Are neck guards coming to CIS hockey?
By Tanya Quaglia
Lance Writer
December 10, 2008
 In light of the recent neck injury to goaltender Kurt Jory of the Brock Badgers, a common question has been whether or not Canadian Interuniversity Sport should make it mandatory for all players to wear neck guards as a safety precaution.
Jory received a slice to his neck from a skate blade during a game against the Lancers men’s hockey team on Nov. 29 at Windsor Arena.
Luckily, due to the swift action by the medical staff at the arena and the doctors at Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, Jory will make a full recovery from what could have been a very serious, and possibly fatal, injury.
The issue of mandating neck guards was also brought up last year, after Richard Zednik from the NHL’s Florida Panthers sliced his neck on former teammate Olli Jokinen’s skate during a game versus the Sabres last February.
After the incident in the NHL, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) made it mandatory for all players to wear a neck guard. The question is though, should CIS follow suit?
While some people feel that neck guards should be made mandatory for the safety of all players in the game, others are not fond of the idea.
“I’m not big on mandates. It should be up to the player to decide whether or not they should wear a neck guard,” says Lancers Head Coach Kevin Hamlin.
“Neck injuries, like serious cuts to the face, are very rare.”
Unfortunately, as rare as neck injuries are, when they do happen they are usually quite serious.
For example, in 1989, Sabres goalie, Clint Malarchuk suffered an injury similar to Richard Zednik during a game versus the St. Louis Blues.
Malarchuk had come within minutes of dying, and if the cut was even an eighth of inch higher, officials estimate he would have been dead in two minutes.
Also, if the net that he was playing at had not been on the same side as the locker rooms, he could have died just as easily.
While the injuries that do occur are most often serious, proper medical staff on hand, like those who treated Kurt Jory, can prevent them from being deadly.
Even with the two most recent neck lacerations in the NHL (in 1989 and 2008), the quick acting medical staff prevented what could have easily been fatal injuries.
What needs to be looked at is whether or not the advantages to neck guards outweigh the disadvantages.
Neck guards, according to Hamlin, “provide no disadvantage if everyone is wearing them, but they could affect a player’s breathing problems and head movement.”
With the rarity of neck lacerations, should a league essentially force all its players to wear a piece of equipment that some people deem as unnecessary? In fact, neck lacerations are so uncommon research cannot state how effective a neck guard might actually be.
Some players find neck guards uncomfortable and unnecessary. They see them as added weight to their already bulky equipment.
In hockey especially, players have enough equipment on to protect them from most serious injuries.
Mandating neck guards, while potentially protecting a player from a serious laceration on the very odd occasion that they get nicked in the net, might not be as effective as people may think.
For example, neck guards do not protect players from more common injuries, such as a concussion.
Another possible solution instead of imposing a mandate could be to ensure that all medical staff is properly trained to handle serious neck lacerations. Also, talking to players on how to handle the situation might also be effective.
Teaching players how to act if they or a teammate goes down with a neck laceration can be lifesaving.
The Brock Badgers’ players handled the situation quite well when their teammate went down. Instead of panicking, they kept Jory’s mind (and eyes) off the injury.
Keeping him calm helped prevent the situation from getting any worse.
Mandating neck guards may not be the perfect safety solution. While neck guards may prevent a neck laceration, it is no guarantee.
Players know the injury risks they are taking each time they step on the ice. With neck lacerations being so uncommon, is it fair to make every player wear a piece of equipment that might not prevent a serious injury?
While the CHL mandated neck guards after the injury to Zednik, other leagues, such as the NHL, are more reluctant to make them mandatory.
Whether the CIS follows the same route as the CHL, and make them a requirement, remains to be decided.
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