From a freak accident on the ice taking a skate to the neck:
OT: Former NHL player Adam Johnson killed during hockey game
- Thread starter Ronnie_B
- Start date
Neck guards, people. We need to wear neck guards. They are cheap and they work.
Yep I've been telling myself for years I should get one after a teammate got his neck cut by a skate, no idea why that wasn't enough to fully convince me, I guess because it fortunately missed his jugular and carotid artery so he was fine, but I'm getting one now. They are already required in amateur hockey in Canada and Sweden. USA Hockey just "recommends" wearing one even though there was a high school player in Connecticut that died from the same thing in January 2022.
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Defenseman in red (I found the vid) is an idiot for putting himself in that position. He tried to keep his one foot on the ice like he’s some kind of figure skater. Terrible.
At a certain point you transition to just trying to fall in a controlled manner.
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I just saw the video too, didn't watch the whole thing, but yeah it definitely looked like a pretty reckless play. While you're on the ice you never really think of something like this happening though, and I can't imagine being that guy now.
RIP. Horrible story. We used to wear the Cooper version in the last 80’s when I played. I really don’t see anyone wearing them anymore.
When I used to go to the UK on business Pre-Covid, I got to know a bunch of the Cardiff players since I was in Bristol UK all the time. Bristol is not far from Cardiff. Most of the players used to hang out in Bristol since it was a fun town with all the pubs. Not an easy life but they were enjoying life.
The tMB thread on this was removed because of the graphic TiK Tok linked in it.
I didn’t watch.
Both my boys played college hockey. Younger one still does.
Older one had a teammate get his thigh sliced open from a skate. Got him just above the knee/shin guard and below the shell (pants). He made our okay. One of the kids on the bench threw up when he got a good look at it. Really clean slice thru the muscle and some fat.
As a parent it’s always back in my mind. Waaaaayyyy back, but it’s there.
I didn’t watch.
Both my boys played college hockey. Younger one still does.
Older one had a teammate get his thigh sliced open from a skate. Got him just above the knee/shin guard and below the shell (pants). He made our okay. One of the kids on the bench threw up when he got a good look at it. Really clean slice thru the muscle and some fat.
As a parent it’s always back in my mind. Waaaaayyyy back, but it’s there.
That happened in an SPHL game in 2014. I'll probably never forget watching the video, hearing his screams as he left a trail of blood on the ice while trying to get back to the bench until he eventually just stayed down. The cut was an inch and a half deep and six inches wide but fortunately didn't hit any arteries, so he just needed stitches.
After doing some research today on the best neck guard, I ordered myself one of these. There was an independent study done, sponsored by USA Hockey, testing the effectiveness of various neck guards, and it was the only one that was not torn by a skate blade during the test. It uses a material called Spectra that is more rip-resistant than Kevlar, and a lot of reviews say it is more comfortable and less bulky than the neck guards put out by the big names like CCM, Bauer, etc.
Figured I'd share in case anyone else is looking to buy one for themselves or their kids.
Oof here is a clip of it. I don’t think the guy did this with the intent of killing him but the play certainly seemed reckless. Apparently the guy was a goon who hit him. Need to see the whole play leading up to this. Such a shame. Prayers to his family.
The person behind that Twitter account is just trying to stir up controversy and probably never played hockey before. Petgrave was attempting to throw a normal bodycheck, Johnson made a quick move to avoid it, and Petgrave got tangled up with another player which caused him to lose his balance and his leg to fly up. MAYBE once that happened he meant to leave his leg in Johnson's way to disrupt the zone entry, but that's a huge maybe and there's no way he meant to kick him in the neck. Even if he did mean it, to execute it that perfectly with both guys moving like that is almost impossible. The fact that he's a goon is irrelevant. There are guys who play rough, throw dirty hits, etc, but there's a massive difference between that and trying to end someone's life.
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My Son's team has kids on it from all over the Country.
Pretty sure the guy from Minnesota wears that one. Or something similar.
My son played travel for 10 years (Squirt through U-20 Juniors) and he wore the Skate Armor for a long time. Does a really good job IMHO. In NJ, NJSIAA requires neck guards, but USA Hockey as correctly pointed out does not. It's big argument with a lot of kids as they get older. My compromise with my son was his "undershirt" had the guard built in.
The more I look at that, the more intentional it looks. That is not a hockey play in any form or fashion.
That video conveniently misses the part where he's lined up and leaning in for a normal bodycheck until he bumps into another player and loses his balance, and it also misses Petgrave immediately looking back at Johnson with concern. Petgrave was crying his eyes out on the ice while the medical staff was tending to Johnson. Certainly reckless and he should have used more care when he stumbled, but there's not a chance he was trying to slice his throat. Not even the most ruthless goons in hockey's history would think to do something like that. Not to mention if he was actually trying to slice his throat, there are easier ways to do it than this.
That twitter account is trying to push the narrative that Petgrave is some sort of criminal. He led the league in PIMs last year, but he also put up almost a point per game as a defenseman, so it's not like he's some sort of thug going out there just looking to injure people.
I saw the original vid and this vid definitely looks very different because of the edit.
