IIHF mandating neck guards for all levels of competition
Posted December 4, 2023 11:57 am.
Last Updated December 4, 2023 12:07 pm.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is mandating neck guards for all levels of IIHF competition.
In a statement Monday, the IIHF said when exactly the mandate will go into effect for “senior categories” — those over the U20 and U18 categories where neck laceration protector were already required — “will be determined by the supply situation.”
Until the mandate takes effect, the IIHF says it “continues to strongly recommend that neck laceration protectors are worn by all players performing in an IIHF competition.”
“The IIHF remains in close contact with its suppliers to ensure they are able to respond to the current high demand,” the federation added.
The move will mean neck guards will be required for play at the Olympics and World Championships.
This all comes after the October death of American hockey player Adam Johnson, a former NHLer whose neck was cut by a skate blade during a game in England. He was 29.
In the wake of his death, calls have been growing for neck protectors to be worn at every level of play.
They are currently not mandated in the NHL but some players, such as Cole Koepke of the Tampa Bay Lightning, T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals, and Simon Benoit of the Toronto Maple Leafs, have since started wearing neck guards during games.
“It’s been on the burner,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in November. “It’s something that we’ve been looking at in terms of cuts to the wrist, cuts to the leg — and worse — and it’s something we’re going to continue to discuss and continue to study.”
If the NHL does allow players to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics, members will be required to wear neck protection if the mandate is in effect by that time.
With files from Sportsnet
