Dr. Michael Stuart can still remember it nearly 26 years later.
It was Halloween night in 1998.
The play was an innocent one, typical of a hockey game, but it nearly cost him his life.
Stuart's son, Mike, a freshman defenseman at the University of Colorado, was playing in just his fourth game of Division I hockey in a game against Alaska Anchorage at the Tigers' home rink at the time, the World Arena in Colorado Springs.
Mike Stewart was trying to make a simple play with the puck when a Seawolves player lost his balance, his feet went flying through the air, and he tumbled to the ice. Stewart was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the blade of the opposing player's skate sliced through his throat, causing what Dr. Stewart called a “full-thickness laceration.” In other words, the skate cut through two layers of Mike Stewart's skin, cutting through the tissue, muscle and bone that the skin protects.
“I was lucky that I didn't sever any important tissue,” Dr. Stewart told the Post-Bulletin last December. “I finally made it down to the locker room, urged on by my wife (Nancy) and my parents, who had come to watch the game with us. I didn't want to be the doting orthopedic surgeon dad, but they put in 22 stitches and we played the following weekend at Mariucci Arena against the Gophers.”
“Again, we were lucky. This was what we call a potentially catastrophic injury and we take it very seriously. The headline in the Colorado Springs Gazette was something like, 'Stuart suffers most terrifying Halloween injury ever.' Thankfully, he ended up OK. It could have been tragic.”
Mike Stewart played four seasons at the University of Colorado, was a fifth-round NHL draft pick by the Nashville Predators in 2000, and played eight seasons of professional hockey, including several games with the St. Louis Blues in the NHL.
But that “potentially devastating injury” has stayed with his father since that day in 1998. And it's a key reason why Dr. Stewart, the longtime co-director of Mayo Clinic's Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine who retires on Jan. 3, 2024, has been lobbying the United States Hockey Association for years to require neck protection for all players, officials and coaches who take the ice for practices and games.
To some extent, Stuart's wish was granted.
Beginning Thursday, August 1, 2024, USA Hockey will require all players under the age of 18 and on-ice officials to wear anti-neck laceration equipment. This mandate includes players in the youth, women's and junior age divisions. The decision was passed on January 28, 2024, at the USA Hockey Congress, which coincidentally took place in Colorado Springs.
“Safety has always been at the forefront of our discussions and our legislative actions reflect that,” U.S. Hockey Association president Mike Trimboli said in late January. “We appreciate the hard work of the Safety and Protective Equipment Committee, led by Dr. Mike Stewart, and the many others who worked on the overall evaluation process.”
USA Hockey has long recommended the use of laceration protection for necks and cut-resistant sleeves, socks and tights, and the bill passed in January also includes language saying the use of neck protection is strongly recommended for adult players.
Clint Austin/Duluth News Tribune
The national debate over neck protection gained momentum last October when Adam Johnson, a Hibbing, Minnesota, native and former University of Minnesota Duluth star, died after being cut in the neck by an opposing team's skate during a professional ice hockey game in the U.K. Johnson's death comes less than three years after Teddy Barkindo, a sophomore at St. Luke's in Connecticut, died on Jan. 12, 2022, after falling onto the ice and inadvertently cutting his neck during a game as a junior.
“I've been interested in this for a long time and wanting to prevent these injuries,” said Dr. Stewart, who also serves as USA Hockey's chief medical officer. “But you can't simplify this. You have to look at the medical evidence. You have to look at the research. You have to work together as a hockey community, and that includes not only medical professionals, but equipment manufacturers, officials, players, parents, everyone involved.”
Dr. Stewart has heard both pros and cons, but from a medical perspective he strongly supports that players and officials of all ages need to protect their necks, arms and legs at all times during games and practice.
“For example, for adults, the risk is extremely small, but from a medical standpoint you can't differentiate by age, gender or level of play because the risk is still there,” he said. “When you have 12 people on the ice at one time, each person is wearing two skates. Each skate has two blades. So from a medical standpoint, you can't say that bantams have to wear them but high school students shouldn't.”
