The Hockey neck guard (which is also called a Kim Crouch collar) is a piece of protective equipment worn by players around the neck area, particularly b players in the ice skating team sports of ice hockey, bandy, ringette, and rinkball. The guard is designed to prevent injury to the neck by ice hockey pucks, ringette rings, bandy balls, the metal blades on ice skates, and various types of sticks, i.e. ice hockey sticks. This piece is especially critical to goaltenders, especially ice hockey goaltenders, who are more likely at risk to be injured in this area.

History

The guard was developed in Ontario, Canada, after Kim Crouch, goalkeeper of the Royal York Royals, suffered a serious neck injury when his jugular vein was sliced by a skate when he dove into a fray during a 1975 match against the Markham Waxers. Kim Crouch’s father, Ed Crouch, developed a prototype neck-guard to help him return to the game. The guard was subsequently widely adopted by ice hockey players.

On January 28, 2024, USA Hockey, the governing body for ice hockey in the United States placed a mandate that began on August 1, 2024 in which all players and on-ice officials under the age of 18 are required to wear neck laceration protection that is “that is commercially designed and manufactured for that purpose.” Despite an adult exemption, USA Hockey still strongly recommends adult players use neck guards. View Source