Neck Guards Need to be Mandatory

 

Photo From The Telegraph

This is a Leaf-focused blog, but I am not going to talk about them in this article. They finished October 5-3-1 there are areas to improve on obviously, but things will get sorted out.

This article is going to be about a much more serious subject. On October 28^th, Saturday Adam Johnson while playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England ended up getting cut in the throat by a skate and tragically lost his life from the incident at just 29 years old. I have been around the game for a long time and have seen many things, but I never want to see a player get seriously injured in any situation. With Adam being cut in the neck it raises the question of whether neck guards be mandatory. I think the answer is simply yes. I just think with the speed the professional game is played at I think it’s obvious that neck protection should be mandatory. I know having coached different age groups of Triple-A hockey neck guards must be always worn by players during a game I spoke with the Aurora Tigers trainer before starting this article and she confirmed to me that the same rule applies to Jr A, B, and C hockey as well.

There are going to be readers who think this may be an overreaction because players being cut by a skate are few and far between but honestly, there have been several incidents over the years, and one is too many. Richard Zednik while playing for the Panthers was cut in the neck and survived thankfully. Ilya Mikheyev while playing for the Leafs was cut in the wrist and spent time in the hospital recovering from the incident. Borje Salming was stepped on and had a massive gash on his face, and Clint Malarchuck a goalie for the Buffalo Sabres was cut in the throat. The team's trainer while play was going on went onto the ice and pinched the gash shut before treating him saving the man's life. Those are just a few incidents where tragedy was thankfully avoided but they still happened. Yes, I know these are freak accidents but why shouldn’t neck guards be mandatory at all levels of hockey? Helmets are mandatory to prevent head injuries. The NHL brought in a rule that after 2013 any player who enters the league must wear a visor to prevent serious injury so why not neck guards? Players have the option to wear Achilles' protection the AHL made wrist and Achilles protection mandatory this season.

The effect the Adam Johnson tragedy has had on the sport has been felt at all levels because players understand there are risks when playing any sport, but I think if there is any avenue to take that would prevent a player from being cut by a skate and suffering a serious injury or in this case death why not take those preventative measures.

Last night it was reported that the NHL “highly recommends” players wearing neck guards, but it is a topic that will surely be discussed at the upcoming GM meetings. Fortunately, the league will likely grandfather neck guards into the league like they did visors. That’s just a guess on my part but this would be a great step in further protecting their players. Yesterday I read that the Wilks-Barrie Penguins an organization that Johnson began his professional career with had decided to have all players wear neck guards.

This morning I was texting with a friend of mine Julian Melchiori who plays for Berlin in the DEL, and he explained to me that the players union known as the SVE sent out a survey to their players on making neck guards mandatory. The Survey had four options.

1. Mandatory
2. Optional
3. None (like it is now)
4. Don’t care

Julian then explained that once the surveys are complete the SVE will bring the results to the league officials and a decision will be made.

In closing, I want to send out my condolences to the family, friends, and of course, every single teammate of Adam’s who is mourning his passing after this tragic incident.

 

  

Photo From Bleacher Report