Hockey helmet
Encyclopedia
A hockey helmet is worn by players of ice hockey
and inline hockey
to help protect the head from potential injury
when hit by the puck
, sticks
, skates, boards, other players, or the ice.
s grip the head from inside by cupping the back of head, or the occipital protuberance
. Helmet manufacturers will have a chart that relates their helmet sizes to head measurements.
Most helmets have tool-free adjustments, but on older models, the helmet size is adjusted by loosening the screws on the side to slide the front portion forward or back.
The shell of a hockey helmet is made of a substance called vinyl nitrile that disperses force from the point of contact, while the liner may be made of either vinyl nitrile foam or expanded polypropylene foam to absorbs the energy, to reduce the chances of concussion.
In August 1979, then president of the National Hockey League
(NHL), John Ziegler
, announced that protective helmets would become mandatory in the NHL. "The introduction of the helmet rule will be an additional safety factor," he said. The only exception to the rule are players—after signing a waiver form—who signed pro contracts prior to June 1, 1979. Essentially, this grandfather clause
allowed hockey's veterans to choose whether or not they wanted to wear helmets but forced all new players to wear them.
The first player to regularly wear a helmet for protective purposes was George Owen
, who played for the Boston Bruins
in 1928–29. The last player to play without a helmet was Craig MacTavish
who last played during the 1996–97 season for the St. Louis Blues
.
In 1927, Barney Stanley
presented a prototype of a helmet at the NHL's annual meeting. It was quickly rejected. Other than George Owen a year later, the helmet didn't appear again until after the infamous Ace Bailey–Eddie Shore incident on December 12, 1933, as a result of which Bailey almost died and Shore suffered a severe head injury. After that, Art Ross
engineered a new helmet design and when the Boston Bruins
took to the ice in a game against the Ottawa Senators
, most of the players donned the new helmet. The next game, though, most of the Bruin players didn't wear it. Eddie Shore was one of the players who did wear it, though. Shore would wear a helmet for the rest of his career.
In the 1930s, the Toronto Maple Leaf
players were ordered to add helmets to their equipment. A few minutes into the first game with the new helmets, King Clancy
flung his helmet off. The fans, media, and other players berated players who did wear helmets. A few players, such as Des Smith
, Bill Mosienko
, Dit Clapper
, and Don Gallinger
all ignored the stigma and donned helmets. Even Maurice "Rocket" Richard
and Elmer Lach
briefly wore helmets. Jack Crawford
wore a helmet to hide his bald head and Charlie Burns
and Ted Green
wore them to protect the metal plates in their heads. Paul Henderson
famously put on a helmet in the 1972 Summit Series after being hit in the head. All of the Russians in that series wore helmets. Helmets did not have the same stigma in European leagues that they did in North American leagues.
It was not until the death of Bill Masterton
that the stigma started to change. On January 13, 1968 in a game between the Minnesota North Stars
and Oakland Seals, two Seals' players, Larry Cahan
and Ron Harris
, hit Masterton, sending him flying. Masterton's head hit the ice hard. With blood running from his nose and ears, he was rushed to the hospital. Four doctors worked for 30 hours to try to save him, but were unsuccessful as he died of "massive brain injury". Eleven years later, the NHL mandated the use of helmets. By that time, 70% of players were already wearing them.
. Visors cover the upper half of the face, while full face shields cover the entire face. There is currently a great debate about whether NHL players should be forced to wear visors like they are with helmets. A series of eye injuries, most notably that to Bryan Berard
, have led to a call from many to enforce their wearing. Currently 60% of NHL players wear visors. Many other leagues around the world mandate the use of visors. Visors and shields, made of a high impact-resistant plastic, offer better overall vision than the wire cages available, which can obscure vision in certain areas. The face shield provides excellent straight ahead and peripheral vision, but does not provide as good air flow as the cage. This can cause the shield to fog up during play.
The American Hockey League
, the top minor league in North America required all players to wear shields prior to the start of the 2006–07 season. The NHL "strongly recommends" them, and most players do wear them.
The first player to wear a shield was Greg Neeld
in 1973, after he had lost his left eye due to an opponent's high stick.
A cage in ice hockey is a device attached to the front of a helmet to reduce potential of injury to the face
. It consists of a metal or composite mesh that covers the entire face, although some half cages do exist (to protect the eyes while allowing full airflow). The bars, or cage, are spaced far enough apart to allow seeing through to the action but are close enough to stop pucks and sticks from getting through to injure the face.
Some manufacturers now offer the best of both designs—a plastic face shield to protect the eyes and upper part of the face, and a cage to cover the lower jaw and to add ventilation. Full facial protection is mandatory in many amateur leagues and in North America, full face cages, full shields, or shield & cage combination are mandatory in high school hockey, college hockey, and for all players under the age of 18.
published a study identifying the protection offered against concussions between the half-face shield and the full face shield. The use of a full face shield compared with half face shield significantly reduced the playing time lost because of concussion, suggesting that concussion severity may be reduced by the use of a full face shield.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and inline hockey
Inline hockey
Inline hockey, often referred to as roller hockey in the United States, is a sport similar to ice hockey but played with inline skates. Like its parent sport, skaters on two teams use hockey sticks to direct a disk-shaped puck into the opponent's goal; however, various details of the game, such as...
to help protect the head from potential injury
Injury
-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...
when hit by the puck
Hockey puck
A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...
