Hockey players often switch from a full face mask to a half visor as soon as it is allowed. However, the Skellefteå junnu’s brutal facial injury has now changed the way of thinking of at least a few players in Sweden.
The puck often makes a rough mark when it hits a player in the face. PDO
playing in Skellefteå’s U20 team By Isak Bjuhr the nose and cheekbone were broken last September when a puck hit the youngster in the face during training.
– The vision is a bit blurry. At first, my eyes were so swollen that I was afraid I would lose my sight, Bjuhr stated a couple of weeks after the accident.
With a scary injury, Bjuhr’s teammate Viktor Klingsell decided to change the visor to a full face mask, i.e. a so-called aquarium.
– I use it above all for safety. I don’t want to take unnecessary risks with facial injuries. The club can easily hit you in the face and lose a tooth. It feels pointless. I don’t want to look like a typical hockey player, says Klingsell.
Many stop using a kokomask or cage at the age of 18, when it is no longer mandatory. It will be replaced by a visor that protects only half of the face. Swedish
Director of the Swedish Hockey Association’s player safety project Morgan Johansson wanted the kokoplex or the cage to become mandatory even in the Swedish premier league in the SHL.
– It would eliminate almost 100 percent of all face shield injuries. I’m absolutely sure of that. If it’s full plexiglass, you won’t get facial injuries. It’s quite clear, says Johansson.
Already in 2022, Johansson suggested that a kokoplex or a cage should still be used in the U20 series, but the association did not take the matter forward.
Although there is no plexiglass requirement, due to Bjuhr’s injury, in the Skellefteå team, in addition to Klingsell, two other players have adopted the kokoplexi.
– One of them used it because I started using it. At first he said he would never wear one, but suddenly he had it, Klingsell says.
According to Klingsell, some people wonder why he wears a full-face mask, even though it is no longer mandatory in the U20 series, but most people are positive about it.
Serious injuries
In the worst case, a stick or puck in the eye can take away the sight. A puck career can also end with a blow to the face.
For example, played in Brynäs Marcus Ersson had to end his playing career at only 24 years old when a blade of a skate hit him in the eye in 2020. He lost his sight.
Former NHL player by Carl Hagel suffered a serious eye injury at the age of 33 during Washington Capitals practice in 2022. The man’s career ended there.
In addition, Växjö Hugo Gustavsson25, recently caught a bat in the eye and has not yet returned to the rink. A possible return is shrouded in obscurity.
Klingsell wonders why more players don’t wear full face masks.
– I see no reason to stop using it. It’s all about protection, and I think it’s strange that more people don’t think so.
Source: Aftonbladet