Last May, Dakota Case, a Wild diehard who was born with a rare congenital heart defect called truncus arteriosus, went into severe cardiac failure and pulmonary edema. He'd spend the next 11 weeks in Nebraska Medicine's Cardiac ICU, the first 40 days of which were on a heart and lung bypass machine.
He doesn't remember June or half of July, including his 25th birthday. He spent seven weeks in rehab, where he had to relearn how to walk and what it means to live with a left ventricular assist device.
During those harrowing four months, Case's dad, Chuck, used to text Wild defenseman Nate Prosser constant updates. Prosser mailed a care package of Wild goodies, autographs and a note encouraging Dakota, including an invitation to tickets to a Wild game when he was up to it.
Dakota Case, who hails from Sioux Falls and is an aspiring broadcaster, became a fan of Prosser when he played for the Sioux Falls Stampede. After signing with the Wild in 2010, Prosser met Dakota during a Road Tour to Sioux Falls and the two have stayed in touch since.
Case awaits a heart transplant. Last month, he fought with his doctors to take Prosser up on his offer.
Without the Wild even knowing, Prosser hosted Dakota and his parents, Jennifer and Chuck, for a game against Washington. He left them prime tickets, paid for their hotel room and left them passes for a locker-room tour.
"It was insane, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I geeked out," Dakota Case said of meeting player after player and former coach Mike Yeo. "Dad and I literally had the biggest grins our faces have ever produced."
"He was so pumped," Prosser said. "It was the best feeling ever."
What came next warmed Case's heart deeply. Case was literally driving to Nebraska from St. Paul for another long hospital stay. Prosser is a man of deep faith.
"Nate made my family and I feel so warm and welcomed and, more importantly, loved, as he gathered us into a huddle in the hallway and prayed for us, asking for God's blessing and guidance and thanking him for the friendship we've developed," Case said. "So much of it is a blur, and yet it's all still so clear nearly two months later. One thing is for sure, it definitely made the impending hospital stay so much easier to bear."
This is one reason why the Twin Cities' chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) has nominated Prosser for the Bill Masterton Trophy, which goes to NHLer annually who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.
The long road Prosser took to get to the NHL – and stay here -- is commendable. Behind only captain Mikko Koivu, the defenseman is the second-most tenured player on the Wild. An undrafted free agent out of Colorado College, Prosser has been an in-and-out player for seven seasons, yet shows up daily with a smile on his face and is beloved in the locker room.
He's a team-first guy and does anything and everything the team asks of him away from the rink. He enjoys spending time helping underprivileged children and military personnel. His charitable interests include Defending The Blue Line, Children's Hospitals and Clinics and Wishes & More.
"Giving back is something that is built into my faith and my morals," Prosser said. "That's just how I was raised. The good lord blessed me with the ability to play hockey. … Whatever way I can give back to the community, I'll be the first to do it whether it's a charity golf tournament or going to the children's hospital, I'm always on board with that."
Prosser won't play tonight. It'll be his fifth straight healthy scratch and eighth in the past 11 games. He has been scratched 18 games this season.
"I think that's the role that I've been given," Prosser said. "If you're going to be that sixth/seven defenseman, you've got to be able to take healthy scratches and take them with a smile on your face. You've got to be a good teammate at the end of the day. Hockey is a sport and something that I love doing. It's my job, but I want to come in here with a smile on my face and show my teammates positivity and make sure they know that they can come to me about anything. I'll always be a good guy and a good locker-room guy. That's something I want to take pride in. It's easy for me to step away."
On being the second-longest tenured guy to Koivu, Prosser said, "It's crazy to think that. I've been here a while. I use the word blessed, but I truly am. I love playing for the hometown team like this. Having my wife being from here and all of our friends and family around here is so nice. Look around the locker room and you look up to guys like Mikko and Zach [Parise]. I've had good leaders along the way to lead me in the right direction. It's crazy that I've been here that long. Hopefully I can keep it going."
As for Case, having received so many blood products recently, his levels of antibodies severely reduced the donor pool for a potential new heart. After several aggressive treatments, his antibodies have been reduced by about 50 percent, and he's not now been listed as a 1A on the Nebraska Medicine regional heart transplant list.
He's now packed and waiting for a call from the hospital. And, he says he's doing well.
And Case is very proud that Prosser is being acknowledged as the Wild's Masterton nominee.
"That's who Nate is," Case said. "He's not just a hockey player, or even a Minnesota Wild player or Sioux Falls Stampede alum. Nate's my friend. He's my brother, and not many people can say that about their favorite player."
Prosser joins these players as Wild nominees:
Devan Dubnyk (2015-16)*, Josh Harding (2013-14), Josh Harding (2012-13)*, Clayton Stoner (2011-12), Pierre-Marc Bouchard (2010-11), Guillaume Latendresse (2009-10), Kurtis Foster (2008-09), Aaron Voros (2007-08), Marian Gaborik (2006-07), Wes Walz(2005-06, 2000-01), Alexandre Daigle (2003-04), Dwayne Roloson (2002-03) and Richard Park (2001-02)
* Won the hardware.
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In other news, Jason Zucker will take David Jones' spot back in the lineup tonight. Coach John Torchetti said Jones is still sick.
"Gives us a lot of outside speed and he can push the pace and get their D sitting back a little bit," Torchetti said of Zucker. "Hopefully they lose a little bit of gap."
Zucker said, "It's always tough to watch. For me, it was more about knowing the situation and trying to cheer the team on and be as supportive as I can."
Big game tonight. The Wild, 4-0 against Chicago this season, could either stay three points up on Colorado or move it back to five points up with a win. The Avs won in Nashville last night and play tonight in St. Louis. So a Wild loss and Avs win, and the Wild would suddenly be in a nail biter again up one point in the standings.
That's it for now. Charlie Lindgren, the St. Cloud State goalie, has decided to turn pro. The Wild wants to sign another goalie, but I am hearing the Wild is not a finalist though and could be close to signing with the Montreal Canadiens. He'd burn a year and play in the NHL this season.
Maybe the Wild has interest in Yale's Alex Lyon, a Minnesotan.
The Wild also has interest in signing St. Cloud State's Joey Benik to at least an Iowa tryout.