Why don't kids and teenagers use neck guards anymore?

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

I don't know how some of you come off saying you'd rather get your juggy sliced open than wearing a neck guard

Unless you have someone who has some first aid training, you are as good as dead if your juggy is sliced while playing a game like hockey (your blood is already pumping fast, which means more blood loss).

I'm coming up on my 2nd year of playing, and will be investing in a good, comfortable neck guard soon. I've never come close to an accident, but thats irrelevant. Better to be preventative, imo. I think its probably one of the most important pieces of equipment to own. Your neck is one of the most vital areas on your body, and skate blades are SHARP. No sense in leaving this area exposed.

Can anyone recommend a good, comfortable neck guard? I don't care about the price.

Thanks

You can get them built right onto your undergear now and they're pretty comfortable and actually look ok. Itech , underarmour and shock doctor all make them.

 

[Gino 14]

The number of injuries from concussions is far higher than that of neck injuries, yet there's all this concern about neck guards rather than mothguards? If you're really concerned with the safety of youth in hockey, worry about mouth guards first and neck guards a distant second.

 

[MikeD]

Can anyone recommend a good, comfortable neck guard? I don't care about the price.

Thanks

http://www.maltesehockey.com/cgi-bin/ccp51/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F5802690&rnd=5036728&rrc=N&affl=&cip=69.19.14.35&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=collar&cat=gels&catstr=

Not only skate cut protection but also superb impact protection. Can be chilled or frozen prior to use for summer/floor/roller hockey. IF you provide the undergarment such as UA, Phil will build it custom. The great thing about maltese hockey is being able to talk to Phil Maltese, hash out the idea and he will make it a reality, in most cases.

Gino,

The issue with neck guards VS mouth guards is that in USA hockeys "infinite wisdom" neck guards are not mandated where as mouth guards are. With most head injury the risk of "assuming room tempurature" in less than 240 seconds from injury is about ZERO. Ear protection is part of the certification process for a helmet yet the neck has NO MANDATE. Does this make sense? A puck impact to the throat can crush and a runner can drain you out in time counted in seconds till the heart stops yet we have to have the ears protected from impact , a bit of plastic between the upper and lower jaw. Does this make sense?

USA goes to great length to insure the head is protected yet the part that attaches it to the body can be wide open. The one part of the body where there is rarely anything MINOR about it when a runner makes contact. I would dare say that compliance on the mouth guards with in USA hockey is near 100% yet the number of head injuries/concussion is still VERY high. Would making a head check an automatic 2/10/Game curb the number of head injuries? I would futher dare say that simple rules change would be more effective at reducing head injury than all the mouth guards worn by the 100.000+ youth players in the USA.

It is backward thinking that places a neck guard low on the "safety" list that will result in DEATH. Just one death, that a mandate by USA hockey might have been able to prevent. It will take this death for USA to get its head out of is ARSE. IT very well could have been my own son as a squirt minor but I had the common sense to make sure my child was protected, where USA hockey has failed its members.

 

[javorka]

Can anyone recommend a good, comfortable neck guard? I don't care about the price.

Our boys are very happy with their Itech and Jock Plus neck guards. (The ones that are a part of their undershirt.) Comfortable, and not all that expensive, either.

 

[Phoenix]

Play in a rec league and I wear a cage but no mouth guard or neck guard. I'm over 21so its not mandatory.
Neck guards make me uncomfortable and at my level with no checking, none of us do. Don't know whether thats the norm for you guys over there.

 

[sharkticon]

I play in an adult league and neither are required, although i do wear a mouth guard.

I can't imagine a goalie not using a neck guard these days, that's just insane. I took up goal a months ago and i use the hanging plastic type, which I hear is better protection as your neck takes no shock compared to the wrap around type.

A s a goalie i have been in situation where my head was on the ice and people are skating near me though... pretty scary.

 

[Stripes]

That plastic hanging guard is meant to stop pucks from hitting you in the throat area. The real neck guard is meant to stop a skate from cutting your neck.

