Sports
NHL player poll: Why most players say the league shouldn't mandate neck guards
Mandatory neck guards are coming to youth hockey in the United States.
Already required in Canada and many other countries, USA Hockey, which governs the sport at the amateur level in the U.S., has long held its line at “recommending” laceration protection — namely neck guards, but also cut-resistant socks, sleeves and undergarments.
The decision was announced Sunday and will go into effect on Aug. 1, about nine months after the issue was thrust into the spotlight when former NHL player Adam Johnson died of a skate cut to the neck during a game in England.
More NHLers have begun to wear neck protection in the months since, either regularly or to try to find something comfortable.
“You’re seeing more and more of it,” one player told The Athletic. “I wear the shirt for my wrists. I think you’re going to see more and more neck guards.”
As part of our NHL 2023-24 player poll, we asked those players what their appetite might be for a similar mandate, for neck guards and other cut-resistant equipment, at the pro level.
As you can see, for the majority — 78.45 percent of the 181 who were willing to respond to that question — it’s a no-go:
For many of the players, it comes down to personal choice.
“I think it should just be your own decision,” one said.
“Guys would be smart to use them, but I don’t think it needs to be mandatory,” another added.
“It’s their own risk, right?” said a third. “It’s their life.”
Some of the players voting no indicated that, for their part, they do wear neck guards and other cut-protective gear, including one who had been cut by a skate in the past.
“I wear it. It happened to me,” he said. “I think it’s up to you. I think that there (should) be no requirement.”
“I don’t think you should require them to, but I think it’s stupid not to (wear one),” another player said. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“We’re all big boys,” said a third. “I personally wear them. But being required to? No.”
One idea many players shared was to mandate laceration protection at minor and youth levels first, with the idea of eventually bringing it to the NHL as players get more used to wearing the equipment.
“In the NHL, I don’t think it should be required,” one player said. “But in minor hockey, I think it should.”
“If the NHL mandated it, I’d be OK with that,” said another. “But they should grandfather in everyone who’s used to not playing with it, like they did with visors.”
Some players indicated they’re not satisfied, at this point, with the engineering of skate-cut protection.
“I think we all know there’s an inherent risk, (but) I don’t think the skate-cut technology is where it needs to be for people to wear it comfortably,” one player said. “I don’t love the feeling of having stuff on my wrists. I tried the neck guard. I felt like it was so high and so tight. It would take a while to get used to.”
“You want guys comfortable with what they’re wearing.”
NHL teams have worked with manufacturers to provide options, and a number of players said that’s the right response.
“I think what they’re doing right now is perfect, providing more stuff,” one said.
“Should be provided, but not mandatory,” another said.
“I’m happy with it,” another said. “There’s lots of good choices. I wear the socks. After what happened to Adam Johnson, we’re all looking to maybe wear something more. That’s an eye-opener for everyone.”
With the popular sentiment among NHLers as it is, some simply said they don’t see a realistic path forward.
“I’d love to say yes, because I would love to never see anyone get cut ever again,” one player said. “But I think that’s easier said than done.”
“It would be hard to implement,” another said. “Maybe in the future.”
One player posed a scenario in which the league would mandate cut-resistant equipment for the neck, wrists and ankles for a trial period before deciding.
“Maybe if it was required for a short period of time, so everyone has to try them at least a little bit, I think a lot of guys would stick with it,” he said. “Everyone should have their own choice, but I wouldn’t be against it if they said yes.”
“I think everybody should try it,” agreed another.
Among the players answering yes, the idea of getting players used to it before making a decision was popular.
“Once everybody got used to it, I feel like no one would care to use it or not,” one player said. “Everybody would be used to it already. Obviously, when you grow up, you use it. At one point, it’s like you don’t even notice that’s there. If it was always a thing, I think guys wouldn’t care at all to use.”
“We grew up playing with it,” another said. “It never bothered me or probably anyone else, either. If they brought it back, I think it’s a thing to get used to, and it might take some time, but if you do it in the summer, no one would be bothered by it once the season starts.”
