The Danger of Hockey Skates

[member 30781]

You should always go with roller

 

[Doctor Hook]

There's risk in anything. Sure somebody could get cut, but I still say that's no reason to keep your kid from playing the greatest game on earth.

 

[Magnus Fulgur]

The only time I've been cut with a skate was in a freak accident while taking off my skates in the lockerroom. I needed three stitches each on my middle and index right fingers. No biggie.

Playing goalie in high school, a guy knocked me over and took a full stride with his full weight across my chest. Again, no biggie. Didn't even hurt

 

[dylan]

i got a skate across the nose a few years back on a pond. 3 cm deep, 4 stiches and now a sweet scar. i probably shouldnt of just put a bandage over it and continued playing though, scar might not look as bad.

 

[MikeD]

I was taught that a properly sharpened skate will not cut a person immediately after a sharpening.

That isnt quite true. Next time have him let you put the skate on and kick him in the face.... A fresh grind WILL slice through a jersey, skin, socks etc etc given enough force(not much). Malarchucks incident had the goalie moving slightly into the path as the skater came off his skates. No weight was involved since the guy was mid-air. Sheet metel decking isnt any where near as sharp as a skate edge yet try to hold one as a gust of wind rips it free...many a construction/iron worker has gotten a few stitches from that. Obviously, it was a 1 in a 1000 thing and something you want to protect against.

About the only real place a parent would need to worry about is the neck of an out player and add in from the knees down on any goalie. I thank god that my youngest had his gel maltese slash guard on for his one lone skate contact...oops he had his finger on blocker hand cut when a skater went over his outstretched hand on a cover. Small nick where the blade made it through the leather.

 

[Kung Pow]

I don't wear a neck guard and I'm a goalie

 

[ModSquad]

I was taught that a properly sharpened skate will not cut a person immediately after a sharpening. The person I learned to sharpen from rubbed a skate, freshly sharpened, across his face with no damage. If you look at a knife, it's the little unsmooth edges that actually cut. During a game you will get knicks and small rolles edges which cause the danger.

It's a small risk, but it's still there. I don't wear a neck guard, but it isn't a concern. I've never seen anyone cut in a game from a skate.

Bob's a lunatic.

Are we that pathetic that we have to get our MB fix somewhere else?

 

[94now]

Aside from the neck and the face (which are the most obvious parts), what other body parts are exposed and have no/minimal protection against skate blades?

I know that most shin pads wrap around the leg and thus cover the back, but I thought that they really only covered the middle of the back of the leg and not the upper (towards the back of the joint) and lower (the top of the boot) parts of the leg. Also, what about the forearms and the midsection (inbetween the hockey pants and the shoulder pads)?

I'm just curious to know what other parts of the body are open.

1. Foot. If you wear your shinguard INSIDE skate tongue, you risk to get cut over the tongue that is soft and is easy to cut through. Wear your shinguard over the tongue as low as you forward leg flex allows to reduce the gap between shinguard and skate boot shell.
2. Wrists. Wrist guards are to prevent cuts, not slashing bruises. Use them.
3. Low torso or area above your pants. If puck hits you between the pants and shoulder pads, it not a big deal. Close the gap between the two by getting shoulder pads with better stomach/low back covering to prevent low torso cuts.

 

[mrhockey193195]

1. Foot. If you wear your shinguard INSIDE skate tongue, you risk to get cut over the tongue that is soft and is easy to cut through. Wear your shinguard over the tongue as low as you forward leg flex allows to reduce the gap between shinguard and skate boot shell.
2. Wrists. Wrist guards are to prevent cuts, not slashing bruises. Use them.
3. Low torso or area above your pants. If puck hits you between the pants and shoulder pads, it not a big deal. Close the gap between the two by getting shoulder pads with better stomach/low back covering to prevent low torso cuts.

Thanks a lot! But the back of the leg isn't an issue?

 

[EmptyNetter]

The truth is that most hockey equipment is designed to protect against impact injuries. Most gear protects the front moreso than the back. Shin guards have a hard shell in the front and enclose your shin like a C where it's open in the back. I just bought a Jofa chest protector -- it covers the front, back and shoulders but gives extra protection for the spine and heart. My hockey pants have solid plastic "plates" for the front of my thighs and solid padding around my waist to shield my kidneys. Other areas are padded but the padding is less thick -- the thicker the armour, the heavier the gear and the hotter the skater becomes as he plays.

I don't completely agree with EazyB97 that a newly sharpened blade won't cut. The skate will cut if it slices along the length of the blade. However, a skate blade isn't like a steak knife that comes to a V point. The blade is about 1/8th of an inch thick and there's a "hollow" in the center of the blade, making it look like a modified W. Not sure, but that flat center should prevent the skate blade from making a deep cut IN THE RARE INSTANCE that it slices against flesh. More than likely, a skate will meet padding and not go deep enough to touch skin, especially if the player uses a neck guard.

