Minnesota Wild Goalie Josh Harding Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis -NHL Update
In a tragic update, Minnesota Wild’s young top level goaltender, Josh Harding, has been reportedly diagnosed with the incurable autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis, and will begin treatment and fight for another day.
According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, the diagnosis was made nearly a month ago and came out on the media on Wednesday, as Harding is utilizing this time to inform family and friends about his serious condition.
Fortunately, Harding is confident of overcoming the disease and has vowed to fight it as long as possible without having any plans of retiring anytime soon.
"I had a couple days where I felt bad for myself, but no more," Harding told Russo. "There's things in life that happen. Sometimes you can't explain it. You deal with it."
"I don't look at this like I've got to take a new path," Harding said. "This is a little bump in the road. I've had lots in life."
Minnesota Wild general manager, Chuck Fletcher, also facilitated the player and hoped for the same courage during the battle with which he used to perform in the National Hockey League (NHL) with.
"Josh's competitive fire has led him to a successful career in the NHL and we know he will approach this new battle in the same manner," Fletcher said.
Harding is a 28-year-old native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and was drafted as the 38th overall back in round-two of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Minnesota Wild. He has seven regular seasons under his belt, all with the Wild, along with a
single playoff performance during the 2008 NHL postseason.
In 117 games played up until now, Harding boasts 41 wins, with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals-against average.
He is also locked up with the Minnesota Wild through the 2014-2015 regular season, giving him a total of $5.7 million, with an annual salary cap hit of $1.9 million each hockey year.
It has also been learned that Josh Harding is already undergoing treatment by the best in the field and is expected to fight through with it. He is facing immune system flare-ups and is on medication to prevent any new lesions.
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