“We did it in Sweden,” said a third. “It’s easy to do it here.”
And most saying yes were in favor of phasing it in over time. New players coming into the league would be mandated, and eventually that’d be everyone.
“Maybe start at the youth hockey level and make it mandatory there,” one player said. “Kind of incorporate it over the years, sort of. I think (young) Canadian players might have to. In America, we didn’t have to.”
“I think you’ve got to grandfather it in just like they did with visors,” another said.
“I think that would be a good idea,” said a third.
(Top photo of T.J. Oshie wearing a neck guard: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
CM Punk appeared on “Friday Night SmackDown” ready to take on any challenger that was ready to step to him after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.
Punk entered the ring in Oklahoma City and called back to the “Monday Night Raw” after WrestleMania 42 when he told Cody Rhodes he’d be ready to deliver if a championship opportunity fell “out of the sky.”
COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face off during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
“When championship opportunities fall out of the sky, CM Punk catches them,” he said.
Punk named potential SmackDown superstars he’d think might come for the title, including Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keys, Damian Priest and Trick Williams. He even said that Zayn could come back around and get his rematch if he wanted. He didn’t mention Rhodes’ name, but the “American Nightmare” came out uncalled and marched his way down to the ring.
“I don’t think you and I can run away from each other anymore,” Punk told Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes looks on during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
Rhodes agreed and mentioned that Punk would want a match with him, just “say when.” It was a quick retort from Punk, who said, “when.” SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, who was in the ring for the segment, booked the match for SummerSlam.
Punk will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, which takes place Aug. 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
First, however, Punk and Rhodes will be involved in a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City next week. Aldis made the match after Gunther demanded that Aldis put him in a match against Punk. Gunther was hoping it would be for the championship. Instead, Gunther will tag with Zayn.
Gunther didn’t take too kindly to that and attacked Aldis. Rhodes came back out to break up the calamity. He wanted to take on Gunther after the show went off air but Gunther walked away.
Gunther makes his entrance during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Punk definitely has his hands full as he moves to SmackDown to become a fighting champion.
World Cup tourists are coming to L.A. for the soccer, but they’re staying for the $21 smoothies and Double-Doubles.
As the last Los Angeles FIFA World Cup event ended Friday, soccer fans were eating like locals and famous chains from the region were cashing in.
In the weeks that L.A. has hosted the World Cup, international soccer enthusiasts have flocked to big brands from the area, often in large groups wearing their countries’ jerseys.
It is a phenomenon seen at many of the host cities. In Dallas, giant gas station Buc-ee’s is the main attraction. For people visiting New Jersey, deli shops have been a hot ticket. In L.A., the place to be between matches was Erewhon.
Thirsty international sports fans gathered for pictures outside different Erewhons, wandered their aisles smiling, and, of course, picked up pricey smoothies.
While Erewhon would not comment on its business, mobility data company Arity, which uses phone data to track consumers, said Erewhon visits at the outlets around SoFi Stadium were quadruple what they were a week earlier on June 12, the day of the U.S. national soccer team’s opening match there.
Arity looked at what stores people visited within a 10-mile radius of SoFi that day and also found surges in visitors to nearby El Pollo Loco and Trader Joe’s.
Locals have spotted groups of people in Korea jerseys huddled together, trying to decide what to order at In-N-Out.
Some complained on social media that international tourists at Trader Joe’s were buying up all the mini canvas tote bags.
Soon after the Belgium vs. Spain quarterfinal ended Friday, the In-N-Out near SoFi had a long line of soccer fans stretching out the door in bright red and yellow and black jerseys and matching striped hats and scarves.
One of the workers said he had to explain “spread” and “animal style” to foreign football fans.
“I didn’t know this place existed,” a fan from Romania said while waiting in line.
Los Angeles and other cities and states that have hosted the event need the soccer fans to spend money to make the event worth all the time, effort and money it requires.
