English hockey league mandates neck guards after former NHLer's death

Ice hockey players in England will be required to wear neck guards from the start of 2024 following the death of American player Adam Johnson in a game.

Johnson's neck was cut by a skate blade on Saturday.

Earlier Monday, Hayley Wickenheiser called for mandated neck protection at "every level in hockey."

Wickenheiser is a four-time Olympic women's hockey gold medallist who completed medical school after her playing career and currently works as an assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

She posted to X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the risk is far too great not to wear neck protection, even if it doesn't pass the "cool factor."

In the EIHA, neck guards will be mandatory from Jan. 1 for all on-ice activities. The EIHA said it was its "strong recommendation" that all players start wearing a neck guard, effective immediately. The body added neck guards would not be mandatory immediately because of anticipated supply issues.

"It is unacceptable for any player to lose their life while playing sport," the EIHA said. "Our responsibility is not only to avert the recurrence of such a heartbreaking accident, but also to pre-emptively address other foreseeable incidents in the future."

Players in the U.K. are allowed to play without neck guards after they turn 18.

Neck guards are not mandatory in the NHL. The Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League mandate players to wear neck guards. Hockey Canada also requires players registered in minor or women's hockey to wear neck protection.

The Western Hockey League said Monday it is reviewing its position on mandatory neck guards following Johnson's death.

WATCH | Adam Johnson's death reignites debate over mandated neck protection:

Former NHL player killed in hockey accident in England

1 year ago

Duration 0:01

Former NHL player Adam Johnson is dead after his neck was cut by a skate in an on-ice collision during a game in Sheffield, England. The accident has some asking if neck guards should be mandatory.

The 29-year-old Johnson was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers when he suffered the skate cut in a Champions Cup game. He was a Minnesota native who appeared in 13 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019 and 2020.

Within 12 months, the EIHA said it would conduct a "thorough" review of player safety equipment "including, but not limited to, the use of helmets, mouthguards/gumshields and facial protection."

All clubs will have to demonstrate they "proactively manage player safety."

The body said its actions aligned with Ice Hockey UK and Scottish Ice Hockey.

"We are firmly committed to our obligation to exhaust every possible means to ensure that a tragic incident of this nature never befalls our sport again," the EIHA said.

"Undoubtedly, this moment in time casts a sombre shadow upon our global sporting community, serving as a stark reminder of our collective responsibilities as custodians of the sport. As in all sports, the safety of our players must take precedence above all else."

Sam Lafferty, a former Penguin now playing in Vancouver, assisted on Johnson's first and only NHL goal.

"Good for them for taking action," he said. "When we're kids, we wear neck guards for a reason, it's something worth looking into [for the NHL]."

Several members of the Providence Bruins, Boston's American Hockey League affiliate, wore neck guards in their game against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday.

Lafferty said NHL players may also start thinking about wearing protection in light of his former teammate's death.

"I think so. We started looking at that for wrists, and the socks we wear underneath our skates, they're cut-proof," said Lafferty. "I can see that being the next step."

'Slow sport to change'

Canucks defenceman Ian Cole noted the dangers of the sport and said players are "very fortunate" serious injuries don't happen more often.

"There's skates flying all over the place," he said. "I can't tell you how many times I've looked at my visor and had a skate slashed right through it and I had no idea a skate was near my face.

"We're a slow sport to change, maybe sometimes for the good, maybe sometimes for the bad. It's not going to happen overnight but I think there will be some conversations about what we can do to prevent stuff like that."

Winnipeg Jets interim head coach Scott Arniel was a forward for the Buffalo Sabres when his teammate, goalie Clint Malarchuk, took a skate blade to the neck on March 22, 1989.

"I was firsthand and I saw this happen in a game myself, and it's one of the scariest things I've ever seen," Arniel told reporters in Winnipeg. "Where it goes next, I know in minor hockey that it's already a rule and in junior hockey, so we'll see.

Malarchuk survived the life-threatening injury but developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Former Montreal Canadiens forward Richard Zednik suffered a similar incident in 2008.

Boston Bruins forward Jakub Lauko avoided a serious injury as recently as last Tuesday when he took a skate blade near his left eye after falling to the ice against Chicago.

Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said he's thought about the use of neck protection before and suggested it might be a next step in making the game safer.

"At one point goalies weren't wearing helmets, and the game has evolved and continues to get safer and safer," Tavares told reporters in Toronto. "That's certainly probably an aspect that needs to continue to be looked at further, as one incident like that is too many."

Increased conversations at NHL level

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, who coached his sons in Connecticut before taking the Montreal job, was close to a similar situation when 16-year-old high school player Teddy Balkind died in Greenwich, Conn., after his neck was cut by another player's skate.

St. Louis said he's strongly in favour of requiring under-18 and under-20 players to wear neck protection, but isn't sure we'll see it in the NHL.

"Maybe yes, but I don't think it will in the NHL, but that's my opinion," said St. Louis. "I'd be really in favour of under-18 and under-20-year-olds having more protection because accidents happen, especially having been close to it two years ago."

Jets centre Mark Scheifele expects there to be many conversations about increased neck protection in the coming days, much like after Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane sustained a severe wrist injury due to a skate blade cut last year.

"When Evander Kane got his wrist cut, we obviously evaluated more wrist protections and stuff like that," Scheifele said. "I'm sure there's going to be talks about it and it'll come down to kind of more of an individual decision on what to do."

The NHL and NHLPA had not made any announcements regarding protective neck gear as of Monday afternoon.