Jake DeBrusk knew that something was off.
In the midst of a hot stretch that saw the 22-year-old winger light the lamp seven times over a 10-game span, DeBrusk found himself on the wrong side of puck luck during Boston’s matchup against the Maple Leafs back on Nov. 26.
Not in the sense of a shot off the crossbar, however. Rather, he found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time — taking a shot from Danton Heinen to the back of the helmet while knocked down on the ice.
While DeBrusk missed a few shifts near the end of the contest, he appeared to dodge a bullet in terms of a more severe injury — playing in Boston’s next four matchups.
#NHLBruins Jake DeBrusk takes a Danton Heinen one-timer to the back of the head pic.twitter.com/9iZEfuX7Ry
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS) November 27, 2018
However, DeBrusk’s game quickly deteriorated following that bout against Toronto. During his next four appearances, the second-year skater failed to notch a point while getting knocked with a minus-6 rating.
Something clearly wasn’t right with the forward, but DeBrusk was hesitant to take himself out of the lineup, even as his play continued to slide. Finally, after a listless showing against the Lightning on Dec. 6, DeBrusk finally relented — informing the team of his concussion-like symptoms and going into the league-mandated protocol.
“It was different every day,” DeBrusk said of his symptoms. "It wasn’t consistent. It was kind of all over the map and then it started going downhill from there. It got to a point where I needed to take myself out, health-wise. Obviously, I was trying to help the team out as much as I could. But at the same time, the way I was playing, I wasn’t helping anyone out, especially myself. It was just a matter of being honest with myself.”
DeBrusk has missed the last six games while recovering from his concussion, with his expected return still up in the air given the inconsistent recovery timetable that comes with brain injuries. However, the forward did take a step in the right direction on Wednesday, rejoining the club for morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena — albeit while donning a red, non-contact sweater.
“Feeling good,” DeBrusk said after practice. “Had a good day today. Obviously taking it day by day and making progress toward the end goal. It was nice to be on the ice with the guys today. Feels like it was a while ago, so it’s nice to be around the room and be a hockey player again.”
As
Charlie McAvoy
while detailing his own recovery from a concussion, there’s a certain learning curve that all players must adapt to when returning from a brain injury.
“I think I was not straight up with it,” DeBrusk said of dealing with his injury. “I think it was one of those things where it happened to me last year and I was playing well at the time and I kept wanting to play. I didn’t think it was what it was. Whether that was me telling myself that or what, obviously it kept getting worse and worse.
“Obviously that Tampa Bay game I was at a place where I needed to be honest. I felt the effects on that. There's a difference between playing hurt and playing injured. I was definitely injured and that's something you can't really toy around with. Thankfully I’m young enough and it was kind of a freak accident. Now I’m feeling good and I’m ready to go back out with the veterans.”
DeBrusk’s absence has caused a domino effect on the depth chart, with Boston finding success with
David Krejci
bumped up to the top line alongside
Brad Marchand
and
David Pastrnak
. Of course, once
Patrice Bergeron
gets back to game action, DeBrusk will once again have a top pivot to work alongside in a top-six role.
Boston would certainly welcome DeBrusk back to the lineup, with the hard-nosed winger still third on the club in individual scoring chances generated at 67 on the year. However, DeBrusk is not going to rush the process, given the lessons he’s learned over the past couple of weeks.
"I think the biggest lesson I’ve been told from upper management and from my dad and people that care for me, especially with brain injury, you can’t really play. You've got to be honest with it. Not trying necessarily to be a warrior or anything like that.
“Obviously you do like to play the game and I'll do anything to stay. When it comes to more serious matters, now I’ve gone through it where I’ve seen it hasn’t worked. ... I was just thinking to myself. That’s a learning curve and especially being this young, it’s a big thing for me.”