If you're a goaltender, I recommend you wear both.

 

[icedog11]

I would dare say that compliance on the mouth guards with in USA hockey is near 100% yet the number of head injuries/concussion is still VERY high. Would making a head check an automatic 2/10/Game curb the number of head injuries?

the problem here is that most kids wear cheap boil and bite mouthguards, a mouthguard with less than 4mm of material is not effective in preventing concussions and they tend to fit so poorly that most of the time they are used as chew toys hanging out of the corner of a child's mouth, just having a guard is not in compliance with the rule. If the spirit of rule 304c where followed, they recommend a custom mouthguard, you would likely see the number of concussions drop. There are companies out there now that will get you a custom mouthguard for as little as $50. Concussions are classified as minor traumatic brain injuries by the CDC and will end more athletic careers than any other injury. try http://www.customguards.com

 

[MikeD]

I play in an adult league and neither are required, although i do wear a mouth guard.

I can't imagine a goalie not using a neck guard these days, that's just insane. I took up goal a months ago and i use the hanging plastic type, which I hear is better protection as your neck takes no shock compared to the wrap around type.

A s a goalie i have been in situation where my head was on the ice and people are skating near me though... pretty scary.

The lexan dangler will actually direct a runner into the neck/shoulder region. The only guard to provide protection from impact and skate cut is the Maltese SPS series guards.

 

[ean]

I recall having to wear one for a tournament, and then later on a team manager said we had to get them but we never ended up having to wear them.

They are horribly uncomfortable. The closest Ive had to a neck injury was when I got a butt end to the throat. Don't think the neck guard would have helped that. Though if I had a kid I'd probably want him wearing one...

 

[SilverSeven]

Im surprised everyone finds them uncomfortable. I played minor hockey from the age of 4 (started early) to 20 and never once did I ever have an issue with my neckguard. I never tried to sneak on without it because I didn't find it uncomfortable at all.

 

[Made Dan]

When I play I always wear it, I bruised my neck a few weeks ago WITH it on, imagine without. I never found it really uncomfortable at all.

 

[Goalie_Gal]

I've been using the dangly plastic one that hangs off my mask, and didn't realize that it didn't offer much protection after all. I have a combo neck/clavicle guard that I used to wear with my old chest protector, but my new one has one sort of built in. Only it doesn't actually go right against my neck, and it's not very wide.

Thanks for the Maltese link- I'm going to order one for myself and for my husband. He plays D, and is always throwing his body around. It wouldn't be too hard to imagine him catching a wayward skate.

 

[Dangler87]

http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/hockey/articles/2008/02/21/coaches_warn_pile_on_is_perilous/

Interesting article.

 

[iggyDDS]

kids and teenagers are only going to wear neckguards if a) they are forced to, or b) someone like Ovechkin or Crosby starts wearing one in order to promote it...

 

[BlackAces]

I play in an adult league and neither are required, although i do wear a mouth guard.

I can't imagine a goalie not using a neck guard these days, that's just insane. I took up goal a months ago and i use the hanging plastic type, which I hear is better protection as your neck takes no shock compared to the wrap around type.

A s a goalie i have been in situation where my head was on the ice and people are skating near me though... pretty scary.

Belive it or not but Roberto Luongo dosen't wear a neck guard or the plastic thing on his mask.

But in Canada it is mandatory for kids playing in minor hockey to wear them, im not sure about higher levels though.

 

[golfortennis]

My biggest problem is finding one that is big enough. I have a 17.5", and wearing one only lasts about half the game, and then it comes apart and dangles, or falls off. I have only seen 17" guards in stores, which is what I had before. I might have to look into the shirt.

 

[XweekendwarriorX]

Neck guards are just uncomfy. i feel tho that calf and ankle slashing are more serious than a neck. honestly i live in buffalo and only 2 of these things have ever happened both at the NHL leval and they were about 20 years apart. i been playing all my life and never once has anything come close to my neck i got a my stomach cut once but nothing serious just like a little slash and some blood.

