NHL player poll: Why 78 percent say there should be no neck-guard mandate
Mandatory neck guards are coming to youth hockey in the United States.Already required in Canada and many other countries, USA Hockey, which governs the sport at the amateur level in the U.S., has long held its line at “recommending” laceration protection — namely neck guards, but also cut-resistant socks, sleeves and undergarments.The decision was announced Sunday and will go into effect on Aug. 1, about nine months after the issue was thrust into the spotlight when former NHL player Adam Johnson died of a skate cut to the neck during a game in England.More NHLers have begun to wear neck protection in the months since, either regularly or to try to find something comfortable.“You’re seeing more and more of it,” one player told The Athletic. “I wear the shirt for my wrists. I think you’re ...