Youth hockey equipment and injuries

[akravetz 29]

Hi all, as some might know, I have two kids in youth hockey. My son, 8, is playing travel as a mite and is in the AA division of NIHL which is the main league in Illinois. During a controlled scrimmage, a boy from another team slashed him in the right forearm, breaking his arm. As it was a scrimmage, no ref and none of the coaches saw it. I was manning the door and talking to the kids on the bench so I missed it but my wife said it looked intentional. Not the reason why I am posting.

My son now has to have surgery and have a metal rod put into his right forearm to repair the damage as the force of the blow cause the bone to deviate from straight-line by 25 degrees. He's out for six weeks at least. Again, not the reason I am posting.

I am posting as I want to know if there are any elbow pads in youth (my son is small, less than 50 pounds, less than four feet tall) that have a slash guard. Most that I have seen including his Reebok have the form of adult guards but well, no protection. He had on his elbow pads and gloves but youth gloves tend not to ride up as high as adult ones. He's in eight-inch gloves now, could wear a nine-inch if he had to.

I was going to get either a shinguard from soccer that is encased in a sock and cut it down to put over his forearms when he heals or buy something and then have a shoe repair place stitch it on his existing elbow pads.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery as to what to do. And yes, I am livid at what happened. I realize hockey is a rough sport but that didn't have to happen. Again, not why I am posting. Just wanted to get some thoughts so we can plan when he comes back.

Andy in Peoria

[HelmetHead 1]

That sucks. That's amazing that an 8-year-old could slash hard enough to do that much damage. Hope he gets better soon.

I think your best bet is to get a separate slash guard rather than an extended elbow pad. Better for mobility. In my experience, EvoShield ones are the best:

http://www.evoshield.com/catalog/product/view/id/403/s/evoshield-protective-slash-guards-pair/category/38/

[TeamHonda401 54]

+1 for the separate slash guards. At that age where they go through two sets of gear a year because of growth, it would be a lot easier to grab some slash guards that can be reused when he outgrows his current elbow pads.

[Chadd 916]

That sucks. That's amazing that an 8-year-old could slash hard enough to do that much damage. Hope he gets better soon.

I think your best bet is to get a separate slash guard rather than an extended elbow pad. Better for mobility. In my experience, EvoShield ones are the best:

http://www.evoshield.com/catalog/product/view/id/403/s/evoshield-protective-slash-guards-pair/category/38/

Evoshield makes a great product.

[Souldriver 64]

+1 to all of the above

[geshnyc 3]

Hi all, as some might know, I have two kids in youth hockey. My son, 8, is playing travel as a mite and is in the AA division of NIHL which is the main league in Illinois. During a controlled scrimmage, a boy from another team slashed him in the right forearm, breaking his arm. As it was a scrimmage, no ref and none of the coaches saw it. I was manning the door and talking to the kids on the bench so I missed it but my wife said it looked intentional. Not the reason why I am posting.

My son now has to have surgery and have a metal rod put into his right forearm to repair the damage as the force of the blow cause the bone to deviate from straight-line by 25 degrees. He's out for six weeks at least. Again, not the reason I am posting.

I am posting as I want to know if there are any elbow pads in youth (my son is small, less than 50 pounds, less than four feet tall) that have a slash guard. Most that I have seen including his Reebok have the form of adult guards but well, no protection. He had on his elbow pads and gloves but youth gloves tend not to ride up as high as adult ones. He's in eight-inch gloves now, could wear a nine-inch if he had to.

I was going to get either a shinguard from soccer that is encased in a sock and cut it down to put over his forearms when he heals or buy something and then have a shoe repair place stitch it on his existing elbow pads.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery as to what to do. And yes, I am livid at what happened. I realize hockey is a rough sport but that didn't have to happen. Again, not why I am posting. Just wanted to get some thoughts so we can plan when he comes back.

