When Adam Johnson died from a skate cut, it sparked controversy regarding neck protection. The famous kevlar neck roll or a simple “neck guard.”
Former Montreal Canadiens player, Michael McCarron, was cut in the upper neck by Lian Bischel’s skate, who was playing his first NHL game.
Here’s Michael McCarron’s cut from Lian Bischel’s skate last game. He says a neck guard would not have helped him since the cut was so high up his neck. Glad he’s ok and was able to finish the game @1025TheGame pic.twitter.com/BWWmgxh42z
— Max Herz (@MaxHerzTalks) December 14, 2024
Looking at the photo, it’s hard to say that it’s truly in the upper neck, since the cut appears to extend to the jaw and is close to the ear as well.
Nonetheless, it’s clear that a neck guard certainly wouldn’t have harmed, and it might have still reduced this cut…
After having checked the young defender (who is even bigger and stronger than McCarron), Bischel’s skate flew up and cut McCarron.
Here’s the sequence in question:
Every #NHL team should be forced to watch a montage of the dozens of close calls the league has clipped from this season alone.
McCarron was cut but still incredibly lucky last night.
92% of players don’t wear neck protection: https://t.co/j0rm8sVq7Qpic.twitter.com/Oo59qpMS2Z
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 13, 2024
“Every NHL team should be forced to watch a montage of the dozens of plays where the worst was avoided this season alone. McCarron was cut, but still incredibly lucky.” – Frank Seravalli
It happens all too often that the worst is avoided on sequences similar to McCarron’s.
I understand that some don’t like to have it on their neck while playing because it can be bothersome or restrict their head movements. But personally, if my career depended on it, I would do everything possible to avoid such injuries.
Moreover, I can’t believe that there will never be an invention of an ultra-thin neck guard that does not hinder your head movements (if it doesn’t exist already).
We seriously need to think about better protecting players, especially since hockey is a dangerous sport…
In Brief
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Trading Savard, the only logical option
A text by Billy Bertrand https://t.co/TSL1gSLGLg
— RDS (@RDSca) December 14, 2024
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Marc-André Fleury, MY WORD! pic.twitter.com/P8rsXgeTpi
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– A good start for young Commesso.
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: @NHLNetwork
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/b2o5LXjiL0— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2024