November 2, 2023
by Mike McMahon/Staff Writer (@MikeMcMahonCHN)
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard. Former Minnesota Duluth forward Adam Johnson died on Saturday after he was injured in a game overseas in the U.K. Johnson, 29, had his neck cut by a skate.
What a horrific tragedy.
It’s the second such incident to shake the hockey world in just under two years. In January 2022, Connecticut high schooler Teddy Balkind died after he suffered a similar injury in a game.
Is it time governing bodies mandate neckguards?
I don’t know the answer. Maybe? Probably? Doing nothing doesn’t seem like it’s the right answer. That I know.
In 2013, the NHL mandated all new players have to wear visors in response to mounting eye injuries across the league. Today, there are only a few players left who don’t wear a visor.
Heck, at one point, helmets weren’t mandatory. Craig MacTavish was the last player in the NHL who didn’t wear one, which was all the way into 1997. Given how fast the game is now, it’s crazy that there was still a player participating in an NHL game without a helmet just 26 years ago. The Marty McSorley-Donald Brashear on-ice incident happened in 2000. Brashear’s helmet came off after he was slashed in the head by McSorley, and he hit his head on the ice when he fell. That was just three years after there was still a player in the league not playing with a helmet at all.
The NCAA or USA Hockey could mandate neck protection on their own, but it would set a hard example if the NHL decided to make protection mandatory.
Earlier this week, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was on NHL Network Radio, and he said that Gary Bettman and NHLPA head Marty Walsh are beginning to discuss the possibility of neck guards becoming mandated in the future. For now, Daly said the NHL’s position is that the league “strongly recommends” the players to use neck guards.
If the NHL mandates it, the NCAA will follow suit.
Keeping the status quo isn’t the right move. It’s a freak accident, but so were eye injuries that resulted in mandatory visors.
Neck guards are mandated elsewhere, at least in the youth ranks. I have a friend in Ontario who was surprised to learn it wasn’t mandated by USA Hockey. The OHL and QMJHL mandate them. Up until this week, the WHL did not. That just changed yesterday.
Former North Dakota forward T.J. Oshie said earlier this week that he plans…
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