http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey/canadiensstory.html?id=7f7dc435-af7a-48e8-9bd1-52c736365b68

By PAT HICKEY

NHL players wear facial protection in minor hockey, in junior or in colleges, yet as soon as they make the pros, most of them discard their visors


For the majority of players in the National Hockey League, it has become a rite of passage. After playing their entire minor-hockey career, through junior or U.S. college, wearing a visor, they throw caution to the wind and remove the protective shields.

Guys who wouldn't think about going on the ice without a protective cup see no problem with exposing their eyes.

The rationale varies. Some players say they feel more comfortable without the visor. For the players whose livelihood depends on their ability to fight, it's a necessity, because the NHL rules take a dim view of players who fight with visors in place.

But Canadiens defenceman Craig Rivet, one of eight Montreal players who play without a visor, says there's a fundamental reason why more than half the players in the league don't wear visors.

"If you want the truth, it's the macho thing," Rivet admitted. "Guys are trying to show how tough they are. It's part of the image."

It's an image that is promoted by the likes of Don Cherry, who has lumped visors together with Europeans, French Canadians and floaters - a term Cherry often used to describe Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux.

Real men, the theory goes, don't wear visors.

The strange thing is that most of the players who have removed their visors when they move into the pros realize they are taking a risk.

"I think they prevent injuries, but I don't feel comfortable wearing one," Rivet said. "I've had a couple of close calls this season, but that's part of the game."

It's part of the game Krista Rivet could do without. Rivet noted that his wife is constantly urging him to wear a visor.

"I've seen him come home with stitches on his forehead, or a black eye," Krista said. "I worry about him, especially now that we have kids. I wouldn't want him to lose an eye. I wouldn't want him to be in a position where he couldn't play with the kids.

"He wears a mouthguard to protect his teeth, why doesn't he wear something to protect his eyes?" she asked.

The question of mandatory use of visors came up during the recent NHL lockout, but the issue was put on the backburner as the league and its players decided to concentrate on what they felt were more pressing issues.

NHL owners have become more concerned in recent years about the growing number of facial and eye injuries. Each year, these injuries result in millions of dollars of lost ice time and teams feel those losses more now that there's a salary cap in place.

The NHLPA announced that it would poll its members to get their views on the mandatory use of visors, but Rivet, who is the Canadiens' representative, indicated that the vote wasn't a priority.

"We didn't go around asking everyone how they felt on the issue," Rivet said. He said the question has been posted on the NHLPA's members-only website and that players were free to vote.

In the past, even the players who wear visors have voted to maintain a choice when it comes to facial protection, but most players believe a change is in the works.

"I think they will be made mandatory for players coming into the league at some point," said Mathieu Dandenault. He's one of the Canadiens who doesn't wear a visor. He wore one briefly after suffering a broken orbital bone while with Detroit.

Dandenault said he has also received pressure from his wife to wear a visor.

So has Steve Begin, the rugged two-way forward, although he made it clear that the discussion was a short one.

"I told her I didn't want to get into an argument over that," Begin said. He's never a worn a visor as a pro, but said that, as he grows older, he might reconsider. He suffered a broken nose while playing in the minors, but has otherwise emerged relatively unscathed over the years.

Alex Kovalev is a highly skilled European, the type of player you would expect to wear a visor. And he did wear one earlier in his career.

"I took it off because I felt more comfortable," Kovalev said. "I wore it for several years, but I didn't think it helped. I had injuries with the visor on. You still get sticks coming up under the shield."

Jan Bulis, a Czech who played junior hockey in B.C. and Ontario, took his visor off after he joined the Washington Capitals in 1997. But another player's misfortune led him to reconsider.

"I remember when (Bryan) Berard had his accident (in 2000) and there was another player who had a similar problem and I decided it wasn't worth the risk," said Bulis.

Berard is legally blind in one eye after he was clipped by an errant stick in a game in Ottawa in 2000. He has been able to resume his NHL career. While his is the most serious eye injury suffered since the introduction of visors, there are dozens of players each year who suffer preventable injuries.

It was an eye injury that ended the career of P.J. Stock, the former plugger who is now beginning a second career in the media. Ironically, Stock said he wanted to wear a visor, but was told that it would hamper his effectiveness as a fighter.

There are still some NHL teams which discourage the use of visors. The Canadiens aren't one of them and, surprisingly, neither are the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Flyers have a reputation for toughness, general manager Bob Clarke requires rookies to wear visors.

"If you're a certain type of player, you don't wear a visor," said defenceman Mike Komisarek, who wore a full face shield while playing at the University of Michigan.

Komisarek said he's avoided injury through a sixth sense and, perhaps, because his 6-foot-4 frame allows him to tower over the action.

"You can sense when there's a stick in the area," he said. "And maybe because I'm taller than most guys, the sticks don't get up that high. I think visors can prevent but you look at (Richard Zednik). He wears a visor, but he always seems to be cut on the face."

Niklas Sundstrom may have the strangest approach to visors. He has four helmets - two with visors and two without.

"I wear a visor during games but I don't wear one in practice," he explained. "I can't explain it. It seems a little silly but that's the way it is."

Will there be a change?

Even Don Cherry concedes that mandatory visors are coming, but it will be a while before every player in the NHL wears one. Any change will be grandfathered and current players will be allowed to continue playing without a visor.

Rivet said he wouldn't be opposed to mandatory visors. He said some players would don shields, but he wasn't sure which route he'd take.

In case, it will take a while before everyone is protected. Helmets were made mandatory in 1979, but you could still see the occasional bare head until Craig MacTavish retired in 1997.


Craig Rivet, fighting with the Sabres' Adam Mair, says not wearing a visor is "a macho thing" for NHLers.