After the death of Adam Johnson, more and more National Hockey League (NHL) players began wearing neck guards, including members of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Pennsylvania team was deeply saddened by the accidental death of its former color bearer during a game in UK on Saturday. Head coach Mike Sullivan has required his farm club athletes to wear this gear and wrist guards, but not at the NHL level.
• Also read: Neck protection is now mandatory in the WHL
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However, some Pens players attended Thursday’s practice wearing the neck brace. Defensemen Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson and Ryan Graves as well as forward Lars Eller wore it.
#Pencils For training on the ice before heading to Cali – Marcus Pettersson (in the video), Ryan Graves, Lars Eller and Erik Karlsson all test and wear neck protectors pic.twitter.com/Jud4DeOCaE
— Josh Getzoff (@JG_PxP) November 2, 2023
Tom Wilson also tested the protector with the Washington Capitals without saying he felt a difference on the ice.
The day before, Vladislav Namestnikov, Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers and Rasmus Kupari of the Winnipeg Jets wore the protector during their team’s practices. Buffalo Sabers defenseman Rasmus Dahlin used it early in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers but ultimately dropped it.
Recall that Johnson died after receiving a skate kick in the throat from an opponent – Matt Petgrave. The random gesture sparked a wave of awareness across the hockey world for better equipment.