Thomas Drance

My mom was with me.

We thought we were having like a fun game.

I got knocked out that year.

I could not get back to my score.

I had to tell them that I did it with my mom in the summer.

I had no idea.

No one told me what it was for.

It's come a long way since then.

And I have gotten a lot of knowledge through I've had a lot of concussions and learning about it.

I still didn't take myself out at games when I, looking back, definitely knew I should have.

Right.

Right?

Like, I'm not going to do that.

I got hit once.

Mark Stone got suspended for it when I was playing in Detroit.

I knew that if I let myself be out of the lineup there, I was going on waivers.

It ended up I hurt my knee a month later and happened anyway, but I wasn't letting that happen.

If someone else didn't take me out, I'm not coming out.

And that, like, the trainers, it's tough for them to, like, it needs to be that separation.

No, it's a good conversation, though, but it is interesting, too, because, like, I definitely saw it later in my career of, you know, a guy getting hit on your team and you get back, or whether you're on the bench or you get back in the room and you're kind of seeing him, you're like, this guy's not here right now.