After the fatal accident of Adam Johnson, who was hit in the neck by a blade, more and more players and officials are calling for neck protection to become mandatory in ice hockey. This is already the case in other countries.
On this game day in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), things were a little quieter in the stadiums. The shock is still too deep the terrible death of former DEL professional Adam Johnson. In the ice rinks gthought the teams and fans of the late ice hockey player.
The evening in Augsburg was particularly moving. Johnson played for the Panthers last season. In a joint ceremony with opponents Düsseldorfer EG, Johnson’s jersey was placed in the center circle and his ex-colleague was commemorated on the video cube.
Johnson was struck in the neck by an ice skate last weekend and died from his injuries. The death of the 29-year-old has sparked a new safety debate in ice hockey: Should neck and neck protection be mandatory in German ice hockey?
DEL wants to test neck and neck protection
Shortly after the American’s fatal accident, the Norwegian association was the first league to react and spoke out in favor of the mandatory introduction of neck and neck protection. Neck and neck protection is already standard in other leagues, for example in Sweden since 1996. In the country of the two-time Olympic champion, violations of the protection requirement are punished, but the controls are sometimes very lax.
Such protection is not yet required in the DEL, but it is in the youth sector. But that could change soon: The topic is on the agenda for the meeting of the sporting directors of the 14 DEL clubs at the end of November. According to DEL game operations manager Jörg van Ameln, compulsory neck and neck protection can definitely be decided on in a timely manner. “We can’t decide that from the office. But if all clubs agree, it should be introduced as compulsory equipment,” said van Ameln.
DEB captain Müller approved Mandatory neck protection
What was striking, however, was that after the accident, many players in the DEL were already on the ice with neck protectors made of cut-resistant material. Moritz Müller also intervened in the debate about compulsory neck and neck protection in German ice hockey. “At first I was skeptical about the neck brace and wanted every player to be able to decide for themselves,” said the defender of former champions Kölner Haie to the online portal watson.de: “But now I’m a supporter because it protects the player and “The game itself doesn’t change.”
The national team captain welcomed the DEL’s announcement: “Of course this is an issue among the players. We are pleased that the league will talk to us. We have to wait and see what and how quickly something can happen,” said the 36-year-old vice world champion .
DEB sports director Künast advocates a uniform solution
For Christian Künast, one thing is particularly important: a solution for everyone, as the sports director of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) emphasized in an interview with BR24Sport. “The professional leagues DEL and DEL2 have their own responsibilities. The DEB is then responsible again from the upper league onwards. It is only possible with an overall solution – not one league yes, the other no. This also applies at international level,” said Künast.
A decision about neck protection should be made quickly, because cases in which blades cause serious injuries in ice hockey occur again and again, although not often: Stefan Ustorf once had a razor-sharp blade hit his neck during his time in North America, the current one Sports director of the Nuremberg Ice Tigers escaped with a few scratches. Richard Zednik, then his teammate at the NHL club Florida Panthers, was so badly injured in the neck by a fallen teammate’s skate that he had to be saved by emergency surgery. If Ustorf were still playing today, “he would definitely wear a neck protector.”
Video: Interview with DEB sports director Christian Künast
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Source: BR24Sport November 1st, 2023 – 10:54 a.m
