The American Hockey League is mandating using cut-resistant neck safety by all gamers and on-ice officers. The change, introduced Friday, goes into impact for the 2024-25 season following a unanimous vote by the AHL board of governors.
Minimize-resistant socks and wrist sleeves had been beforehand required for AHL skaters and officers heading into the 2023-24 season. Now all gamers, referees and linespersons — no matter expertise or tenure within the league — should add authorised cut-resistant neck protectors to their tools.
The AHL joins a small record {of professional} hockey leagues to set new requirements for protecting attire following Adam Johnson’s dying in October 2023. Johnson, 29, was taking part in for the Nottingham Panthers of England’s Elite Ice Hockey League when he suffered a neck laceration from an opponent’s skate blade throughout a Champions Cup recreation. A person was subsequently arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
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Since Johnson’s dying, the Western Hockey League has mandated neck protectors for all its gamers and the IIHF has performed the identical for contributors in its world championship and Olympic tournaments. USA Hockey requires all gamers beneath the age of 18 to put on them, as does Hockey Canada for its youth and ladies’s groups.
Whereas neck guards aren’t required within the NHL, some gamers — together with Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Nik Ehlers and T.J. Oshie — have chosen to put on them. Oshie’s firm, Warroad Hockey, has been one of many in-demand suppliers to not solely NHL skaters however gamers of all ranges trying so as to add layers of defending within the wake of Johnson’s dying.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has beforehand stated that the league can’t make neck guards necessary by itself however may at the side of the NHL Gamers’ Affiliation. For now, Bettman stated, “Gamers are free to put on neck guards, and I might strongly encourage it.”
