Vancouver Giants players required to wear neck guards after death of hockey player
Posted November 1, 2023 3:33 pm.
Last Updated November 1, 2023 3:53 pm.
The Western Hockey League is announcing that starting Friday, or as soon as the protective equipment is available, all players will be required to wear neck guards.
It comes after the tragic death of 29-year-old Adam Johnson who was killed after a skate sliced his neck during a game in England.
Johnson, a former NHL player, played with Vancouver Canucks forward Sam Lafferty at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“He was just a great guy. Everyone’s pretty devastated, it’s shocking, it’s sad,” Lafferty said Monday.
Johnson spent 13 games over parts of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons playing for Pittsburgh in the NHL before spending the 2020-21 season in Sweden with the Malmo Redhawks. He had a goal and three assists for the Penguins.
He was playing with the Nottingham Panthers in a Challenge Cup game against the Sheffield Steelers when he suffered the skate cut during the second period of the Elite Ice Hockey League game at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
The incident has renewed calls for mandatory neck guards in professional hockey at all levels.
In the wake of Johnson’s death, the English Ice Hockey Association announced that, effective Jan. 1, 2024, “all players at all levels across English Ice Hockey use an approved Ice Hockey Neck Guard/Protector whilst participating in all on ice activities.”
Neck guards are not mandatory in the NHL, while the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League mandate players to wear neck guards. The Vancouver Giants play in the WHL.
Hockey Canada also requires players registered in minor or women’s hockey to wear neck protection.
