Player Killed in Edmonton (puck to the throat)

[jds 20]

Tragic story out of Edmonton.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/1086459--teen-hockey-player-dies-after-taking-puck-to-throat?bn=1

[Katzenjammer 1]

Tragic story out of Edmonton.

http://www.thestar.c...-to-throat?bn=1

ugg...poor guy; what happens with something like this, it hits an artery or crushes something?

[black hills tj 5]

Damn, this sucks.

@Katzenjammer, may have ruptured a major blood vessel or crushed his trachea.

[Law Goalie 147]

That was a completely preventable death. Kids are playing without adequate neck protection. A layer of ballistic nylon and some comfort fabric is all you need to pass the BNQ certification. There are at least two neck-guards on the market that offer comprehensive impact and cut protection, but being from small builders, neither are worth certifying even though both surpass the threshold by so much it's alarming. Two things need to happen: the BNQ certification must eventually be revised to include impact tests, but in the short term, hockey bodies need to pay to have the Maltese and Battram certified and distributed as widely and as quickly as possible. As things are, Hockey Canada would force a child with adequate neck protection to remove it and wear one that would allow this situation to happen again, or be ejected from the game. That is a compromise no-one should be forced to make.

[Axxion89 32]

This is just terrible, feel for the kids parents and friends, a freak accident that should have never happened. Stories like this always make me seriously consider investing in a maltese collar when I play in net

[Law Goalie 147]

I wear one in and out of net. The only time I'm on the ice without one is when I'm coaching, and that's largely for authoritative purposes.

[Katzenjammer 1]

There are at least two neck-guards on the market that offer comprehensive impact and cut protection

Law Goalie, which ones are those? How about the Shock Doctor ones? Thanks!

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Maltese and Battram, as he said.

Phil Maltese will be attending Winterfest; we'll definitely talk to him about it.

[AIREAYE 248]

If I was Bauer or Reebok, I'd definitely consider buying up Maltese and implementing the gel into future products; especially with all of the recent publicity regarding safety.

[Law Goalie 147]

Maltese Sports - Products

Maltese Sports Store - GPS Combo

Battram Gel Throat-guard

I suggest everybody take a few minutes and check out Phil's gear at the WF event. Apart from being really cool, it'll save your damn fool lives. He's got some new gel that's significantly lighter, even though his old stuff wasn't that heavy to begin with.

Speaking of damn fools, I need to find out if my brother's still an 18" neck so I can order him one for Christmas.

He's also added options for widened and lowered clavicle coverage and extensions up over the shoulder. Lemieux (MSH member, not Mario) can give even more detail on what Phil can do.

Like I said, I personally like the Maltese stuff just a little better than the Battram, but Scott does really nice work, and his unit comes in a little cheaper than the basic Maltese combo ($79 vs $95). It seems like a lot until you remember how much you dropped on your other gear.

[puckhoggy 0]

^^^ tgx for links.

What is typical for a player neck guard? GPS collar with .5"

Dip at front?

[Law Goalie 147]

I don't see the point of the dip, personally, unless you have an *extremely* protrusive Adam's Apple. The gel is very supple, so it's no hindrance to your neck movements.

I'd suggest getting a GPS Combo with a sternum pad - let's not forget about the guy in Italy who took a shot to the chest that stopped his heart, and believe me, a broken clavicle is a miserable thing. Still, the standalone GPS Collar is better than anything else you could put around your neck, and if you have good sternum coverage on your shoulder pads, you might feel that's enough. Be sure to get the collar as tall as comfort allows: even an extra .5" can make a big difference in coverage.

[wrangler 157]

Sounds like something new to check out at WF.

[mnpucker 33]

Thougths out to the family of this player. I am in Minnesota. Neck protection does not get any attention here. In fact I am not aware of ANY organization that requires neck protection. A couple years ago I brought it up to our district and they played it off. Meanwhile we (USA Hockey) are more concerned with making hockey safe for little players by removing checking from the game. If the concern over player safety is so great to change a major rule of the game (ie checking) why doesn"t Minnesota Hockey, better yet, USA hockey require neck protection? We care more about teeth and brains with mouth guards than we do major arteries?

[Xuno 14]

Lots of high school hockey here in NJ is starting to make it mandatory.

[Philip Maltese 0]

As has been pointed out, this didn't need to occur. That being said, my heart and thoughts go out to everyone that witnessed this tragedy.

