AHL announces league-wide mandate for cut-resistant neck protection
The American Hockey League has announced a league-wide mandate for cut-resistant neck protection starting this season.
It's been nearly ten months since former NHLer Adam Johnson passed away after his neck was cut during a game in the Elite Ice Hockey League, which is based in the United Kingdom.
In the weeks and months following Johnson's passing, more players started to wear neck protection with some teams, leagues and even the IIHF making them mandatory.
Starting this season, another league has decided to issue a mandate for all players to wear neck protection and that's the American Hockey League, who made an announcement regarding the matter on Friday afternoon.
On Friday, the American Hockey League's Board of Governors announced that they've issued a league-wide mandate for all players and on-ice officials to wear cut-resistant neck protection starting this coming season.
They added, "All AHL skaters, referees and linespersons, regardless of age or experience, will be required to wear approved cut-resistant neck protection beginning this fall. Cut-resistant socks and wrist sleeves were previously mandated for AHL players and officials beginning with the 2023-24 season."
This is a really smart move from the American Hockey League from a safety standpoint for their players and officials. It's going to be interesting to see if the National Hockey League follows in the footsteps of the AHL, IIHF and others in issuing mandates for cut-resistant neck protection. There's no doubt that'll it'll be a topic of discussion at the next Board of Governors meetings, which is set for December.
| POLL | ||
Do you think the NHL should mandate neck guards? | ||
| Yes, it's smart for player safety | 72 | 67.3 % |
| No, it should be up to the players | 35 | 32.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
