Erik Karlsson Calls Out Other NHL Stars for Not Wearing a Neck Guard
Erik Karlsson has had a crazy summer, being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following the death of former Penguin Adam Johnson, he has made a decision.
Karlsson Shows Off His New Neck Guard at Practice
The tragic death of Adam Johnson, which occured when he was struck in the neck by the skate of his opponent, shook the hockey world to its core.
The former Pittsburgh Penguin has been honoured around the world, and many professional hockey players have opted to wear a neck guard. Rasmus Dahlin was the first star to join the cause, and now, $11.5-million defenseman and 3-time Norris winner Erik Karlsson has joined him.
Karlsson made these emotional comments:
"Just trying it out, it is available for us. I don't think it is a bad thing, and I'll probably try it out for a bit and see if I can get accustomed to it and go from there.
The magnitude of the situation that unfortunately happened puts a lot of things in perspective. We all have families and friends - we do this because we love to do this and we get paid well to do it and stuff like that...
At the end of the day, we do it 'cause it's a choice... I don't think anyone would keep doing it if it meant risking your life every day going out there. If you can wear a small piece of equipment to hopefully prevent something like that again, I think that's a win...
We're going to try it out like I said for the foreseeable future and see if I can wear it regularly, I hope I can - and I hope more and more guys try to do the same at least."
The magnitude of the situation that unfortunately happened puts a lot of things in perspective. We all have families and friends - we do this because we love to do this and we get paid well to do it and stuff like that...
At the end of the day, we do it 'cause it's a choice... I don't think anyone would keep doing it if it meant risking your life every day going out there. If you can wear a small piece of equipment to hopefully prevent something like that again, I think that's a win...
We're going to try it out like I said for the foreseeable future and see if I can wear it regularly, I hope I can - and I hope more and more guys try to do the same at least."
Hopefully Karlsson is a trendsetter, and more NHLers will add the safety equipment. The only proper way to honour Adam Johnson's legacy is to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 2 | 189 ANSWERS Erik Karlsson Calls Out Other NHL Stars for Not Wearing a Neck Guard Do you think neckguards should be mandatory? | ||
| Yes | 145 | 76.7 % |
| No | 44 | 23.3 % |
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