Following ongoing discussion of player safety and equipment mandates in the sport of hockey, Oswego State men’s hockey seeks to ensure player safety by offering neck guards, should players opt to wear them despite not being mandated at the college level.

The consideration of neck guards as potentially mandatory equipment follows international scrutiny of player safety after the death of Adam Johnson, a former National Hockey League (NHL) player who was fatally injured while playing for the Nottingham Panthers in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

Johnson’s death has spurred conversation on player safety in all levels of the sport, principally on whether neck guards, which are mandatory in both Canadian junior leagues and under-18 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) play, but not by USA Hockey or the NCAA, should be required for players at all skill levels, including NCAA teams and professional leagues.

Ed Gosek, the Oswego State men’s hockey head coach, said that wearing neck guards as standard equipment for a sport ever increasing in intensity makes sense, regardless of whether it is officially required or not.

“Personally, to have to wear a neck guard, I don’t think is a big deal,” Gosek said. “I think they should be mandatory even though they’re not at the college level or at the professional level.”

The consideration of neck guards adds to already-existing questions on preventing injuries, such as concussions, and improving player safety as the nature of the sport and player skills change, Gosek said.

“Players are bigger, faster, stronger, [and] more committed to off-ice training,” Gosek said. “And so, because of… the hits that are being given and taken by a lot of guys… most of the injuries have all been about concussions.”

Aside from considering neck guards, appropriate equipment is able to protect players from injury adequately, Gosek said.

“Overall, I’d say the equipment manufacturers have done an outstanding job of protecting the players,” Gosek said. “[By wearing] shin pads, pants, elbow pads, shoulder pads and gloves, there’s a lot less injuries that way.”

Organizations that do not mandate neck guards by rules themselves have begun issuing statements to the sport as a whole, requesting that players and coaches at all levels, including the college level, wear neck guards.

In a Nov. 3 press release from USA Hockey, a national organization focused on the growth of American hockey, the organization that does not mandate neck guards, recommended the use of cut-resistant protective equipment within all associations, leagues and affiliates of the sport. The organization also stated that it is encouraging the Hockey Equipment Certification Council, which does not currently certify the safety of “cut-resistant protective equipment for the neck, arms and legs” to develop a “modernized standard” for rating such equipment. 

USA Hockey’s unusual and sweeping recommendation points to the widespread nature of the discussion. The Western Hockey League, the only one of the three Canadian minor leagues without a prior neck guard mandate, also announced that all players must wear guards after Nov. 3. Neck guards have recently been endorsed and worn by several professional players in the NHL in the wake of Johnson’s death, including Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, who also encouraged other players to consider wearing them. The NHL, NCAA, American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL are yet to issue statements on considering updated equipment requirements, but the Pittsburgh Penguins, Johnson’s former NHL team, has mandated neck guards for players of both their AHL and ECHL affiliates. NHL franchises are prohibited from mandating team-specific equipment, and neck guards are thus not required for Penguins players, but the NHL has publicly commended some of its players for wearing them during team practices.

While it is unclear whether neck guards will be made mandatory across the sport, Oswego State men’s hockey is open to the change. Even if not mandated by the NCAA, Oswego State’s athletic department will supply neck guards to players who wish to wear them, Gosek said. 

Photo: Tony Schnagl via Pexels