Thesis: Although most hockey athlete believes that by wearing required equipment keeps them safe from injury, however I believe that these regulations should be stricter because of the severity of recent and past injuries.
Introduction: Are equipment regulations enough to keep our hockey athletes safe?
I. Injuries
a. Richard Zednik
b. Clint Malarchuk
c. Bill Masterton
II. History of Equipment
a. Pre 1950
b. 1960-1970
c. 1970-1980
d. 1980-1990
Meredith
e. 1990-2000
III. Current Equipment regulations
a. Neck Guards
b. Helmets
c. Goalie masks
IV. Neck Guard Debate
a. Pros
b. Cons
Conclusions: Will it take a death to make NHL officials change there minds on the policies regarding neck guards like they did with helmets after the death of Bill Masterton.
Meredith
Are current equipment regulations enough to keep our hockey athletes safe? I ask this after the life threatening injury that recently occurred here in Buffalo. However this isn’t the first time that the NHL (National Hockey League) has seen injuries of this magnitude. What were these injuries? How did they affect the NHL rules? What kind of rules are in place today? What is the NHL doing about neck guards? These questions and more will be answered as we take a look into NHL injuries, the history of equipment regulations, current equipment regulations, and the debate over neck guards. It was Sunday, February 10, 2008 here in Buffalo at the HSBC Arena. The Buffalo Sabres were playing the Florida Panthers. Thousands of spectators cheered as Buffalo took a 4-3 lead. The puck flew down the ice to the corner left of goaltender Ryan Miller. Players from both team rushed after the puck, 10 minutes and 4 seconds into the 3rd period Florida forward Olli Jokinen and Sabres forward Clarke MacArthur crashed sending Olli Jokinen head first into the ice and his right foot into the air. This is a normal occurrence in the NHL. However, tonight was a different night in the NHL. As
Cited: “Ruff on neck guards: ‘I would endorse them.” Buffalo News. 11 Feb. 2008