The events this past October shocked the hockey world in a game between the Nottingham Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Hockey League in England. Panthers forward Adam Johnson was lacerated on the neck by Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave. Johnson would pass away later that day. What made it so shocking was Johnson was standing up still skating when it happened. Petgrave collided with another player and was put into the air where his skate made contact with Johnsons neck. Although that incident made national headlines it is not what hits closest to home. In 2022 Brunswick Connecticut hockey player Teddy Balkind was cut in the neck by another players skate in a hockey game. He passed away due to the injuries he sustained. At this time neck guards were not mandated in the league that Balkind was playing in but only recommended. Neither Balkind nor Johnson were wearing a neck protector.
As the video of the play went viral, many questioned whether it was accidental or on purpose. On Nov. 14, 2014, Petgrave was charged with involuntary manslaughter. In the 20 years the league has been active there has never been an injury like this. According to the National Institutes of Health under 15 neck or cervical spine injuries occurred to every 100,000 athlete exposures in ice hockey. This raised the question. How enforced are neck guards at the youth level and how many players abide by the rules?
The youth level is not just for learning how to play the game but also getting accustomed to the equipment to be safe. Implementing neck guards at the younger level is a lot easier than trying to convince players why they have to wear them when they are older.
NECK GUARD RULES AT THE YOUTH HOCKEY LEVEL
According to USA Hockey “neck laceration protectors are required for players in all age classifications except adults. For clarity, this includes youth, girls and junior age classifications.” This can be seen on page 14 of the 2023-2024 USA Hockey Guide. The rule was approved this past January and will go into effect for all leagues that are part of USA Hockey in August . Neck guards are meant to protect players from neck lacerations from skates or sticks. They’re a piece of equipment that wraps around a players whole neck to decrease the risk of injury. Companies the produce them such as Bauer, CCM, etc make them out of light-weight materials including plastic, foam, and Kevlar . Because they are light-weight they don’t have as much resistance to pucks but are strong enough to prevent cuts from skates and sticks.
HOW OFTEN IS IT ENFORCED?
Most leagues have had them mandated for years now but how strict have referees and coaches been on these rules? Harvard commit Justin Solovey says, “I never wore a neck guard playing youth hockey,” said Solovey. “It wasn’t common for a kid to wear it playing youth hockey.” Andrew Ellner, 16, who is playing youth hockey right now says he does wear a neck guard. “It’s not of any nuisance to me and it’s much better to take precaution now rather than wait to catch a skate to the throat to start.” A common theme that they both said is it seems more like of a choice for players especially when at practice. Some players are only wearing it during games because they don’t want to risk the chances of being thrown out which isn’t enough.
HOW DO REFEREES ENFORCE THE ISSUE
Referees have specific guidelines and rules they must follow regarding player safety. One of those is wearing the proper equipment which includes every player having a neck protector. “If players fail to follow these rules and penalties they can be removed from the game with a game misconduct,” said USA Hockey Youth Referee Lucas Mackey. Mackey has refereed for leagues for the New Jersey Youth Hockey League and AAA Atlantic Division games. How often is this a problem though? Mackey says youth hockey players are better at following these rules until they start to reach the high school level. Many players stop wearing them due to the uncomfortably and the unlikelihood of a neck injury happening.
Goalie coach De Castro currently working in the AAA Atlantic Division agreed with Mackey. De Castro has also spent time working with all age groups including the Washington Capitals and Manhattanville College. “In previous years some refs overlook it or whatever but traditionally especially at the younger levels it’s hard to get away with that stuff.”
DeCastro agreed that after the incident with Johnson and Petgrave, coaches and referees tightened up on neck guard safety. Although players are supposed to wear neck guards, sometimes the checks fall through the cracks.
As of now there are no specific rules for referees to check neck guards prior to the game starting,” said Mackey. “The initiative is on the coaches and players to make sure they are following the rules. Once spotted, it is the referees responsibility to enforce the rules.”
Mackey does believe that in the possibility that a change is made considering what happened this past year in England.
COACHES’ VIEW ON NECK GUARDS
Coaches are one of the people responsible for ensuring that players wear their neck guards. Hockey Haven founder Aaron Marcel is an advocate for wearing neck guards. “We check all players for neck guards before they hit the ice,” said Marcel. “If they don’t have one they aren’t getting on.”
Hockey Haven is a non-profit in New Haven, Connecticut that allows kids to try the game of hockey. Marcel said that the incident with Balkind they became more strict on neck guards and it was a priority to have them available for players. “After we started getting things going we invested in neck guards.”
The non-profit organization provides equipment for players. Marcel also gives his view on making the game safer and avoiding accidents like this. “It’s such a rare thing to happen,” said Marcel. “I think the best way to go about it is having kids understand how to protect themselves and why it is important.” Marcel talked about teaching kids to be aware of where you are on the ice. Marcel said that it is important for a player to know how to throw a check correctly. Leading with your body and not sticking your elbow out and making no contact with the other players head. This is for the safety of the other player. It is just as important to know how to take one as well. You don’t want to turn your back to it. This is important for players to know from a young age to decrease the risk of injury.
SOLUTIONS
Many players don’t like wearing neck guards. Almost zero players in the NHL wear them and not many college players wear them either. The Athletic did a poll of 181 anonymous NHL players on if they think neck guards should be required. 78% of them felt that it should not be the leagues decision, but a players personal choice.
It is almost as if players only wear them because they are forced to and not so much because of the protection that it can provide. Players complain about the comfortability of it or don’t see much of a need to it. “It doesn’t really fit with the body armor that people have in terms of chest protectors,” said De Castro. De Castro noted that companies such as Bauer and War have taken note of this and have started to design their equipment to be more comfortable for the player. They’re doing this by making the chest protector and neck guard one piece instead of two to minimize the movement of the equipment.
De Castro agrees that this is a good idea by the companies because one of the main reasons players don’t wear equipment is because of the discomfort. If hockey brands can make their equipment more comfort friendly to players there is a better chance they follow the guidelines and less risk of a disastrous injury occurring.
“If companies find a more comfortable way to make it more of a resistant sheath as opposed to just a third third party thing that you strap over your neck you’ll see more people buy into it, im sure of it,” said De Castro.