NHL Stars Forced To Wear Neck Guards At 2026 Winter Olympics Under IIHF Mandate
Neckguards aren't mandatory int he NHL, but will be for new players beginning next season
For years, one of the biggest debates in hockey has been whether players should wear neck protection. After the tragic 2023 on-ice death of former NHLer Adam Johnson, more and more leagues and governing bodies have made rules requiring neck protection.
One of the few that has not required this is the National Hockey League. However, when the league's best players travel to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, they'll have no choice but to give neck guards a test drive.
BBC Sport is reporting (and good for them; it's not every day they score a hockey scoop) that the International Ice Hockey Federation has announced that all players — both men and women— will be required to wear neck protection.
The IIHF had previously announced plans to require players at the international level to wear neck guards, but they had not formally announced when that would happen.
Well, it looks like it'll be starting in February.
"We can confirm the neck guards will be mandatory according to the IIHF Rule Book," the IIHF said in a statement to BBC Sport.
NHL players heading to the 2026 Olympics in Milan will need to get used to wearing neckguards as they will be mandatory per IIHF rules. (Getty Images)
Many other leagues around the world — including the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, which Johnson was playing in for the Nottingham Panthers at the time of his death — have implemented neck guard requirements in recent years. However, the NHL has been one of the lone holdouts, leaving it all up to player choice.
The league plans to start requiring new players to wear neck guards beginning with the 2026-27 season. That's a similar approach to the way the league also handled other forms of protective equipment, including helmets and visors.
Sure, some players may not like it and would prefer to play in such a massive tournament without having to get used to a new, sometimes uncomfortable piece of gear. But it's hard to argue with something that will, without a doubt, keep players safe.
Like the aforementioned helmets and visors, neckguards will someday be just another piece of important safety equipment that we'll all wonder how people ever played without them.
What will be intriguing is to see if any NHL holdouts return from the Olympics and begin wearing neck protection when the league resumes.