Martin Reway was ruled out of training camp with a “virus,” and the 21-year-old is reportedly suffering from heart inflammation that could keep him out of action all season.
The Montreal Canadiens announced this past week that prospect Martin Reway would miss their upcoming training camp with an illness, though Reway’s absence could potentially stretch far beyond the run up to the season.
In a statement Thursday, the Canadiens said Reway, 21, was undergoing treatment for a “virus,” adding that the team’s head physician, Dr. David Mulder, was “closely monitoring Martin Reway’s health status, in collaboration with the medical team in Slovakia.” But the condition of the young winger is reportedly quite serious.
According to Slovakian outlet CAS.sk, Reway has been in the intensive care unit and the official status of his health is under embargo. However, a spokesperson for the hospital told CAS that Reway had spent time in the department of pneumology. CAS reported that Reway was dealing with a “viral disease” and is potentially dealing with heart inflammation. If the ailment is serious, there’s potential for Reway’s entire season — and possibly his career — to be at risk.
Before being struck with the medical issues, it was expected that Reway would make the leap from Europe to the North American pro game this coming campaign. Since being drafted in the fourth round, 116th overall, by the Canadiens in 2013, Reway has plied his trade in major junior and Europe, spending one final season in the QMJHL before heading back to his hometown in the Czech Republic.
Though he wasn’t necessarily the highest draft pick, Reway was a sneaky selection by the Canadiens. He’s not big and stands just 5-foot-8, but his skill set was enough that a panel of scouts selected him as the sixth-best prospect in Montreal’s system in THN’s 2015 Future Watch edition.
Reway spent much of the past two seasons in the top Czech league, where he was more than a point-per-game player. In 48 games over the past two seasons, Reway racked up 14 goals and 52 points, including a nine-goal, 37-point rookie campaign that earned him rookie of the year honors. Reway asked out of Prague this past season, though, after contract negotiations fell apart and he ended up with the Swiss NLA’s Fribourg-Gotteron to play the final half of the campaign.
In Switzerland, Reway continued his scoring pace and netted an impressive eight goals and 21 points in 19 games. It was set to be his final tune before what would have potentially been a season split between the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps and the Canadiens.
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