20-year-old Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak beats cancer

Minnesota selected Pavel Novak in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.
20-year-old Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak beats cancer
20-year-old Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak beats cancer /

Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak says he's beaten cancer. 

"After a few months of troubles, I'm happy to share with you that I beat cancer. There is no better feeling than to be healthy again," Novak wrote in a social media post. 

Novak, a 20-year-old right wing, was selected by the Wild in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Wild a month before he was diagnosed with cancer in June. 

"I would like to say thank you to all the doctors who helped me to get over this. You're my heroes. The biggest thank you to my parents and sister who always supported me and went thru all treatment with me. It wouldn't work without you."

He announced the diagnosis June 24, saying he would "come back stronger."

The Czech Republic native scored 29 goals and had 43 assists last season for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. 

It's unclear what type of cancer Novak had. 

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.