Prior to playing hockey in the NCAA, many players have the opportunity to wear a visor while playing juniors. Many players go from a league like the USHL to play for top teams in the NCAA. In making that jump from juniors to college hockey, many players go from wearing a half shield to wearing a full face cage. If players don’t go the college route, they usually play Canadian juniors. In the CHL, players are permitted to wear half shields. It is time for the NCAA to change to visors.
Need for Change: Time for the NCAA to Change to Visors
Although full face cages do offer more protection than a half shield, most players, if not all, would prefer to wear a shield as opposed to a cage. Many players in the NCAA wear the full face visor, or as players call it “a bubble.” It allows players to see the ice better than they would while wearing a cage. Many players after coming to juniors are used to nothing being in the way of their eyes when looking down at the puck because they are used to wearing a half shield.
One of the biggest arguments is that wearing a visor creates a risk of more facial injuries. Many players and coaches would argue that being permitted to wear a visor would encourage players to play smarter. Meaning they would have to keep their sticks down and be aware of where other players are. Some would argue that it could prepare them for the next level, where they can wear a visor as opposed to a cage.
NCAA players would argue that players in the CHL and juniors are the same age and are permitted to wear visors. Jess Myers interviewed Derek Stepan in an article on USAHockey.com in 2012 when Stepan was a in his first few years in the NHL and said: “I wear a half shield now,” said Stepan, who played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin. “Guys our age in the Canadian Hockey League are wearing half shields, so I don’t see why the college teams can’t do it.”
The NCAA has come close to allowing their players to wear visors a few times. Every time there is a meeting regarding rule changes, the question comes up. Should players be permitted to wear the half shield? When players go to play for their country in the World Juniors they are permitted to wear a visor instead of a cage. The NCAA is one of the only leagues that doesn’t allow players to wear a visor at that age. Players are in the age range of 18 to 25 years old when playing in college, at that age they are well above the age limit for CHL and USHL to wear a visor.
Obviously player safety is the number one concern when it comes to allowing players to wear a visor instead of a cage in the NCAA. With the leagues all around the world allowing players to begin wearing a visor at the age of 18, it is time for the NCAA to change to visors. It would encourage players to play safer, be more aware on the ice and keep their sticks on the ice more often. Players going from leagues that allow them to wear visors then back to wearing a cage makes no sense. It is time for change in the NCAA.
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