He spent an entire year in the hockey wilderness, lost in the fog of a devastating head injury that wiped out a season and threatened not only his career, but his physical well-being, his mental state and his relationship with his family.
So if there's one thing Bryce Salvador, of Brandon, Man., is most proud of in his 13-year NHL career, it's returning to the ice after that dark and dizzying period of his life to play in a Stanley Cup final, become a captain and show his children exactly who he is – an NHL player and, better yet, a whole person.