Didsbury and Olds hockey players meet new neck gaiter requirements for all on-ice activities
Didsbury-based Mountainview Colts players will all wear neck guards during practices and games starting this week, joining players across the province in the drive for better protection.
“I told them in practice to bring them in because (the new rule) goes into effect next week,” head coach Dan Visser said Nov. 14. “I don’t think there will be any problems and the transition will be smooth.”
The Colts play in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League. Teams in the Alberta Junior Hockey League also recently began wearing neck guards.
On November 3, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), of which the Alberta Junior Hockey League is a member, made it mandatory for all Canadian Junior A hockey players to wear neck guards during all activities on ice.
This decision was made following an incident in which former NHL player Adam Johnson died after his neck was cut by a skate during an on-ice collision during a game between the Nottingham Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers of the English Ice Hockey Association.
Grant McNeil, general manager of the Olds Junior Grizzlys, says wearing neck guards hasn’t been a real problem for his team.
Fortunately, the Grizzlys responded quickly to the new rule and were able to obtain the necessary equipment from a “Calgary source,” McNeil said in an email to the club. Albertan.
“Player safety is always the priority, and this decision was made with that in mind,” he wrote.
McNeil was asked if any Grizzlys had resisted wearing the new gear.
“Like all players, ours are no different in that they have varying opinions on the use of a neck protector, but we have had no resistance to the fact that they must comply” , he wrote.
“For the majority, if not all of our players, wearing a neck guard is something they have done at the lower levels of hockey, so adjusting to wearing a new neck guard is not not a big challenge.
“Player safety is always the first priority and if this mandatory equipment prevents even one injury, then that is positive.”
