By Josh Hall

Hockey

WHL mandates neck guards after death of Adam Johnson, Rebels GM Sutter speaks

Nov 1, 2023 | 6:49 PM

The Western Hockey League (WHL) announced Wednesday that neck guard protection will be mandatory for all players, effective Friday, Nov. 3, or as soon as protective equipment is available to clubs.

This comes in the wake of the death of Adam Johnson, a player who died in a professional hockey game in England last week. Johnson was cut in the neck area by a skate blade, prompting a tidal wave of discussion around the hockey world on how to better protect players and prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

The NHL is discussing measures as well, while the Pittsburgh Penguins, Johnson’s former NHL team, has mandated neck guards for its AHL and ECHL teams.

But as the demand for guards rises sharply, suppliers are having a tough time keeping up. The WHL says it anticipates challenges in the delivery of the equipment.

Red Deer Rebels Owner, President and General Manager Brent Sutter was part of a vocal group over the past few days advocating for the league to make this change following Johnson’s passing.

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“Certainly it wasn’t just myself, but other GMs and governors saying we needed to make this mandatory, effective immediately. I relayed my own message to Commissioner Ron Robison, and we all had an executive call today,” says Sutter, who acknowledges there may be challenges with some players getting used to the guards.

“There’s a model that Bauer has, which width-wise comes right up underneath your chin, so when a player moves, it can be a hindrance. Sweating can be an issue with them too, but we just have to try and work around those things.”

Bauer also makes a long-sleeved underwear piece with a neck guard attached at the top, but many players prefer to not wear anything under their gear, he says.

Sutter says the league’s requirement does not necessarily apply to one type of neck guard, but they’ll be looking to use companies that already partner with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). If supply issues become too cumbersome, they’ll look elsewhere, he says.

A long-time NHLer, Sutter says as far as what should happen at the top level and perhaps grandfathering them in, the death of Johnson has been an eye-opener.

“To be quite honest, it’s really surprising that this isn’t something that was mandated a long time ago. This happens one time and it’s one time too many,” he says. “When I was playing, I’m not sure I would’ve wanted to wear one, but it’s not about being manly, you just don’t want to have something uncomfortable. Yet, I’d think in this day and age, they could come up with different styles that would be adequate for players to wear and be comfortable.”

Sutter says other equipment such as wrist guards, which gained more attention in late 2022 when Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane suffered a cut in that area, are available to his players, but it still comes down to a player’s will to wear them.

“Players are just going to have to bite the bullet and see how it goes,” he says. “This was a big step today.”

The OHL and QMJHL had already mandated neckguards prior to Johnson’s death. A previous version of this story incorrectly noted the WHL was the first league in the CHL to make them mandatory.