Dave Condit

Wearing his neck guard, junior Matthew Ridgeway skates away from his defender. Ridgeway was happy to wear a neck guard once Lafayette required it. “You never know what’s gonna happen, so you should wear a neck guard,” Matthew said.

In Sheffield, England, one accident has changed the landscape of safety in hockey. On Oct. 28, former NHL player Adam Johnson died from a neck cut by another player’s skate in the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League. Since his death, many organizations across the world such as the International Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada have shifted to make neck guards mandatory. Lafayette Hockey Club has followed the trend.

“It was around October and then the hockey club had a board meeting,” varsity Head Coach Jim Carrico said. “They made a decision ‘Yes, everyone should be wearing neck guards and we’re going to make it mandatory that the club wears neck guards.’”

Carrico agrees with the board’s decision.

“It’s a senseless and needless injury. And all it takes is an accident. Nobody’s trying to cut anybody’s throat but you fall down sometimes playing hockey, that’s what happens. You get tangled up sometimes. It’s a no-brainer to me to have the neck guards,” Carrico said. 

Before Johnson’s death, neck guards weren’t as common.

“More and more kids are being forced to wear neck guards, as they should. Before these incidents, you might get one player on a team of 20 that wears a neck guard. It just wasn’t prevalent,” Carrico said. 

When the neck guards became required at Lafayette junior Matthew Ridgeway wasn’t bothered.

“For me, it was my parents that made me [wear it], I would’ve worn either way,” Matthew said. “For the most part, people were understanding when their parents told them [to wear neck guards], I mean someone had died because of it.”

“I try to enforce [neck guards] as much as I can. Kind of being older and somewhat of a leader on the team, I [tell] everyone ‘If you have a neck guard, put it on, and if you don’t, go get it.’ 

Matthew agrees with Carrico that neck guards are a positive addition. 

“It really doesn’t bother me when I’m playing and it’s good to have just in case,” Matthew said. 

While Matthew was willing to wear neck guards on his own, his mother Erin Ridgeway was adamant about wearing neck guards. 

“A skate could slash your skin and your jugular [that] could do a lot of damage. But also they can get hit with the puck in the neck and that could damage the trachea and neck, all that stuff. Lots of possibilities, it’s not likely to happen, but if there’s a way to prevent it, you might as well do that,” Erin said. 

Erin also wanted her son to wear a neck guard for other reasons.

“He’s the oldest of my four sons, so he knows he’s a role model for my other kids. If he’s not wearing it, they’re not wearing it,” Erin said. 

While Lafayette Hockey Club has adopted neck guards, the league they are in has not. 

“The high school league is called Mid States. And Mid States has not made it mandatory. They strongly recommend using a neck guard. It’s kind of like wearing a mouthpiece. They strongly recommend wearing a mouthpiece. But do players all wear mouthguards? No,” Carrico said. 

Even Carrico’s other hockey club hasn’t required neck guards. 

“I’m on the board at Chesterfield Hockey Club. So we as a board at Chesterfield believe that it is the parent’s responsibility to make their kids wear what they want to wear one if they want to wear a neck guard,” Carrico said. 

Carrico believes neck guards have created a split in opinions across the area.

“I don’t want to say [neck guards are] a heated topic, but [they are] a very debatable topic,” Carrico said. “Some people want to make it mandatory while other people want to make it a parent’s obligation to have their kids wear neck guards.”

However, this debate could be ended later in January.

“Whether you’re 10 years old, playing club hockey or high school hockey, USA Hockey governs it. They have come out where they have strongly recommended the neck guards. They said they are going to have a ruling out in January, concerning making neck guard mandatory,” Carrico said. 

If USA Hockey makes neck guards mandatory at their Jan. 28 meeting, neck guards will become mandatory league wide since Mid States is governed by USA Hockey.

“It’s not just going to be up to a club like Marquette or Lafayette or Eureka. It’s going to be ‘Okay, the entire league says you’ve got to have a neck guard,’” Carrico said. 

Carrico thinks USA Hockey will make neck guards required.

“Just like wearing shoulder pads or elbow pads, it’s not going to be an issue once they become mandatory. Just part of the equipment that you have to wear to play the sport,” Carrico said.