 

[Airborne Troll*]

Because we're all cool

 

[ashleesimpson<3*]

the mouthguard rule is gay, the mouthguard makes things worse when i try to communicate with my defencemen, and when i take a shot in the head it doesnt affect my jaw, and neck guards, well i paly midget house and their mandatory, the ref checks both goalies before the game starts everytiem.

 

[RobertKron]

The number of injuries from concussions is far higher than that of neck injuries, yet there's all this concern about neck guards rather than mothguards? If you're really concerned with the safety of youth in hockey, worry about mouth guards first and neck guards a distant second.

Aren't mouth guards already mandatory in the US, but neck guards aren't?

 

[sc37]

the mouthguard rule is gay, the mouthguard makes things worse when i try to communicate with my defencemen, and when i take a shot in the head it doesnt affect my jaw, and neck guards, well i paly midget house and their mandatory, the ref checks both goalies before the game starts everytiem.

Then go get a custom one done. And yes when you take a shot in the head it'll affect your jaw as it gets bumped into the lower part of your brain. It's the most common type of concussion.

Aren't mouth guards already mandatory in the US, but neck guards aren't?

I heard they were debating whether or not they were doing the job as apparently in some incidents the blade slipped on the guard and actually cut the person higher up on the neck.

http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/hockey/articles/2008/02/21/coaches_warn_pile_on_is_perilous/

That is why I wear one even though I'm in beer league. You always get some noob skater and falls over and topples everyone over..or they fall and start flailing their arms and legs. I mean that's how Zednik got cut...from Jokinen taking a tumble and having his leg kick up in the process.

 

[Stripes]

Neck guards are just uncomfy. i feel tho that calf and ankle slashing are more serious than a neck. honestly i live in buffalo and only 2 of these things have ever happened both at the NHL leval and they were about 20 years apart. i been playing all my life and never once has anything come close to my neck i got a my stomach cut once but nothing serious just like a little slash and some blood.

Did I just read you say that slashing the back of the legs and ankles is more serious than protecting your neck?

The two major incidents in the NHL didn't result in fatalities because of the medical staff who are there to respond immediately. In minor hockey and recreational rinks, there is usually no medical staff around. If that happens at an amateur game, the chances of such an accident causing death go through the roof. Why would you want to take the risk?

Also, the only recent incident you mention is the reference to Zednik's accident. The day before that, linesman Pat Dapuzzo had his nose broken by a skate and needed 60 stitches to close the wound. The day after Zednik, Ethan Moreau took a skate only millimeters from his eye. That's three significant incidents in three days, and thankfully, only one was career/life threatening.

The game is much faster today than it was 20 years ago. When it happened to Malarchuk, it was a freak accident. When it happened to Zednik, many people were surprised it hadn't happened more often.

the mouthguard rule is gay, the mouthguard makes things worse when i try to communicate with my defencemen, and when i take a shot in the head it doesnt affect my jaw, and neck guards, well i paly midget house and their mandatory, the ref checks both goalies before the game starts everytiem.

Mouthguards protect you from concussions.

 

[SabresSharks]

My beer league is no-check, but hockey's a collision sport regardless, and at 125 lb. it's me who's most at risk. I wear a full cage, mouth guard, and neck guard, even though all are optional. I want every piece of protection available. I'm used to it all by now, and barely notice it.

A couple of (much larger) teammates wear none of that, nor shoulder and elbow pads. I just don't get it. Too many stray sticks, pucks, and skates, and clumsy, 200-lb.+ skaters out there to be casual. One of those teammate is frequently injured, but at least he's more "comfortable" without all that "excess" gear.

But we're supposedly mature adults, responsible for our own decisions. No kid playing minor hockey should wear anything less than what I do, and shame on USA Hockey and Hockey Canada for not mandating the use of approved neckguards and mouthguards respectively.

 

[MikeD]

It is my understanding that Hockey Canada Does mandate Neck guards. It would likely be that BNK standard/certification that would be applied to the USA standard, should it make the next rewrite in 2009.