It’s been seen left and right in the NHL, and now it’s the turn of the Canadiens players to try the experiment: Brendan Gallagher and Michael Pezzetta participated in Wednesday’s training wearing a neck protector .
Their initiative comes in the wake of the tragic death of Adam Johnson, former Pittsburgh Penguins forward, who was fatally struck in the throat by a skate blade during a game in England on October 28.
The few players who have tried it in training since the tragedy — Erik Karlsson and Lars Eller, among others — have gotten some attention, but the fact remains that the initiative hasn’t exactly spread like wildfire in the NHL. Pezzetta also tried to explain the phenomenon.
In junior, you had to wear the neck protector and we tried to make it as small as possible. Part of it was to look cool, and in the NHL you look better without that big neck guard. But life is more important than looking cool. If more players adopted it, it wouldn’t be ostracized as much.
Michael Pezzetta, who played in the Ontario Junior League (OHL) from 2014 to 2018
So far, only one teammate, Gallagher, has imitated him. “I just wanted to try it. It went better than I expected. I will continue to try it in training. I don’t have a plan, said the oldest Canadian forward.
“Breathing is correct. The tracksuit is similar. The only thing really was that it came up high on my neck, so my neck was always stretched. It’s minor. I won’t wear it [ce jeudi lors du match à Detroit] for this reason, because I was very conscious that I was wearing it and that is not desirable when you play such a fast and robust sport.
“But it’s definitely possible for players to wear it in a match if they do it often enough in training. »
Wearing this piece of equipment has not yet been formally discussed by the team, Mike Matheson said. “It’s definitely something we’re going to try in the coming weeks. But personally, I have other things I need to focus on! “, joked the defender, who had just spent five minutes discussing his recent difficulties.
Martin St-Louis was more direct when asked if he was curious to know the impressions of those who will wear it. “Honestly, I have other things to do,” said the head coach, who is trying to help his team end a four-game losing streak.
Like the visor
Discussions to make this piece of equipment compulsory are still embryonic. “If I had to comment, I believe it will be incorporated with a grandfather clause,” predicted Gallagher, Mike Matheson’s assistant as the Habs’ “union delegate” within the Players’ Association.
If so, the neck guard would follow the same path as the visor. Regulation 9.7, established after the 2012 lockout, provided that as of “the 2013-2014 season, any player with less than 25 games of experience in the NHL must[it] wear a visor properly attached to your helmet.”
To date, Ryan O’Reilly, Milan Lucic, Matt Martin, Ryan Reaves, Zach Bogosian and Jamie Benn are the last players to skate without eye protection in the NHL, according to a compilation by The Hockey News from last winter. That list also included Zack Kassian, now retired, and Jordie Benn, who is playing in Sweden this season.