By Ian Holmes

Full face protection coming for all Junior B hockey players in B.C.

Dec 5, 2017 | 11:29 AM

NANAIMO — Full face protection for all Junior B hockey players in B.C. will be mandatory starting in the 2018-19 season.

The BC Hockey decision, impacting roughly 1,100 players on 47 teams in four leagues, was made to cut down on facial injuries.

Phil Levesque, owner of the VIJHL’s Nanaimo Buccaneers, has mixed feelings but told NanaimoNewsNOW it will improve player safety.

“We’ve got lots of kids with years of dental problems…these kids are walking out with no teeth and that’s not really fair.”

Levesque favoured allowing players in their final two years of Junior B the option of wearing a half-visor, since mandatory full face protection could discourage some older players from the Junior B game.

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“When we mentioned it this year they go ‘oh we’ll probably quit’ but if you love the game (and) it’s your last year you’ll put a cage on, but I could see some of the kids not playing, for sure.”

Buccaneers 19-year-old defenseman Seamus O’Toole doesn’t support the shift to full face shields. From his experience, the enhanced level of protection empowers some players to take more cheap shots since they’re better protected.

“It definitely can lead to what I’ve noticed is a more dangerous game,” O’Toole said.

BC Hockey noted more than 370 dental injuries with players wearing half visors were reported to Hockey Canada between 2010 and 2015 as compared to eight for those with full visors or cages.

Junior B players called-up to play in Junior A will be required to wear full face protection as of next season.

BC Hockey said insurance premiums for Junior B teams will drop from $35 to $10 per player next season. 

The Peninsula Panthers, a member of the VIJHL, became the first Junior B or A team in Western Canada to implement full face shields at the start of this season.

The move toward full face shield protection was met with stiff criticism from Campbell River Storm head coach Lee Stone.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter@ reporterholmes