Visors in Hockey
Recent close call eye injuries to the Jets’ Andrew Ladd and Flyers’ Chris Pronger have brought the issue of eye protection in the NHL back into view. Vancouver Canucks player Manny Malhotra suffered an almost career ending eye injury which he has had continued surgery in the summer of 2011. NHL reports about 60% of players wear visors. While the debate rages on as to whether NHL players should wear visors, it should be a no brainer that rec-hockey players should wear one, but I am still amazed by they number that don’t.
The age old argument that visors hinder one’s ability to perform on the ice is becoming harder to defend, considering 9 of the top 10 NHL scorers in 2011 wear a visor: Sedin, Perry, Stamkos, Iginla, Ovechkin, Selanne, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Richards all wear them. So does Crosby, Skinner, Lidstrom and Kesler. Hard to argue with success, so I vote to put on a visor.
Michael Nelson, OD FAAO