, sticks
Hockey stick
A hockey stick is a piece of equipment used in field hockey, ice hockey or roller hockey to move the ball or puck.- Field hockey :Field hockey sticks have an end which varies in shape, often depending on the players position...
, skates, boards, other players, or the ice.
Construction
Hockey helmetHelmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
s grip the head from inside by cupping the back of head, or the occipital protuberance
External occipital protuberance
Near the middle of the occipital squama is the external occipital protuberance, and extending lateralward from it on either side is the superior nuchal line, and above this the faintly marked highest nuchal line.It is less pronounced in females....
. Helmet manufacturers will have a chart that relates their helmet sizes to head measurements.
Most helmets have tool-free adjustments, but on older models, the helmet size is adjusted by loosening the screws on the side to slide the front portion forward or back.
The shell of a hockey helmet is made of a substance called vinyl nitrile that disperses force from the point of contact, while the liner may be made of either vinyl nitrile foam or expanded polypropylene foam to absorbs the energy, to reduce the chances of concussion.
Helmets in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL), John Ziegler
John Ziegler (sports administrator)
John A. Ziegler, Jr was the fourth president of the National Hockey League.In 1977, Ziegler became the fourth president of the NHL, succeeding Clarence Campbell...
, announced that protective helmets would become mandatory in the NHL. "The introduction of the helmet rule will be an additional safety factor," he said. The only exception to the rule are players—after signing a waiver form—who signed pro contracts prior to June 1, 1979. Essentially, this grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
allowed hockey's veterans to choose whether or not they wanted to wear helmets but forced all new players to wear them.
The first player to regularly wear a helmet for protective purposes was George Owen
George Owen (ice hockey)
Harvard George Owen Jr. was a professional ice hockey defenceman for the Boston Bruins of the NHL. He was also elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1928, Owen became the first player to wear a helmet in an NHL game. He wore the same leather helmet that he had worn when...
, who played for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
in 1928–29. The last player to play without a helmet was Craig MacTavish
Craig MacTavish
Craig "MacT" MacTavish is the current head coach of the American Hockey League Chicago Wolves and a former ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League. He played centre for 19 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis...
who last played during the 1996–97 season for the St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...
.
In 1927, Barney Stanley
Barney Stanley
Russell "Barney" Stanley was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Calgary Tigers, Regina Capitals and Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hockey League...
presented a prototype of a helmet at the NHL's annual meeting. It was quickly rejected. Other than George Owen a year later, the helmet didn't appear again until after the infamous Ace Bailey–Eddie Shore incident on December 12, 1933, as a result of which Bailey almost died and Shore suffered a severe head injury. After that, Art Ross
Art Ross
Arthur Howey "Art" Ross was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice rather than pass it to a forward...
engineered a new helmet design and when the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
took to the ice in a game against the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
, most of the players donned the new helmet. The next game, though, most of the Bruin players didn't wear it. Eddie Shore was one of the players who did wear it, though. Shore would wear a helmet for the rest of his career.
In the 1930s, the Toronto Maple Leaf
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
players were ordered to add helmets to their equipment. A few minutes into the first game with the new helmets, King Clancy
King Clancy
Francis Michael "King" Clancy was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams and won All-Star honours...
flung his helmet off. The fans, media, and other players berated players who did wear helmets. A few players, such as Des Smith
Des Smith (ice hockey)
Desmond Patrick Smith was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League . He was the father of two sons Brian and Gary who also played in the NHL.-Pre-NHL career:...
, Bill Mosienko
Bill Mosienko
William Mosienko was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks. He is best noted for recording the fastest hat trick in NHL history...
, Dit Clapper
Dit Clapper
Aubrey Victor "Dit" Clapper was a Canadian Hall of Fame ice hockey player....
, and Don Gallinger
Don Gallinger
Donald Calvin "Gabby" Gallinger was a professional ice hockey player who played 222 games in the National Hockey League. Born in Port Colborne, Ontario, he played for the Boston Bruins. Gallinger was one of the league's youngest players when he broke into the NHL, playing on the "Sprout Line" of...
all ignored the stigma and donned helmets. Even Maurice "Rocket" Richard
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...
and Elmer Lach
Elmer Lach
Elmer James Lach is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League. He was part of the Punch line, along with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. He led the league in scoring twice, and was awarded the Hart Memorial...
briefly wore helmets. Jack Crawford
Jack Crawford (ice hockey)
John Shea "Jack" Crawford was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He was born in Dublin, Ontario.Crawford started his National Hockey League career with the Boston Bruins in 1938. He would also play his entire career with the Bruins and retired after the 1950 season. In 1943 and 1946, he was a...
wore a helmet to hide his bald head and Charlie Burns
Charlie Burns (ice hockey)
Charles Frederick Burns is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars...
and Ted Green
Ted Green
Edward Joseph "Terrible Ted" Green is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and former player. Green played defence for the NHL Boston Bruins and the WHA New England Whalers and Winnipeg Jets, notable for his hard rock play...
wore them to protect the metal plates in their heads. Paul Henderson
Paul Henderson
Paul Henderson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A left winger, Henderson played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames...
famously put on a helmet in the 1972 Summit Series after being hit in the head. All of the Russians in that series wore helmets. Helmets did not have the same stigma in European leagues that they did in North American leagues.
