All Laval Rocket players will wear the neck brace next season.
In fact, the American Hockey League announced on Friday that wearing this protection will be mandatory for all of its players, regardless of age or experience.
It was the tragic death of hockey player Adam Johnson in late October in the English elite league that alerted the hockey world to the relevance of this piece of equipment. Johnson, a forward for the Nottingham Panthers, was severed by a skate blade from Sheffield Steelers defenceman Matt Petgrave.
After the incident, the head coach of the Laval Rocket, Pascal Vincent, also advocated for the mandatory wearing of neck protection. Vincent then coached the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL.
At the professional level, players are generally still hesitant to add a piece of equipment, and the number of skaters who have equipped themselves with this protection is quite small in the NHL and American League.
For the Canadiens, we saw defenseman Jayden Struble wearing the neck brace.
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