“A metatarsal fracture suffered in October and another injury to the same area in the second half of the NHL season, plus his trade from the Minnesota Wild to the Vancouver Canucks: Rossi certainly didn’t have a dull season. “It was a very exciting season, also a very demanding one. It certainly wasn’t easy,” the 24-year-old said in a voice message on Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, it pains him not to be able to support the team in Zurich, where Austria will face Great Britain in their first game on May 16: “It’s a shame that I’m not at 100 percent. It would certainly have been the crowning achievement to also play for the national team,” said the 24-year-old. Especially since the World Championship is in Zurich. “I really did spend a lot of my youth there,” explained the Vorarlberg native, who was traded to the ZSC Lions in the Swiss metropolis in 2020 after being selected by the Minnesota Wild.

Since health comes first, he accepted the Vancouver Canucks’ decision not to let him travel to Switzerland for the World Championships, the Vorarlberg native said. “For me, it means recovery, getting completely away from ice hockey and skates so I can feel good again,” Rossi said. He hopes that with sufficient rest, the injured foot will heal quickly: “Then summer training can start again.””