The protective collar we make has been available for as long as I've been in business. Countries like Canada and Sweden don't wait to collect 'tragedy data' before they act, unlike USA hockey. Pockets of under 21 leagues have mandated neck protection on their own because USA would rather not make a decision at all, rather than make the wrong one. I spent two years petitioning Dr. Alan B. Ashare (Google that name for details) to mandate neck protection, like Canada and Sweden, but his reply was always, "You have no data." Even though I had been selling my Combo to the 'informed' for years with glowing reviews/reports, that data was pertinent.

When goalies call for neck/clavicle protection (usually after they've been hurt), I always recommend a 2" collar height for necks under 18" circumference. Some opt for the 1.5" height, but that's on them. The 'dip' option is for those of us that might be sporting an extra chin or two. If I see an order come in with a 1.5" height AND a dip, even though we are a custom shop, I'll call that customer to go over the details of their order so they aren't making a mistake that might harm them down the road.

I realize that the number of hockey players that have had this same experience as Kyle, are fewer than those that get nicked by a skate, but fluky things happen on the ice. You could just as easily get a stick across the neck with a similar result. I'm not an alarmist and I'm not trying to scare anyone into ordering a product that could be called into action and realistically...most likely not, but it protects against blunt force trauma and skate lacerations, while as Law Goalie said, is non-hindering once your focus is on the task at hand.

I'd like to thank Law Goalie for posting what I would have said. He makes my points.

As stated, I will be at your get-together and I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding our products. I'll make it a point to bring samples of our neck protection for demonstration.

[Chadd 916]

Pockets of under 21 leagues have mandated neck protection on their own because USA would rather not make a decision at all, rather than make the wrong one.

When I was still officiating regularly, USA Hockey cited a couple cases where the Hockey Canada certified neck guards were believed to have deflected the skate blade into the jugular as the basis for not requiring neck guards.

[Philip Maltese 0]

Yes, I heard that too from Ashare, but I don't see how that minimal piece of certified neck protection caused a skate to "deflect". I think it's more about 'hassle' for USA hockey, to mandate. Otherwise, it's crazy not to. Was Kyle wearing neck protection when this happened? It's mandatory in Canada if you're under 21. That being said, he either was wearing a certified neck protector and that failed him miserably or he was in non-compliance, which I doubt.

[ktang 34]

The BNQ-certified neck protectors mandated for use by Hockey Canada use kevlar to guard against skate cuts, but do not have any protection against blunt force trauma such as sticks or pucks to the throat area.

[Shark#81 0]

In the press this one was called a "freak" accident but to me it's a math probability thing.

Contributing factors as I see them could be : Carbon sticks (way higher puck speeds for everyone), blocking shots by laying down (I've never done it), player safety - responsible shooting (there is such a thing) and and of course exposed area/protection.

It will happen again, certainly an injury like it.

[Philip Maltese 0]

ktang--I am aware that the BNQ certified neck protector lacks any blunt force trauma protection. That's my point. The 'certification' thing seems half-baked to me. How is it that only skate cuts were factored into this expensive certification. The feeling I have developed while in this business is that player's safety is not the overall priority. How many products are there on the market that don't measure up and I'm not just talking about hockey? It's a rhetorical question. One posed to spark thought.

[Chadd 916]

The BNQ-certified neck protectors mandated for use by Hockey Canada use kevlar to guard against skate cuts, but do not have any protection against blunt force trauma such as sticks or pucks to the throat area.

Yep, and the kevlar only protects against a low energy and very direct skate impact. If the skate strikes at an angle, especially with force, it will simply deflect off the neck guard and there are portions of the neck that are not protected.

[Philip Maltese 0]

Chadd, that being said, logically speaking, would the addition of the gel made these instances better or worse. I know there's no way to tell for sure, but again, if we had to speculate logically...

[black hills tj 5]

Chadd, that being said, logically speaking, would the addition of the gel made these instances better or worse. I know there's no way to tell for sure, but again, if we had to speculate logically...

I haven't seen one of your collars in person, but theoretically, I would think the gel(depending on its consistency) would assist in "trapping" the skate in the collar instead of the skate sliding off the collar towards a potentially unprotected area.

[Chadd 916]

Chadd, that being said, logically speaking, would the addition of the gel made these instances better or worse. I know there's no way to tell for sure, but again, if we had to speculate logically...

Yes, I think a gel padding would make a big difference, especially if paired with an outer material that would "catch" rather than deflect. Something like a terry cloth headband filled with gel would be my suggestion as it would absorb as well as be comfortable. In fact, I always thought a headband provided more safety than the certified neck guards. Of course, I'm no expert and that's just an opinion that has never been tested in any meaningful way. (end disclaimer)