Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Neck guards will not be mandatory in Elite League following Adam Johnson’s death

Lit candles among the flowers and messages left in tribute to Nottingham Panthers’ ice hockey player Adam Johnson outside the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham (Jacob King/PA)
Lit candles among the flowers and messages left in tribute to Nottingham Panthers’ ice hockey player Adam Johnson outside the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham (Jacob King/PA)

The Elite Ice Hockey League will not make the use of neck guards mandatory but will “strongly encourage” players and officials to wear them following the death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson.

Johnson, who was 29, died on Saturday after suffering a cut to the neck during a game against the Sheffield Steelers.

The English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) has since said neck guards will become mandatory from 2024, but the Elite League is not under the governing body’s control.

A spokesperson for Elite Ice Hockey League said: “We are devastated by the loss of Adam’s life, and our thoughts remain with his family, team mates and everyone else affected during this difficult time.

“Player safety and welfare is our top priority and we work with players, officials, clubs, and the relevant authorities to review research and advice to understand how we continually enhance the safety of our sport.

“All clubs continue to follow the existing guidance from the International Ice Hockey Federation, that the use of a BNQ or other ISO Standard neck laceration protector is recommended.

“The Elite Ice Hockey League strongly encourages players and officials to wear one and clubs and the League will continue to support players and officials to do so.”

No games have been played since Johnson’s death, will all fixtures postponed, but the league will return to action this weekend, with all teams except Nottingham and Sheffield due to play on both Saturday and Sunday.

Adam Johnson
A message board with a tribute to Nottingham Panthers’ ice hockey player Adam Johnson (Jacob King/PA)

An inquest into Johnson’s death was opened and adjourned in Sheffield on Friday morning.

Sheffield’s senior coroner Tanyka Rawden said that inquiries into the death were continuing, and adjourned the inquest until January 26, while stressing this would be for a review and not for the full hearing.

Mrs Rawden concluded the four-minute-long hearing by saying she wanted to “take this opportunity to offer to his family, his friends and all those who knew him, my sincere condolences at this difficult time.”

None of Johnson’s family were in court for the brief hearing.

South Yorkshire Police has confirmed it is investigating the incident but officers have said the inquiry “will take some time”.

Officers have carried out inquiries at the arena, studied footage of the collision and spoken to experts, aided by Sheffield City Council’s health and safety team.

The force said the investigation would be lengthy.

On Wednesday, the Panthers invited fans of all clubs to attend Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena to celebrate the former NHL player on November 4.

This venue has been the focus of fans’ outpouring of shock and emotion since the tragedy at the weekend.

The Panthers have also announced the creation of an official fundraising page to raise money for the Love for Hibbing and Hockey Memorial Fund – established in Johnson’s memory.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper confirmed the club will pay tribute to Johnson ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game with Aston Villa.

He said: “Really tragic story and situation that unfolded from a game of sport.

“We were in the hotel before the Liverpool game when we found out, it was obviously the talk of the meeting room, and everyone was shocked and saddened.

“It’s a really sad situation, as a club we want to show our respects on Sunday and we have things planned.

“In times of difficulty, and this is very tragic, this is a city that comes together, in a sporting sense a lot of clubs have come together and shown respect.

“Our hearts go out to Adam’s family, and his friends and colleagues, and we send our best and sympathy and on Sunday hopefully we can do our bit and make him proud.”