On Saturday, October 28th, NHL player Adam Johnson died from a serious injury he suffered during a hockey game. He was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England’s Elite Ice Hockey League when his throat was accidentally slashed by a skate blade in a collision with a Sheffield Steelers player.
The “freak accident,” as it was called by the Panthers, occurred during the second period of the game. On the ice, Johnson initially received emergency treatment and was taken to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital. Fans were asked to leave the Sheffield’s Utilita Arena and the players returned to the locker room after the injury was declared a “major medical emergency.” Johnson was pronounced dead at the hospital as a result of the fatal neck injury.
Johnson will be missed by all of those whose hearts he’s touched, from his family and friends to his teammates and coaches. Throughout his career, Johnson played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, three AHL teams, and the Nottingham Panthers in the EIHA. The Panthers club made a statement saying, “The Panthers would like to thank everyone who rushed to support Adam last night in the most testing of circumstances…Adam, our number 47, was not only an outstanding ice hockey player, but also a great teammate and person with his whole life ahead of him. The Club will dearly miss him and will never ever forget him.”
Fans of the club and of Adam Johnson have left flowers outside of the Panthers stadium, the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, and tributes have been paid all around the world. The Panthers’ head coach, Mike Sullivan stated, “He was a great kid, he was a good player. Boy, he could really skate. It was a privilege to be his coach. There are no words I have to explain how I feel about the whole circumstance. It’s just an incredible tragedy.”
“Johnson had such a life ahead of him,” his fiancée, Ryan Wolfe, posted on her Instagram story, “My sweet sweet angel. I’ll miss you forever and love you always”. His loved ones are undoubtedly mourning the loss of not just an incredible hockey player, but an incredible person.
Another tribute was made at Monday night’s game when the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Anaheim Ducks. Both teams gathered in a circle at the center of the ice while a video played on the scoreboard. It was a compilation of his time playing in Pittsburgh. The fans in the arena stood to cheer, and the players even wore helmets that said “AJ 47” to honor Adam Johnson.
This terrible loss left an empty feeling throughout the hockey world. How could a mere game take a man’s life? Fans and spectators turned to the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) for answers. They made a statement that detailed what their next steps would be in order for the club to prevent incidents like this in the future. The EIHA expressed their remorse for the loss and began by saying, “Our responsibility is not only to avert the recurrence of such a heart-breaking accident, but also to pre-emptively address other foreseeable incidents in the future.” The overall message of their statement is that they recommend and enforce that hockey players at any level wear neck guards or protectors. This will go into effect in all “on-ice” activities in 2024 on account of supply issues. They also mentioned that they would conduct a “thorough review” of all player equipment and continue to communicate the new rules and regulations to the clubs.
Although these new safety precautions are a great idea, it took a man losing his life for them to really become mandatory. BBC News outlined the numerous other injuries just like this one in the history of hockey. In 1989, Clint Malarchuk endured a similar cut to the neck but he astoundingly survived. The skate blade has caused even more injuries, such as the one the goalkeeper of the Buffalo Sabers suffered. He endured great blood loss after a skate slashed his carotid artery and jugular vein. Additionally, in 2008, Richard Zednick, a player for the Florida Panthers, also experienced a life-threatening blade cut and miraculously survived.
These serious injuries pose serious concerns about the safety of the sport. Not only can skate blade injuries be fatal, but so can spinal or brain injuries. How can the hockey world ensure no more untimely deaths occur because of game-inflicted injuries? Nevertheless, Adam Johnson will be remembered for the great legacy he left on and off of the ice.
