Hockey Helmet Evolution

Hockey Helmet evolution timeline

Macy Samad

Class Action lawsuit

Helmets are mandatory

Innovating to this day

First hockey player to wear a helmet

• This chart by Michael Embrey shows how consumers rank their helmets based on what they're looking for

• Even though helmets became mandatory in 1979, any player that signed before June 1st could choose to not wear one
• Influence from players and NHL players association pushed for changes
• Manufacturers such as CCM, Bauer and Reebok entered the helmet scene and were spitting out new evolutionary helmets

• In a class action lawsuit lasting from November 2013 to August 2018, 146 players registered as plaintiffs
• Dan Carcillo is a prime example
• In an article by Global news Carcillo said: “I describe it as when you’re losing your quality of life [...] I’ve been in really, really bad places, like on the edge of killing myself”
• This rocked the hockey world and made many helmet consumers aware of the long term dangers on brain injuries, forcing them to look into their own helmets and how they're being protected

• Boston's Eddie Shore was the first high profile hockey player to wear a helmet
• December 1933 Shore body checked Toronto's Ace Bailey into the boards and he suffered a skull fracture nearly resulting in death
• This pushed shore to wear a helmet, which at the time was very primitive and it's effectiveness was debatable
• Mostly leather straps

March 6, 2013, Chicago Blackhawk's Daniel Carcillo celebrates his winning goal during the third period of an NHL game against the Colorado Avalanche, in Chicago. . AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

1979

2010

1968

2019

1933

New demand: Preventing concussions

Pushing for change

Sad start to a revolution

• The biggest pusher for change in the emerging helmet industry was the impact of injuries on the hockey community
• Greg Neeld lost his left eye and visors were then added to helmets

• Hockey players deal with rotational forces
• Shifting that force away has been an ongoing issue, due to lack of research it has sat on the back burner
• CCM has created a novel helmet, identical to a typical helmet, but it's what going on inside that's so special
• CCM says that with 70 percent of hits coming to the side of the head in hockey, this system will help reduce those rotational forces.

• NHL players were still reluctant to wear helmets
• January 1968 Minnesota Star's Bill Masterton fell on-ice and suffered a fatal brain aneurysm
• After this accident player became more open to wearing helmets
• During this time helmets are still being developed
• Manufacturers are making hard plastic outer shells with padding on the inside

Works Cited

• Article in the Boston Gazette 1930 mentions Eddie Shore has worn headgear before, following the Ace Bailey incident

Carroll, Will. “How New Helmet Technology Will Make the NFL and NHL Safer.”

Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 3 Oct. 2017,

bleacherreport.com/articles/2073748-how-new-helmet-technology-will-make-the-

nfl-and-nhl-safer.

Embrey, Michael. “Safest Top Rated Hockey Helmets Of 2019.” What All The Pros Use, 21 Dec. 2017,

www.whatalltheprosuse.com/hockey/protective-gear/helmets/safest-top-rated-hockey-helmets-

of-2017.

Fitzpatrick, Frank. “NHL FINALLY PUTS LID ON HELMET PROBLEM.”

Chicagotribune.com, 3 Sept. 2018,

www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-01-20-8803230983-story.html.

Lynch, William. “Hockey Helmet History.” SportsRec, 15 Oct. 2019,

www.sportsrec.com/345771-hockey-helmet-history.html.

Whyno, Stephen. “Concussions in the NHL: Former and Current Players Speak Out.”

Global News, Global News, 6 June 2019,

globalnews.ca/news/5307081/nhl-concussions-players/.

Whyno, Stephen. “NHL, Retired Players Reach Tentative Settlement in Concussion

Lawsuit | CBC Sports.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 13 Nov. 2018,

www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-concussion-lawsuit-settlement-1.4901856.

Zweig, Eric. “Hockey Helmet History.” Eric Zweig, 8 May 2019,

ericzweig.com/2019/05/08/hockey-helmet-history/.

CCM Resistance helmet

Bauer Helmet