After reviewing this it looks like he intentionally raised his leg up. If he did I dont know how hes gonna live with himself
I guess this is automatic when situations like this happen but is this because of that hint of actual wrong-doing or just standard protocol?
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38780605/adam-johnson-death-police-investigation-england
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38780605/adam-johnson-death-police-investigation-england
I’ve never seen a player do what he did.
It's not anything close to a hip check, it's one of the most egregious looking hits I've ever seen in hockey. Crying doesn't absolve him of his actions, even if he didn't mean to murder Johnson.
I've never seen a player fly through the air and kung-fu kick another skater in open ice.
He didn't lose his balance, he slowed down to leap at the puck handler (Johnson) in an incredibly dangerous and negligent way, with his leg out and blade exposed in the direction of Johnson's neck. In the clip you can see he goes behind Johnson's teammate intentionally for the hit. He should be charged with Manslaughter.
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Murder 2. He intended to harm.
You at least charge that and then take a Man-1 plea. That's what Law and Order taught me.
"Second-degree murder is typically murder with malicious intent but not premeditated. The mens rea of the defendant is intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, or act with an abandoned heart (e.g., reckless conduct lacking concern for human life or having a high risk of death)."
You at least charge that and then take a Man-1 plea. That's what Law and Order taught me.
This exactly. He leaned forward and purposely (read intentionally) brought his leg up. My thought is there's no way he wanted to make contact that high up but it was extremely reckless. It's a bush league attempt to slow Johnson from skating unimpeded through the zone with a leg block and getting a clean shot on goal.
I never said he was going for a hip check, he was going for a typical bodycheck with his shoulder. If you look at the video that starts sooner than the short clip that End Wokeness account put out, you see his arm tucked in and he's leaning in a way to hit him with his shoulder. Then that gets disrupted by the other player who skates between them and makes contact with Petgrave, which causes him to lose his balance. Perhaps he extended his leg out to try to impede Johnson's zone entry, but there's no way he was trying to kick him in the neck.
This idea that he intentionally kicked him in the throat is being primarily pushed by websites and Twitter accounts that have nothing to do with hockey or even sports, and based on their previous content, just want to make this a story about a black person killing a white person. It's so predictable which posters on this forum are echoing that sentiment. People who have never played hockey in their lives thinking they know exactly what was going through a hockey player's mind.
Do you even play hockey?
This is from one of Johnson's teammates.
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You’re the only one who thought about the players skin colors. Bad job by you
You should retract that asap.
The issue is if you’re that off balance you tuck and fall in a somewhat controlled manner. With or without the injury that action should be made a major and at least a multi-game misconduct penalty if the rule book doesn’t address this type of play. A rule change should be made so that defenders don't attempt such desperate measures.
This cip shows a little more:
"I apologize for taking a break from my normal content, but this incident needs exposure.
I've played hockey my whole life, I've NEVER seen anything even remotely close to this sick and gruesome.
The attacker Matt Petgrave (player in red, pictured below, left) purposefully kicks the victim Adam Johnson (player in white, pictured below, right) with his skate directly in the throat. Adam unfortunately died from his injuries.
At this point, Petgrave has not been arrested and has yet to face any consequences. Meanwhile the disgusting mainstream press is calling this a "freak accident". I can assure you there is no possible way this was an accident. Your body doesn't move like this on the ice, this was an attempted side kick to the throat that resulted in a man's death. Please share if you are able."
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The titanium blades are so sharp... and he didn't have to want to murder in order to be charged for murder.. see drunk driving
Jeez...the sharpness of the blade isn't determined by what type of metal it is, it's determined by what hollow each player asks them to be sharpened to. Skate blades have two parallel edges with the space between them rounded out . The hollow is the radius of a circle that would fit flush against the bottom of the blade. Some prefer a wider hollow for more glide and less grip, others prefer a narrow hollow for more grip and less glide. You can get any hollow you want on any type of skate blade, titanium blades aren't any sharper, they just hold their edge longer, but since many pros get their skates sharpened before every game or sometimes even before every period, that doesn't make a difference. Either way, even the dullest of skate blades is sharp enough to cut through skin. So many people acting like they're experts on a topic they know nothing about.
Tell that to the experts who claim titanium has made a much more dangerous situation. I also think those experts all have your blade-sharpening knowledge.
"Jeez", indeed. I provided the link to what the experts were saying. It was not my uneducated opinion. But, nice strawman.
"He continued by saying that the titanium-thin blades that are on players' skates should be reevaluated by the sport."
Also saw a video of experts discussing it. I guess it is more "thinness" than "sharpness' they were discussing.. titanium allowing the blades to be strong and thin.
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The "expert" you are referring to is Sean Avery. There's a reason you mostly see him quoted in places like Newsweek and Vogue and not any actual credible source of hockey information. I've been sharpening skates for almost 15 years and I can tell you any skate blade can cut through skin, traditional steel blades are just as dangerous as titanium. They are also the same dimensions, titanium blades aren't thinner. I don't know that there is a way to make blades safer while keeping them practical, I think the answer is neck guards and wrist guards--or at least go back to old school gloves with cuffs that actually reach the bottom of the elbow pads.
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