Adam Johnson’s death makes ice hockey face up to game’s dangers

A resistance to safety lies deep in the sport's culture but it is to be hoped the tragedy in Sheffield will now prompt action

Adam Johnson's tragic death during an English Ice Hockey Association game last weekend in Sheffield has created reverberations across the hockey world and, unlike previous incidents, may finally prove the catalyst for widespread change when it comes to protective equipment.

The Nottingham Panthers player died after sustaining a throat laceration during the second period in a Challenge Cup game against the Sheffield Steelers. The incident, which has been described by the Panthers club and others around the hockey world as a freak accident", is indeed a rare occurrence on the ice, despite the sport's speed, physical contact and players' razor-sharp skate blades. But it's not the first of its kind.