty drowning too."

Maatta will miss tonight’s matchup against Vegas, the fourth straight that he’s missed with his mystery illness. He’s being replaced with 19-year-old Adam Boqvist, who was recalled from AHL’s Rockford Icehogs.

In 27 games this season, the 25-year-old Maatta notched one goal and seven helpers and should have been capable of reaching the 20-point mark. That’s something he’s done twice previously in his career, including his rookie season. Both times were with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Maatta tallied his first goal in a Blackhawks’ sweater on November 23rd against the Dallas Stars.

At the age of 20, Maatta had a cancerous tumour removed from his thyroid, which was detected during a preseason physical. For something so serious, he only missed two weeks after his surgery before returning to the ice. 

Whatever is ailing him now must be awful if it’s bringing him down this much. It was once listed as "flu-like symptoms" although it was never confirmed to be influenza. We can only hope medical personnel find out what it is quickly and that it can be treated and/or cured. 


Source: Twitter