Andy in Peoria

My regards to the little dude and a speedy and painless recovery. It is wild that at that age some kids already start with the dirty little tricks; great parenting I bet! I am sure the "Slasher" will grow up to be a fine and upstanding young man with a bright future. I just got some metals put in my wrist too.. it sucks at first but then you forget about it and the healing ability of a child is pretty amazing so I am sure he will forget about it in like a day.

I like your DIY idea; if you want to elaborate feel free to PM me. Also, you might want to consider a padded compression top (i use it for inline ) they have them long sleeved and are cheap as hell on ebay - I believe the Chinese translation is "Crash Pants" and just modify it a bit to cover the forearm with some light padding and maybe a bit of card board underneath and have a local dry cleaner just sew it in there.

I am surprised you did not Mike Tyson the kid's dad... I would have just for the emotional comfort. ;)

[AIREAYE 248]

I am surprised you did not Mike Tyson the kid's dad... I would have just for the emotional comfort. ;)

I know you're joking, but that's a great example to set to your kids...

[akravetz 29]

Thanks for all the advice. It's been an emotional week here in Peoria as some of you might have known, a massive tornado ripped through a neighboring town (about 10 minutes away) and leveled hundreds of homes. On my daughter's mini-mite team (3 to 6), three kids are out of their homes. On my son's mite team, two kid are so we have been taking care of our own as hockey goes. We are family.

But as for going "Mike Tyson," the other team was from another town, I don't know who the kid was and rather than beat up a dad for something his kid did, I'd rather talk to the kid's coach and ask why he didn't pull the kid out of the game after that crap. I have benched kids after they were too rough to teach them a lesson. It's freakin' hockey for God's sake. I get that people are emotional but they are kids. Geez. Who knows if it was intentional. My wife thinks so; my son's coach doesn't. I don't think 8yo boys are that malicious to act in that way. Who knows. All I know is my son is missing a T-giving tourney with had five games, his seeding games (4), another year-end tourney and is going under the knife in the AM. Sucks ass, but seeing what happened across the river in Washington (the town referenced above), it kinda puts things into perspective. Boy is in a cast for six weeks but that's nothing compared to losing everything you own.

again, thanks for the help and the advice. We'll look into a slash guard and decide what is best and post back here with a picture.

[akravetz 29]

As promised or threatened, we found a slash guard that might work. It's a bit pricey though buying soccer shins and cutting them down are about the same price once it is all said and done.

We are looking at the Shock Doctor (here's the link to ice warehouse. other places have it. Not trying to pimp one site)

http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=SDSG

It's $30 but figure what the three doctor visits, two casts, one operation and x-rays cost, $30 is cheap. What do you all think. It's gonna ride up into his elbow pad and likely into his glove. Either he'll accept it and get used to it or freak and hate it. But those look the best in terms of protection. Eagle, Bauer, Warrior and others are all "wrist guards" and don't seem to have forearm protection. Youth Elbow Pads (boy is too little for juniors) have nothing in the way of slash protection and what they do have is just for show. Meaning they look like big boy pads but they aren't. I'll await responses and reviews. Thanks.

Andy in Peoria

[althoma1 574]

I'd go with the Evoshield guards HelmetHead recommended in post 2 (and Chadd supported in post 4).

[akravetz 29]

One last question. Is there really a different between a wrist guard and a forearm guard when it comes to be 8yo? His gloves go past his metacarpals (the wrist bones) and his elbow pads extend down to where there is a two-inch gap between the glove and the bottom of the elbow pad. Should I go for a wrist guard as it might be shorter or a forearm guard. Sold on the Evoshield just from watching their video and what it can do. Molds to your own body. Damn, that's cool. Is it done by heat and if so, is it going to freak out my son?

[Chadd 916]

Molds to your own body. Damn, that's cool. Is it done by heat and if so, is it going to freak out my son?

Exposure to air sets the shape. When you open the package, it is pliable. After a few minutes it sets up.