More repercussions following Adam Johnson’s tragic death during hokey game

The hockey world is still morning the loss of Adam Johnson, who passed after his neck was cut by an opponent’s skate in a freak accident on the ice playing overseas in England over the weekend. However, the NHL wants to swiftly reacted to the incident, and Chris Johnston reported on last night’s Insider Trading on TSN how there is a push at all levels for mandatory neck guards.

“Certainly at the NHL level there’s a huge level of concern. It’s not going to be mandatory neck guards but there are a lot of teams calling the league’s head office and looking for direction here. At this time there are at least three teams that have started the process of implementing optional neck protectors for their teams - that being the Pittsburgh Penguins , who once employed Johnson, the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes . All three of those teams have ordered equipment, are going to have their players test them out in practice, and go from there. The Penguins are going to take it one step further and have their AHL team in Wilkesbury make it mandatory for players to wear neck protection moving forward. I’m told that other teams are looking at doing the same and right now the biggest issue might be just getting enough product. There’s been a lot of manufacturers communicating with the NHL and saying there’s never been this much demand in the wake of this awful tragedy.”

While the three aforementioned teams are making it mandatory when it comes to neck guard, neck protection is not enforced in the NHL and before Johnson’s tragic incident, only a few players wore them voluntarily. The Boston Bruins are also reportedly pursuing the use of neck protection in some form.

On Wednesday, the WHL announced today the adoption of mandatory neck guard protection for all players, effective Friday, November 3.

When it comes to youth hockey in Canada, as well as the OHL and QMJHL, neck guards are mandatory, but they aren’t at the moment in the NCAA, or USA Hockey.

With what took place in England and the tragic loss of Johnson, I bet many parents will want mandatory neck protection to be implemented on all levels of play.

Life > Hockey.

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