The Pittsburgh Penguins will mandate neck protection for their AHL and ECHL teams while urging players at the NHL level will do the same, coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Tuesday.
The decision to mandate neck protection for farm teams comes days after the death of former Penguins forward Adam Johnson. He was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) when his throat was cut by a skate blade during a collision in a Champions Cup game Saturday against the Sheffield Steelers.
Johnson was an undrafted college free agent who left Minnesota-Duluth after two seasons before signing with the Penguins organization. He played 13 NHL games for the Penguins between 2019 and 2020 while also playing 185 games for their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Penguins.
Sullivan told reporters that the W/B-S Penguins along with the ECHL affiliate Wheeling Nailers will start requiring that players wear both neck protection and wrist protection as a precautionary measure.
Sullivan said the Penguins are strongly suggesting their players do the same considering that mandates cannot be made at the NHL level without the approval from the NHL Players' Association.
"As a league, we can work toward developing just more options for guys in the protective department with respect to these areas," Sullivan said after practice, according to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Hopefully, there will be an initiative here moving forward. That could be one of the positive things that could come out of this terrible, terrible tragedy."
On Monday, the Penguins were joined by the Anaheim Ducks at center ice for a pregame tribute. Johnson's photo was displayed on the scoreboard with a spotlight on center ice. There was also a video tribute of Johnson's NHL debut along with his first NHL goal. In lieu of a moment of silence, the Penguins requested the crowd cheer for Johnson with players tapping their sticks around the center circle.
The Penguins' decision to mandate neck and wrist protection for their minor league teams comes a day after the English Ice Hockey Association announced that neck guards and protectors will become mandatory starting in 2024.
The EIHA's announcement was part of a three-step plan.
The first step is a short-term recommendation that players throughout all levels of English Ice Hockey use neck guards and protectors when they are on the ice before it becomes mandatory in 2024.
The second step is a medium-term recommendation to be made within the next year that the EIHA conduct a review to consider all aspects of player safety equipment.
The third step is an ongoing recommendation that the EIHA provide its membership with "clear guidance" on the continual discussion regarding the improvement of player safety and their duties within that area.