I get the feeling you've got a deeper reason for asking about skate cuts. Do you have a child who wants to play hockey? I believe many hockey leagues offer lectures about hockey safety. You should look into attending one in your area. Or walk into a hockey shop and say you've got strong concerns about hockey safety and ask what gear you should buy to provide maximum protection.

 

[Gallagbi]

Bob's a lunatic.

Are we that pathetic that we have to get our MB fix somewhere else?

When's it up and running anyways?

 

[nni]

i took my glove off and got my hand kicked, got 10 stitches. i am now very aware of skates being swung over the boards.

as for death, it is possible, but not probable. a neck guard will help and most peewee through highschool teams require it. cuts can happen though if people are reckless.

 

[KRM]

Not 100% sure but I think a SEL player got seriously hurt after being checked in to the boards and then fall to the ice and got cut by a teammates skate when he tried to jump over him.

 

[Ceteris Paribus]

I once cut my hand on a skate blade. They can be pretty sharp. I also once took a skate in the visor (full cage) once. The visor saved me from serious injury. It's pretty rare that people get badly hurt in hockey games because of skate blades though, so I usually don't worry too much about it, although it does cross my mind once in a while.

 

[Goalie_Gal]

Football players have been paralyzed...

So have hockey players, and at least one has died, from spinal injuries. I think the risk of a head/neck injury (which is obviously not limited to ice) is a lot higher than being cut by a skate.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

(excluding goalies, who all do)?

All goalies wear neckguards? (I don't).

 

[Happy Pony]

I had to wear a neckguard in youth and HS...always hated that damn thing and took it off the first day I could. Same with the cage.

 

[mrhockey193195]

So how sharp are these skates?

By what most people are saying, it doesn't take much to cause a minor cut.

Would just very simple contact with not much force at all (i.e. dropping your skate on your bare foot from, I don't know, one foot above the ground) cause a laceration?

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Depends on how it hit. I've cut myself on skates in the locker room.

 

[nni]

So how sharp are these skates?

By what most people are saying, it doesn't take much to cause a minor cut.

Would just very simple contact with not much force at all (i.e. dropping your skate on your bare foot from, I don't know, one foot above the ground) cause a laceration?

yeah, it will cut your foot if you drop it, a little cut. the damage comes with a slice or a stomp. my hand issues was a slice, i didnt even feel it, so that gives you an idea of how sharp it was.

 

[SJFogDevil]

You may want to pull your socks down over your skates and tape them so that you can prevent somebody else’s skate from slipping down into your skate which could possibly sever your Achilles tendon. It’s a very rare occurrence but by doing this you can prevent it

 

[MikeD]

How sharp is a hockey skate with a good fresh frind that has had the burr honed? You can cut a sheet of paper just like that demonstrated with a sharp knife...

the edge being one sided isnt so sharp that simple pressure will cause a severe cut like a razor but add a little slide to that pressure and its a cut that you may not even feel.

Mckinley HS in Buffalo NY had a player checked from behind who then went several feet head first into the boards. Broke his neck and died from the injury. Around 1983-84? Explorer Hockey League...

 

[MikeD]

All goalies wear neckguards? (I don't).

WOW...I am surprised that you dont wear one. I did not simply because I couldnt stand the things, until I found out about the Maltese. I did use teh lexan dangler. I had tried 3 or 4 different brands and ended up giving them to any goalie who happened to be at the skate and shoot where I tried it out and wanted it. The maltese is almost unnoticable. Now I do not wear the dangler. My concern was puck impact more than skate cut.

IF you would like to try one out I would be very willing to send you mine to give a whirl. You would just have to promise to ship it back to me! I would bet you would buy one for your very own. The combo protects the clavicle and Neck, can be chilled in the freezer and can also have a sternum pad installed to increase any "Heart Guard" protection in your CA. The combo is custom built to your requested dimensions. you can choose hight of the gel in hte collar, the length of the clavicle pad and size of the sternum pad if you add that feature. I did not have that added.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

I've got one, and I used to wear it, but I would overheat quickly.

I wear the plastic puckguard on my mask, so I've never really had trouble with puck impact. For the skates, I just kinda hope that I'm alert enough that it's not an issue (knocking on wood as I type this )

 

[dabid]

I remember, I dont know why I was there, but we had to rush into a locker room cause some 8 year old kid got his foot stepped on by another 8 year old. The kid who got his foot stepped on was barefoot in the locker room, and the other one had his skates on. But I don't think you're 8 years old so it shouldnt be a problem.