visors in hockey...

[JMW814]

thought this may be a good idea for a thread, i heard some of this buzzing around other placess and i thought id throw it into the mix...

should visors be required in the NHL?
in the minor pro league teams?
shuld cages be required in all 20/18 and under junior leagues?
do you/would you wear a visor, cage if available?

lets hear your thoughts...

i personally think visors should be optional. there are tough guys and veterans out there who choose to not wear a visor, and i think they are responsible for whatever happenes to their face. i think the same in the minor pros. i agree with the juniors and would require cages in 20/18 and under leagues where some players arent mature enough to make a good choice. i, personally like to keep all the protection on my face as i can. one puck in the face is enough for me, thanks. i learn from experience, which is also why i now wear a cup.

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[IkeaMonkey*]

I personally believe that through high school or age 18, a player must wear full facial protection. Then after that, when they becoming a consenting adult, they should be able to choose if they want to wear protection or not.

 

[Steelhead16]

As someone who started playing before any kind of facemasks were manditory at all and having advanced through all the different mandatory facemask rules,(they became mandatory when I was 12) I think that after age 10 facemasks should go away. Back in the day people took care of their sticks and you didn't see all the sticks to the face like you do now. All the stick injuries started after facemasks became mandatory in college. Players let their sticks get up with no consequences and that continued on after college into the pros and even the beer leagues. I tried a visor for about 6 months once and got hit in the face more than I ever had. I stopped wearing a helmet all together about 10 years ago and haven't had a stitch since. People are more careful around me and don't want to hit me in the head. I don't advise the no helmet idea for someone new who can't skate really well, but it works for me. Most everyone I play with has played for 20 years plus and we all keep our sticks and shots down. I know most of you have grown up wearing helmets and facemasks, but ask an old guy and see what kind of answers you get?

 

[Grave77digger]

this from a guy with a steel head

 

[BCCHL inactive]

As someone who started playing before any kind of facemasks were manditory at all and having advanced through all the different mandatory facemask rules,(they became mandatory when I was 12) I think that after age 10 facemasks should go away. Back in the day people took care of their sticks and you didn't see all the sticks to the face like you do now. All the stick injuries started after facemasks became mandatory in college. Players let their sticks get up with no consequences and that continued on after college into the pros and even the beer leagues. I tried a visor for about 6 months once and got hit in the face more than I ever had. I stopped wearing a helmet all together about 10 years ago and haven't had a stitch since. People are more careful around me and don't want to hit me in the head. I don't advise the no helmet idea for someone new who can't skate really well, but it works for me. Most everyone I play with has played for 20 years plus and we all keep our sticks and shots down. I know most of you have grown up wearing helmets and facemasks, but ask an old guy and see what kind of answers you get?

Ask an old guy, sure....ask somebody who is involved in how the game is played today, and it is a much different story.

You're speaking based on experience from how the game was played 20+ years ago. The way players play today, you cannot allow players to play without helmets, and at the age where the kids are still children, you have to make them wear cages. It is senseless to risk head/facial injuries to a child.

Taking away helmets and/or cages won't magically make players carry their sticks lower. The problem in today's game is not the fact we wear helmets and visors, the problem is that there is an extreme lack of respect among today's generation of youth and young adults in general, and it carries over into hockey.

 

[DaveyCrockett]

= the problem is that there is an extreme lack of respect among today's generation of youth and young adults in general, and it carries over into hockey.

Way to sound like a bitter old guy. While I'm not going to engage you in debate over the "extreme lack of respect" today's youth have, I will point out that not wearing protection at any level of hockey is very risky. Even if you take away all the high sticking, there are so many ways that you can get hit in the face. Dump outs off the glass, deflections, accidental collisions, etc. Even in shinny, I have seen a few visor wearing people get a puck deflected into their face. In contact hockey, for 18+, visors should be mandatory. Everyone should be wearing a cage, especially those under 18.

 

[RJ8812*]

I personally believe that through high school or age 18, a player must wear full facial protection. Then after that, when they becoming a consenting adult, they should be able to choose if they want to wear protection or not.

u have to wear a full cage in high school hockey

 

[IkeaMonkey*]

u have to wear a full cage in high school hockey

Yes, thanks, I played prep.

 

[It Kills Me]

I personally believe that through high school or age 18, a playa must wear protection. Then after that, when they becoming a consenting adult, they should be able to choose if they want to wear protection or not.

Condoms.... lol.







... i changed your post by removing 3 words.

 

[#66]

Just to throw the question out there, does anyone see or have coaches that still preach that sticks must be kept down? From the few highschool games that I've watched as of late, I see and hear nothing but the clanging of sticks hitting cages. Plus as a non cage wearer, the excuse that I get from some bum high sticking me is that I should put a cage on?

 

[jiggs 10]

I grew up playing before you had to wear masks (until I was 13), and HATE wearing them or helmets, but players in the last 20 years have shown they have no brains whatsoever as far as keeping their sticks down (and the refs don't help, because they don't call the penalties they should). ANY TIME you hit someone in the head with your stick you should get a penalty! End of story, end of discussion! If you can't keep your stick below your shoulder, you maybe shouldn't be playing, or maybe the next time one of us old-timers will cut your f***ing heart out with OUR stick! It's about respect for the game and your opponent. Sure, we all want to win, but at what cost? Do you REALLY want to damage another player's eye? If you do, I can only say I hope you rot in prison without Vasoline! Because you aren't the kind of person who should be playing hockey in the first place!

 

[BCCHL inactive]

I grew up playing before you had to wear masks (until I was 13), and HATE wearing them or helmets, but players in the last 20 years have shown they have no brains whatsoever as far as keeping their sticks down (and the refs don't help, because they don't call the penalties they should). ANY TIME you hit someone in the head with your stick you should get a penalty! End of story, end of discussion! If you can't keep your stick below your shoulder, you maybe shouldn't be playing, or maybe the next time one of us old-timers will cut your f***ing heart out with OUR stick! It's about respect for the game and your opponent. Sure, we all want to win, but at what cost? Do you REALLY want to damage another player's eye? If you do, I can only say I hope you rot in prison without Vasoline! Because you aren't the kind of person who should be playing hockey in the first place!

I don't think referees are much of a problem. Usually with high sticks being not called, it has more to do with the play simply not being seen by the referee. That, and there is always an exception to the rule. For example, if a player getting knocked down accidently has his stick clip somebody in the head, I'm not likely to call it unless I feel it was intentional.

What I think is more of a problem is a league like the NHL having a rule where if you nail somebody in the face on a follow-through of a slapshot, you don't get a penalty. Such rules only promote waving your stick around, and it just gives players outside the NHL some ammo when they argue their high sticking penalty in a situation where the referee does call it on a follow-through.