I tried a fish bowl in place of a cage when I was a kid. It lasted about 2 games. It didn't allow for as much air flow so it felt warmer, made it harder to breathe when you were at full effort, and all of that made it fog up. Plus, it ended up with marks in the line of vision from being hit with sticks and pucks. I went back to a cage and used it ever since.
I used a full cage and a visor, it's true you see better without the cage, but in the game you don't really see the difference ...at least i did not but I was not great at hockey! :p
The player who wore the Lacrosse helmet for one game is actually featured in the background of a hockey card. Crazy other players that come to mind who wore funny face protection Don Nachbaur of Hartford in the 80s and Herb Raglan of Quebec during the 90s
@@MattTee1975 yeah chatting with my father, a NHL fan, he was telling me a lot of the players in the NHL now grew up with some form of protection so they tend to be much more comfortable with it being part of their gear
never knew it was rules and not bravado prevented facial mask... there is a way to make a mask (while maybe not 100% safe but safer than nothing or even just visor) AND at the same time NOT interfere with vision at ALL like the Neeld shield.
@@ArthurBrooklyn as you suspected it’s a combination of bravado, comfort, and player preference. The half visors only became mandatory for new players 5 ish years ago. Guys that have been in the league for a while don’t have to wear anything
Not allowed? Why does the NHL care? Because the other guy won't be able to face wash and I wouldn't have to suffer through the pointless scrums after every whistle? PFFT! Make them all wear cages if it gets rid of scrums. Like Grapes says, "If youre gonna go, GO! Quit the pushing and shoving"!
As a goalie, I could not wait to try and skate out with a full cage, I figured that is how I normally see the ice so why not... yea no, the difference in the cage design made it tough to see so I have settled on the half bowl and cage bottom when I skate out.
I remember Walt Tkaczuk wearing a football mask in the playoffs vs. Philadelphia back in 1974. First time I ever saw any player (outside of a goalie) wearing a mask. I think he had a broken jaw. Before that he didn't even wear a helmet. After, he kept the helmet, but dispensed with the mask. Then, ironically perhaps, his career was ended when a shot puck rode up his stick and hit him in the eye. It happened in a game I saw on TV.
I remember seeing Tkaczuk's mask also. He also always wore a different helmet from the other players- kind of like the one Potvin wore with the Islanders (super round). I didn't know the story behind his masked helmet though.
It is ridiculous that the NHL mandates helmets and visors on the "grounds of safety" but BANS players from wearing full face cages unless they are injured. They are "worried that fans can't see the players", putting money above player safety.
Side note: LaFontaine's jaw was broken when Calgary's Jamie Macoun took a baseball swing with his stick across LaFontaine's face. That game was in Calgary, and the next time the Flames played in Buffalo, there was a full-on brawl.
It's amazing that there's still no good solution for this for hockey players. I'd love to get a lighter weight cage than the standard mesh type. A chin protector to be used with a visor would work well- I think- but they're not permitted in any league play. Not certified. So nothing exists that really does the job well.
I didn't know that college players started wearing full face mask as far back as 1982. I am old enough to remember when they didn't wear face masks (except goalies). I used to go to watch college games back in the late 1970s (it was a local Junior college but they were good). It was quite crowded at the games with fans that didn't really have connection to the school, it was just exciting cheap entertainment.
The reason why full face masks are not allowed is the fact the NHL doesn't enforce a full mask so some players could use a full face mask to smash other players faces in during specific motions and the face-off.
@@mrhonda1 I was meaning the bashing of faces in with the mask you have on and they are only using the 1/2 shield becuse that is all that is required if they started after 2013--2014 season.
Chára cutting the visor part off the bubble was another face block short of a Darwin Award. Can't believe how hard it's been for hockey players to wear proper protection while NFL helmets cover basically everything in a safer sport when it comes to different kinds of head injuries.
Surprised that "wearing a full-length face mask of any type is not something that is typically allowed in the NHL". Yet, they have a helmet rule and a visor rule.
I play sled hockey so frequently get hit in the face with pucks, being seated down on the ice like that you'd basically have to be a moron to not wear one. Not aware that it is even an option to not have a cage/bubble. Most people have cages. I can say i've been slashed in the face and blocked multiple shots with my face.
They are grown men who understand the risk. Let them wear, or not wear what they want. Reminds me of a discussion I heard about concussions and football players. One Dr. suggested the best way to mitigate concussions in pro football is to eliminate helmets. This came as a shock to everyone else who was voting for more protective helmets. The idea is, if you’re not wearing a helmet, you won’t use your head as a weapon. After all, broken jaws, cheeks and missing teeth seem to be more favorable injuries compared to concussions.
These facial protectors don’t do anything for you. The whole purpose of them is that the device usually rests on your chin to protect your mouth, your eyes and the rest of your face when your jaw is broken, there’s really no way to protect your face and your jar with any device.
Not sure if they can or can't, but the extra weight of the mask is noticeable, it's a small counter weight and you feel it when you move your head around.
It is actually against the rules, at least as of now. You can see here in rule 9.8 the exception for hurt player being allowed to wear full masks: cms.nhl.bamgrid.com/images/assets/binary/326142322/binary-file/file.pdf "A mask or protector of a design approved by the League may be worn by a player who has sustained a facial injury. In the first instance, the injured player shall be entitled to wear any protective device prescribed by the Club doctor. If any opposing Club objects to the device, it may record its objection with the Commissioner." All players who entered the league after the 2013-2014 season, need to have a visor though. It is an explicit rule that all players have these half shields (so long as they started playing after the 2013-14 season)
Players with full facial protection makes them feel more invincible and that leads to more reckless play, sticks and elbows flying in the air. Players have to feel a bit unsafe so they would have some common sense left when playing.
All NHL Players Should have to Wear Full Face Shields. There would be less 4 min double minors.. If everyone has to wear them, everyone will be at a disadvantage.
I've never played hockey, but I think it should be mandatory to wear full face protection! over time, the design will be perfected for better visibility.
@@TheSunTheSea And you are a prime example of idiocracy amongst adults What does vaccines and lockdown have to do with how you view safety Lmao , grow up
