Everyone has seen the hit on Jiri Hudler over and over and over again. The visor definitely cut him pretty good and 10 stitches later he was back on the ice. Meanwhile Mike Brown who delivered the questionable hit got the gate (a 5 and a 10). Ultimately, he was not suspended and though many may disagree. There is something to the fact that the visor made the hit look worse than it actually was. Some will feel that diminishes what happened but the issue of the visor needs to be brought up again.
Nice visor eh????
For those scoring at home this is the Oakley Pro Hockey Helmet Visor. Here are the specs for the visor.
- Straight cut lense
- Provides distortion-free optics through the entire range of vision
- The only visor that meets and exceeds the demanding ANSI Z87.1 standard for optical clarity
- Shatter-proof polycarbonate material
- Providing a nearly impenetrable barrier for your eyes
- Coated with AFR™, a specially formulated coating that provides anti-fog and scratch resistant properties
- Universal mounting hardware included
- Visor height – 3 1/2″ (at widest point)
- Colors:
Clear – Standard
Grey – Tinted
So what is the issue you may ask? The Oakley is one of the best visors out there…yet I wonder how many NHL players actually wear them. What is more interesting is all the accessories that come just to “maintain” the visors. You have anti-scratch cloth, anti-fog spray, and several other things that do not bother the average pro hockey player.
However, the visor itself can lead to more cuts. The hit on Jiri Hudler was a pretty decent example of what happens when the visor is hit just right. Though this rarely happens. The same can be said about the Bryan Berard injury. I also know that no solution is perfect. Now of course there an issue of players playing with their heads down. I want people to check this out…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eK_FU2XL00&hl=en&fs=1
The audio visor???? Wow!
Hey maybe that would work a bit better. Sure that would cost more I am sure but you could hear what is coming maybe. That way players can stop admiring their passes and start being aware of the game. I am looking forward to the day that these visors are available in the NHL just to see how they would work. It appears they would work better than the generic visor.
Getting back to the visors…they do cause more injuries but they are also a necessary evil since the consequences can be much more dire without. Another possible improvement would be to find a way either to make the visor detach easier in the case of excessively violent contact or to make the visor less sharp on the edges. At any rate….hockey is a physical game and what I want to know is if the readers have any suggestions on how to improve the hockey visor or if they should be done away with all together.
