Terrible news as NHL prospect forced to retire due to health issues
Over this past year, multiple young players are being forced to retire due to health issues. And the latest is 24-year-old Mikael Hakkarainen, a prospect for the Vegas Golden Knights.
As Finnish journalist Juha Oinonen of '65 Jatkdaika' reported:
'' Trabeculating cardiomyopathy forces Mikael Hakkaraisen to stay on the sidelines. The diagnosis of the disease was preceded by Corona and the return to the lineup too early.''
Hakkarainen told Oinonen:
'' I got COVID at the end of January. I got severe symptoms and went to play too early. Since April I have been doing nothing and observing what the situation is. Now it has become known that I have congenital heart disease.''
Hakkarainen was originally selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fifth round (139th overall) in 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Making his way over from Finland, Hakkarainen had a very successful career in the USHL before getting brought up to the AHL.
While he never did crack an NHL lineup, he did bounce around between the ECHL and AHL between 2019-2021.The forward was the piece that went back to the Golden Knights last summer in exchange for veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
Sad news as the 24-year-old's career is over far too soon.
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