With his Pittsburgh Penguins just three games away from capturing the Stanley Cup, defenseman Olli Maatta has just one thing on his mind, and it isn't his health.
The 21-year-old has been a medical anomaly over the last couple years. Having suffered several upper-body injuries, a run in with the mumps, and most shockingly a surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in his thyroid last season.
“It really wasn’t as heartbreaking for me as it sounded like. It wasn’t as bad," Maatta said on Media Day of the tumour, according to Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt. "I know there’s people that have way worse than I had it, and I can’t really compare what I had to what other people had.
"I felt like I had a target on my back. But it’s done and over with. There’s nothing I can do now. I'm just trying to live in the moment. I'm trying to enjoy this. I'm playing hockey. I'm in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's the biggest thing. I can't think about what happened last year."
While Maatta's battles with his numerous ailments have usually gathered more worry from teammates, coaches, and management, Maatta has remained calm and cool-headed and wants no special treatment, according to assistant general manager Bill Guerin.
"We were making dinners for him, asking if he wanted to stay certain places, bring his family around, he was like, 'Nah, I’ll be fine. I’ll be good on my own,'" Guerin says. "I don’t know. Just taking care of himself. He didn’t want the extra attention. He just wanted to get the procedure done and move on. I think he was very appreciative of that, but it was almost like, 'I'm okay. Don’t worry about me. I’m good.'"
Maatta hasn't escaped injury during the postseason either. He was sidedlined for three games after a headshot from Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik in the second round.
But still Maatta continues to patrol the club's second pairing while logging nearly 20 minutes of ice time most nights, simply doing whatever he can to help his team win, despite what may be ailing him.
