Adam Johnson’s tragic death during a UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) game last Saturday in Sheffield has created reverberations across the ice hockey world and, unlike previous incidents, may finally prove the catalyst for widespread change when it comes to protective equipment.
The Nottingham Panther died after sustaining a throat laceration during the second period in a Challenge Cup game against the Sheffield Steelers. The incident, which has been described by the Panthers club and others around the hockey world as a “freak accident”, is indeed a rare occurrence, despite the sport’s speed, physical contact and players’ razor-sharp skate blades. But it is not the first of its kind.
