Adam Johnson died on the ice after being hit in the neck by a ski pole.
Hayley Wickenheiser now wants to see mandatory neck protection at all levels of hockey.
“Not having it is very dangerous,” writes the four-time Olympic champion X.
Hayley Wickenheiser played between 1993 and 2017 and is considered one of the best players on the women’s national team ever.
After her professional career, she trained as a physician, and is currently Assistant General Manager to Brad Treliving of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It drew attention to the tragic death of Adam Johnson XHe called for change in the hockey world.
You want to demand protection
“My deepest condolences to Adam’s family and the entire hockey family. This is an incredibly sad loss,” she writes and continues:
“I know this may not tick the ‘cool box,’ but it’s time for neck protection to become mandatory at all levels of hockey. Not having it is very dangerous.”
In Swedish hockey, it is mandatory for players to wear neck protection, but in the NHL this is not the case.
1/2Photograph: Nathan Dennett/AP
Investigate change
Neck protection is required in two of the three major Canadian junior leagues, and in a third league — the Western Hockey League (WHL) — a rule change is now being discussed.
The English Ice Hockey League changed its rules after Johnson’s death, and neck protection was made mandatory from the turn of the year.
Goalies used to play without helmets, and the sport has evolved and become safer since then, Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares tells TSN.
Neck protection is something that needs to be studied and taken a closer look at. One accident is one too many.
