The owner of an Ontario company that makes top-of-the-line slash-resistant neck guards for hockey players says he’s been sold out of the product since a late October “freak accident” at a hockey game in England.
Joe Camillo, owner of Hamilton, Ont., based Niko Apparel Systems and AEGIS Impact Protection, said he didn’t understand “right away” why demand for his Interceptor neck guard exploded on a Sunday in late October, until he saw news of American player Adam Johnson’s unfortunate death.
“It’s not the first time we’ve heard it,” Camillo said.
“It was a couple of years ago a young player out of Connecticut also died on the ice as well. It was tragic and I think … it had such an impact that people just recognize it’s … something needed to be done.”
Camillo says his concern over lack of protection around the head and neck goes all the way back to the early 2000s when his own kids started playing the game.
He was set aback at how easily material was moved around their necks with just a single finger.
“It wasn’t locked in. It didn’t have 360 coverage,” Camillo explained.
“I thought well before this unfortunate incident happened that … it needs to be changed.”
Work on what would be the interceptor began in 2012 with the premise of making a neck guard with 360-cut and impact protection.
The AEGIS protector was patented and launched in 2016 and features a removable impact piece and is washable.
“It can be used over and over again,” according to Camillo.
“We have Kevlar inside and we sell it all over the world.”
Since then his company has refined the process and now makes two goalie-specific guards and a pair of player protectors, each with or without a bib.
In the spring, a line of integrated shirts is expected to be available.
Camillo says his staff are “digging out” whatever pieces they have and fulfilling orders rapidly coming in from around the world, as close as the United States and as far away as China.
Johnson, 29, was a Minnesota native playing for the Nottingham Panthers in a cup game when he suffered a slashed neck during the second period.
In a statement following the incident, the Panthers expressed their “devastation” at Johnson’s death.
“The Panthers would like to send our thoughts and condolences to Adam’s family, his partner, and all his friends at this extremely difficult time. Everyone at the club including players, staff, management and ownership are heartbroken at the news of Adam’s passing,” they said.
Johnson spent 13 games over parts of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League before moving to Europe in 2020.
“We offer our deepest condolences to Adam’s family and friends, as well as all of Adam’s past and present teammates and coaches. Adam will always be part of the Penguins family,” the Penguins said in a statement on Oct.29.
Last week, Canada’s sport minister called on the NHL to mandate players wear neck guards in the wake of Johnson’s death.
Carla Qualtrough characterized the incident as “concerning” and “preventable.”
“It is concerning that both the WHL and NHL do not have this rule. I encourage them to put in place a rule requiring neck guards,” Qualtrough said in an email.
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Hayley Wickenheiser echoed that call on social media insisting on rules for neck protection at “every level in hockey.”
– With files from the Associated Press and Aaron D’Andrea
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