Noah is a senior at NASH and in his second year writing for The Uproar. He has major interests in: Baseball, Golf, Pickleball, and College Basketball. In college, he hopes to work in media and writing related to athletics. He is also a diehard Seattle Mariners fan.
On October 28th 2023, professional ice hockey player Adam Johnson would unfortunately step on the ice for one final time, as opponent Matt Petgrave’s skate would slash Johnson’s neck, tragically resulting in a fatal injury.
Following these events, questions started to spiral around the hockey world, and the overwhelming majority of them regarded player safety, and the use of protective neck guards, to further prevent events impacting players like Adam Johnson.
The aftermath of Johnson’s passing prompted hockey players around the world to turn to neck guards. But in such a dangerous sport, neck guards might not be enough to protect all players.
Besides the aforementioned injury to Johnson, skate-to-skin injuries are extremely rare in hockey. The only other documented time of this happening in professional hockey was in 1989 when Buffalo Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk had his neck cut. He survived his injury and the aftermath resulted in all goalies wearing protective neckwear from that point forward.
But the overwhelming majority of professional hockey players still do not wear neck guards. A plethora of reasons have emerged, with players complaining about comfort and appearance.
But shouldn’t player safety override those concerns?.
On August 1st, 2024, USA Hockey put a rule in place requiring all ice hockey players under the age of 18 to wear a neck laceration protector or an NLP.
The implementation of the NLPs has resulted in skewed responses at each level of hockey. NHL Stanley Cup champion T.J. Oshie has been a main advocate for neck guards since the start. The Capitals winger stated, “I want to stick around for my kids.”
Oshie founded Warroad, a brand that specializes in protective gear and apparel.
Recently, I reached out to two players in different leagues, both mandating the use of neck guards.
USA hockey participant Mark Evans told The Uproar, “To me, I feel much safer now wearing one now compared to when I wasn’t. I know a lot of people complain and say they get in the way, but it has no effect on me”
North Allegheny senior and hockey team captain Travis Lamark echoed Evans’ opinion.
“I think it’s a smart rule,” Lamark said. “I’ve seen a plethora of different people affected by being cut by skate blades and I want to do whatever is possible to make sure that doesn’t happen to me.”
According to research conducted by USA Hockey in 2023, only 27% of players who were on the receiving end of a neck injury were wearing a NLP.
With the use of neck guards in these situations, it is likely that most of these injuries could have been prevented.