Following the tragic death of Adam Johnson, the hockey world has put a greater emphasis on player safety, particularly when it comes to neck protection. Now North American hockey leagues are starting to implement new rules.
The Western Hockey League, the top major junior league serving western Canada and parts of the Pacific northwestern States, announced a new policy on social media today. The policy makes neck protection mandatory immediately as it goes into effect on November 3rd. There will be a grace period for teams that do not have enough protective equipment at this moment.
While the NHL cannot force a rule change without the consent of the player's association, discussions of the league creating a mandatory neck protection rule have dominated hockey circles in the past few days. The league and the players association are reportedly already working on some kind of agreement while individual players and teams have already taken matters into their own hands. The Penguins, Johnson's former team, have already issued a team mandate to their AHL and ECHL affiliates, requiring their players to wear neck protection at team events.
With a greater emphasis on player safety than ever before and further developments in technology, it is only a matter of time before the NHL makes the necessary changes to ensure a safer and better game.
