As he watched Adam Johnson’s final minutes on the ice, TJ Oshie felt a “crazy amount of emotions”.After thinking about Johnson and his family, Oshie, a Washington Capitals winger and co-founder of a hockey apparel firm, considered how often he neglects his own well-being when performing at the highest level.
For the Capitals’ game against the New York Islanders on November 2, Oshie wore an undershirt his firm manufactured with a neck guard days after Johnson’s death, which his team called a “freak accident.”
The Nottingham Panthers player died in hospital after suffering a “incised wound to the neck caused by the skate of another player,” according to a Sheffield coroner’s report.
Johnson collided with an opponent on October 28 while playing for the Sheffield Steelers. The Sheffield Utilita Arena audience was ordered to leave, and the match was suspended.
Safety attitudes are changing, according to Oshie.
“I thought about my kids,” Oshie says of wearing a neck guard after Johnson’s death. “I’m nearing the end of my career, and I wanted to protect myself and their dad’s future.”
In recent weeks, Oshie claims, several Capitals teammates have worn cut-resistant neck guards, and some organisations have mandated them.Johnson’s old NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, are requiring neck guards for their minor league players, according to coach Mike Sullivan. The English Ice Hockey Association will require all players to wear them next year.
Sheffield coroner Tanyka Rawden said in her report that she is “sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future” if neck guards are not used. Her inquiry will establish if Johnson’s death could have been prevented.
In the NHL, neck protectors or any neck protection are rare.
According to CNN Sport, ice hockey broadcaster Seth Bennett believes there is a machismo in ice hockey that devalues those who wear more protective gear.Many players believe wearing a neck guard is intended to protect the larynx from pucks, not the skate blade. This isn’t considered critical equipment.”
Older players only use neck protectors when they are required to by insurance, according to Bennett, a minor ice hockey coach in the UK. He also believes the sport and its players should prioritise ice safety.It’s horrible that someone died, says Bennett. “It would be worse if the sport stood with its fingers in its ears and eyes closed.”
Increasing neck guard requirements
Currently, the International Ice Hockey Federation only requires neck guards for younger players and suggests that all other players wear them, although leagues and governing bodies can make them mandatory.
Earlier this month, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman informed reporters that the league will explore mandating or “phasing in” neck guards with the players’ association. He said players can make some decisions.
USA Hockey advises players to wear a guard that “covers as much of the neck area as possible,” but it does not “eliminate the risk” of a cut.“I will say that hockey players are stubborn historically, and a lot of guys probably won’t try it or won’t wear it,” says Stanley Cup champion Oshie. “But I think you will see more guys at least trying it in practise or off the ice.”
In 2018, Oshie established Warroad, a hockey clothing firm, and has started wearing its neck guard at practises and games.Kevlar and steel components provide Warroad’s neck protectors with the sturdiness to keep them upright and provide neck coverage.Warroad co-founder Jason Olden says professional and amateur players have been flocking to the company’s neck and wrist guards in recent weeks.
“We made 2,800 units,” Olden told CNN Sport. “We sold all our neck and wrist products in 12 hours.”“Ultimately, it’s a bit of a frenzy from a supply chain standpoint because, now, we want to get as many players protected as quickly as we can, and we’ll have constant rolling production for the foreseeable future.”
Other businesses have reaffirmed their player safety commitment since Johnson’s death.
Bauer Hockey VP of global marketing Mary-Kay Messier tells CNN Sport, “This is lifesaving technology.” “And we’re seeing the adoption of market-tested products. To secure player acceptance, we must keep developing and improving products.Bauer Hockey has seen neck guard demand rise since Johnson’s death.
Messier: “What we have seen is a huge demand from retailers ramping up for consumer demand. “We have airfreighted product over to meet demand and ramped up production to ensure availability.”
Safety shifts
Hockey players rarely wear throat protection due to the low frequency of neck laceration injuries and the discomfort of guards.
Hockey has seen catastrophic neck-cut injuries, though rare.Last year, high school hockey player Teddy Balkind died when another player’s skate slashed his neck, while Florida Panthers winger Richard Zednik needed emergency surgery following a neck slash against the Buffalo Sabres in 2008.
That last occurrence caused persistent PTSD for former NHL goaltender Clint Malarchuk, who nearly died from a neck cut in a 1989 collision.“It’s big, big anxiety,” Malarchuk told The Athletic after Johnson’s death, adding that he now had the “tools” to deal with his own neck laceration’s mental pain.Johnson’s death, like others in the sport, has bolstered calls for neck guards.
“I view these tragedies as an impetus for change,” USA Hockey chief medical officer and Safety and Protective Equipment Committee head Dr. Mike Stuart told CNN Sport.
There’s a greater awareness of body lacerations. I think there’s a true revived interest with leagues mandating and players and parents ordering cut-resistant products at historic rates.Stuart believes neck guards should be improved because some are too thin, narrow, slide down the neck, or shrink in the wash.
“The protective device should go from the ear down to the collarbone because it needs to protect the area underneath the mandible angle (the lower jaw) and the neurovascular structures above the collarbone,” he says.A mandatory age for players would increase the use of neck guards and other protective gear, similar to how helmets became mandatory in the NHL.
A helmet was required for players who signed professional contracts after June 1, 1979, removing their choice.Stuart says, “I have experienced player reluctance to wear protective equipment with everything we’ve tried to do in the area of safety,” including facial protection.There is still freedom of choice in the NHL, as players warm up without helmets, wear no facial protection, and use visors ineffectively.
Stuart is “very optimistic” that education may change player safety attitudes and increase neck guard use.Oshie explains that the team is afraid to change their approach, possibly due to their reliance on veterans who came before them as rookies.As the kids grow up and the game becomes younger, they seem willing to adapt more than previous generations.
1 thought on “Ice hockey players are ‘stubborn’ about covering their necks. Perhaps that will change.”