The Post-Bulletin spoke with more than a dozen coaches and high school hockey players about the new neck-guard mandate, and while there were varying levels of willingness to comply (some players said they barely noticed any difference or discomfort with the neck protection, while others wore them during practice this summer and still found them uncomfortable), those surveyed unanimously agreed that the rule is in place for good reasons and that players will eventually get used to having something around their necks.
An internet search reveals that the cost of neck protection ranges from about $25 for neck protection alone to $150 for a top-of-the-line long-sleeve shirt with neck and arm/wrist protection. Cut-resistant socks cost about $20 to $50.
“I wear it all the time,” said Hannah Peterson, a soon-to-be Dodge County High School senior who has worn a neck-protecting mask for the past two seasons, “It's just a matter of getting used to it. Obviously it's a big change, but I think it's really important.”
“I know some people love it and some people hate it.”
Peterson said she was cut once by a skate blade during a game — it went across her arm, but “it wasn't very deep,” she said — but that, and the way she liked the look of the laceration shirt, prompted her to start wearing an extra layer of protection.
“Sometimes teammates will jump over the boards and kick you,” she said. “It's scary to think of a skate that close to your head because you have a bad neck, but it happens. I've seen and experienced a lot of close calls.”
Nora Karstensen, a teammate and classmate of Peterson's, had never worn a neck protector or a long-sleeve shirt with a built-in neck protector before, but she said she tried different types during summer practices and understands why people wear them, even though they can be hotter and more uncomfortable.
“If we have to wear them, we will, but we know it's good for us,” Carstensen said. “I understand why the rule was made and it's a great thing to keep the players safe.”
Dodge County head coach Jeremy Gunderson said he is fully in support of the new rule, although he said that while the neck protectors won't eliminate injuries, he hopes they will reduce their severity.
Coach Gunderson had his players try out different types of neck protectors during summer practices to let them know what to expect when the high school season begins in late October.
“It's about player safety,” he said. “I can't believe that players, especially goalies, have never had any obligations before. They're on their knees a lot and skate blades are flying around them all the time.”
Post Bulletin file photo
Rochester Lourdes defenseman Owen Barkley has been wearing neck protection for years. Though it wasn't necessarily his choice, Barkley said he hasn't experienced any discomfort or issues with the extra layer of equipment.
“It was mainly my dad's suggestion, and obviously for safety reasons,” said Barkley, who was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a neck protector. “On the ice, I don't think about it at all. It's not uncomfortable. It doesn't bother me at all.”
Barkley said he has seen players and teammates get cut on their legs, but never on their upper body.
“I think it's a good thing,” he said of the mandate. “I know some people aren't comfortable with wearing masks, but I think it's necessary to make us safer on the ice. There's always a little bit of fear, and this will give us a little bit more protection.”
Lourdes head coach Jeff True is a strong advocate of not only neck protection, but arm and leg protection as well. True has seen serious injuries caused by skate blades both as a player at Grand Rapids High School and as a coach at Lourdes.
“In a high school game,” True says, “one of my friends and teammates cut his neck pretty badly. He was bleeding a lot, but luckily nothing important was cut and he was OK.”
“A player I coached, Montana Streit, I think in 2015, got stepped on on his wrist while trying to get the puck behind the goal. He was taken in an ambulance to the emergency room and had to sit out a few weeks. So I've seen some pretty severe injuries over the years.”
True encouraged Lourdes players to try out different types and brands of neck guards over the summer to get as comfortable as possible before the high school season begins in November.
“I'm a pretty old school thinker when it comes to the game of hockey, but this … has been proven to prevent injuries and prevent fatalities,” he said. “Given what's happened over the last few years, why not do this?”
“I'm pleased that USA Hockey has taken this step. I'm pleased that the Minnesota High School League has adopted this measure and that we can implement it. First and foremost, the safety of our players must be our number one priority.”