A rosy 2024 report projected the World Cup could bring more than $800 million to the L.A. region as 180,000 people converge on the area to sleep, eat and spend.
There were early concerns people weren’t turning up for the event because of the high ticket prices and the difficulty of obtaining visas for citizens of some countries.
However, at least for some L.A. hotels, there was a surge of last-minute visitors which pushed up occupancy and room rates.
While sports fans are not in the region to shop, they do make time for it.
World Cup customer spending is also apparent in beer sales. Andrew Heritage, the chief economist at the Beer Institute said beer purchases at entertainment and attractions in L.A. – outside of World Cup spaces – were up around 10% from normal.
“That tells me that fans in the L.A. area have decided to extend their stay and take in all the other things that the area has to offer, rather than just the match itself,” he said.
On social media, the purpose of these shoppers is clear: grab a quick souvenir or local specialty and take a selfie.
The data from Arity suggests that fans are very efficient when they spend at local spots, diving in, getting what they want and getting out as soon as possible, said Jeff Schlitt, a director at the company.
“Normally you’re there for an hour. They’re going to be there for 15, 18 minutes,” he said. “Why is that? Because they were purpose-driven shoppers.”
For some travelers, the more popular American chains aren’t unfamiliar. But some of the native L.A. fare still comes as a surprise.
As one Belgium-Spain matchgoer from the Netherlands stood taking a picture of the In-N-Out sign after the game, he said he’d never had a burger like the one he’d just tried.
“We only have McDonald’s and Burger King,” he said. “It’s way better.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The face of baseball will not be at Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his start on Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers said he will also miss the Midsummer Classic with what the team called left knee irritation.
Ohtani, for obvious reasons, has become an All-Star Game fixture. He has earned the honor in each of the past five seasons and made his first start in 2021.
Starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up before the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 03, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The two-way phenom is on his way to winning his fifth MVP award in his last six seasons as he is hitting .290 with a .939 OPS and pitching to a minuscule 1.79 ERA, the second-lowest in the sport among pitchers with 80-plus innings. His OPS is also the seventh-best mark in the league.
The Dodgers said Ohtani will be the team’s designated hitter up until the break, but he will “have some interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season.”
Ohtani dealt with knee issues earlier in the season.
It is certainly a big hit for the game as the other face of the sport, Aaron Judge, will miss the game due to a fractured rib that has kept him out since late May.
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets ready in the on deck circle against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
DODGERS WILL AGAIN VISIT WHITE HOUSE TO CELEBRATE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP, OFFICIAL SAYS
Ohtani hit 99 home runs combined in 2024 and 2025, leading the National League with a 1.025 OPS in that span. Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 after elbow surgery but returned to the bump last year and owned a 2.87 ERA and 11.9 K/9, a figure he also put up in 2022 that led the American League.
The “Japanese Babe Ruth” is the only player in MLB history to have 300-plus plate appearances and 40-plus innings in six separate seasons (Ruth only did it twice and never stole 50 bases), and he has more than excelled at both.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Ohtani is not hitting like he has in the past, but certainly the best pitching performance of his career will make up for it. He “only” has 20 homers and 56 RBI this season.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Massachusetts6 minutes agoOfficials ID man and woman killed in Route 6 crash in Dartmouth
-
Minnesota9 minutes agoMinnesota weather: Warm Saturday with hotter days ahead
-
Mississippi14 minutes agoTracking Mississippi State baseball players, signees picked in 2026 MLB Draft
-
Missouri21 minutes agoMissouri pushes for more nuclear energy to power the future
-
Montana24 minutes ago
Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Big Sky Bonus results for July 10, 2026
-
Nebraska29 minutes agoNebraska has two players honored by the Big Ten Conference on Thursday
-
Nevada36 minutes agoPlanetary parade this weekend — when to see it in Northern Nevada
-
New Hampshire39 minutes ago9 Most Hospitable Towns In New Hampshire
