MN Wild honor a high school hockey player on the road to recovery
MINNEAPOLIS — The Wild gave their fans an early Christmas gift on Saturday by beating the Boston Bruins at home, but the win was extra special for one fan in attendance.
Holy Angels Hockey player Mason Garcia was that guest of honor. A little over a month ago, he suffered a traumatic brain injury in a hockey scrimmage. But in that short time, Garcia worked really hard in rehab, and can walk on his own again.
"I'm getting a little better every day, and at the end of the day, that's all I could really ask for," said Garcia.
The Senior Captain is celebrating all the strides he's made in his recovery with The Wild. The team hooked him up with a suite to watch the game Saturday night.
"It's all my favorite things...all in one place," said Garcia.
His season-ending injury happened just a week before Thanksgiving, so he was still in the hospital for that holiday, which makes this Christmas extra special
"I'm just happy to have the people that I have around me and the people that I love. That's really the most important thing about it all," said Garcia.
Garcia's high school hockey coach joined him in the suite on Saturday. His coach wants him to still wear the "C" for Holy Angels this season.
"I still have [teammates] coming to me and talking to me. They don't treat me differently, which is one of the things that means the most to me," said Garcia, "I don't want to be treated differently. I still want to be Mason Garcia, and that's who they see me as. They still see me as their captain, they still see me as their leader," said Garcia.
The Wild kept the surprises coming for Garcia by giving him a shoutout on the jumbotron in front of a packed arena. They also brought the team dog "Hatty" into the suite to meet him, the team staff surprised him with a signed jersey of one of his favorite players - Brock Faber, and at the end of the game he got to meet some of the Wild players and get his picture with them.
Moments like this bring positivity during difficult times, but it's Garcia's own mental toughness that keeps him fighting to recover.
"I need to stay positive because as much as this does suck, it could have been a lot worse," said Garcia.
Garcia says he is not returning to the ice this hockey season, but his next goal is to be ready for baseball this spring.