Bill Masterton
William J. Masterton was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey centre who played one season in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota North Stars before succumbing to an injury he suffered during a game against the Oakland Seals in 1968...
that the stigma started to change. On January 13, 1968 in a game between the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
and Oakland Seals, two Seals' players, Larry Cahan
Larry Cahan
Lawrence Louis Henry "Hank" Cahan , nicknamed Hank, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in several Canadian and U.S...
and Ron Harris
Ron Harris (ice hockey)
Ronald Thomas Harris is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 476 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals, Atlanta Flames, and New York Rangers....
, hit Masterton, sending him flying. Masterton's head hit the ice hard. With blood running from his nose and ears, he was rushed to the hospital. Four doctors worked for 30 hours to try to save him, but were unsuccessful as he died of "massive brain injury". Eleven years later, the NHL mandated the use of helmets. By that time, 70% of players were already wearing them.
Visors and shields
A visor or shield in ice hockey is a device attached to the front of a helmet to reduce potential of injury to the faceFace
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
. Visors cover the upper half of the face, while full face shields cover the entire face. There is currently a great debate about whether NHL players should be forced to wear visors like they are with helmets. A series of eye injuries, most notably that to Bryan Berard
Bryan Berard
Bryan Wallace Berard is a former American professional ice hockey player. He was the first overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He is most noted for a debilitating eye injury he received early in his career...
, have led to a call from many to enforce their wearing. Currently 60% of NHL players wear visors. Many other leagues around the world mandate the use of visors. Visors and shields, made of a high impact-resistant plastic, offer better overall vision than the wire cages available, which can obscure vision in certain areas. The face shield provides excellent straight ahead and peripheral vision, but does not provide as good air flow as the cage. This can cause the shield to fog up during play.
The American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, the top minor league in North America required all players to wear shields prior to the start of the 2006–07 season. The NHL "strongly recommends" them, and most players do wear them.
The first player to wear a shield was Greg Neeld
Greg Neeld
Greg Neeld is a retired ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Toronto Toros. He lost his left eye after being high-sticked in a junior game in 1973. Neeld became the first player to wear a facial shield in regular play...
in 1973, after he had lost his left eye due to an opponent's high stick.
Full facial protection
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
. It consists of a metal or composite mesh that covers the entire face, although some half cages do exist (to protect the eyes while allowing full airflow). The bars, or cage, are spaced far enough apart to allow seeing through to the action but are close enough to stop pucks and sticks from getting through to injure the face.
Some manufacturers now offer the best of both designs—a plastic face shield to protect the eyes and upper part of the face, and a cage to cover the lower jaw and to add ventilation. Full facial protection is mandatory in many amateur leagues and in North America, full face cages, full shields, or shield & cage combination are mandatory in high school hockey, college hockey, and for all players under the age of 18.
Facial Protection Research
In 2002, the British Journal of Sports MedicineBritish Journal of Sports Medicine
The British Journal of Sports Medicine is an international peer review journal published by the BMJ Group which covers the latest advances in clinical practice and research in all aspects of sports medicine....
published a study identifying the protection offered against concussions between the half-face shield and the full face shield. The use of a full face shield compared with half face shield significantly reduced the playing time lost because of concussion, suggesting that concussion severity may be reduced by the use of a full face shield.
Brands
- Bauer HockeyBauer HockeyBauer Performance Sports Ltd. is one of the leading manufacturers of ice hockey equipment, fitness and recreational skates, and apparel. Bauer produces helmets, gloves, sticks, skates, shin guards, pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, as well as goalie equipment...
(including Mission HockeyMission HockeyMission is a company that makes roller hockey and formerly ice hockey equipment.Mission once produced ice hockey equipment as well. It merged with Itech in 2004, becoming Mission-Itech....
and Itech) - Easton Hockey
- Reebok RBKReebokReebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
(including CCMCCM (The Hockey Company)CCM, formerly an initialism for Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd., is a sporting goods brand. The brand is held by two separate entities both maintaining the CCM trademark, one manufacturing ice hockey equipment and the other, CCM manufacturing bicycles.-History:CCM was founded in 1899 after the...
/KohoKoho (company)Koho is a brand of ice hockey equipment that originated from Finland. Currently, Koho equipment is manufactured by The Hockey Company . Koho is especially known for its goaltending equipment...
/JofaJofaJofa, originally short for Jonssons Fabriker is a maker of sporting equipment for sports such as ice hockey, bandy, horseback riding, based in Malung, Sweden.Niss-Oskar Jonsson founded Jofa in 1926...
)