No change to visor rule in SJHL — yet

Players in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League will continue to wear half-visors for the rest of the 2022-23 season.

The decision comes after Hockey Canada branches voted in April to move to a full facemask for the Canadian Junior Hockey League and its teams.

That was supposed to come into effect on Thursday, midway through the current season.

Hockey Saskatchewan general manager Kelly McClintock said there continues to be conversations around the topic.

“There was some concern raised on a number of items and the (Hockey Canada) board of directors then changed that decision — the first part of last week — that they would begin next season as opposed to this year,” McClintock said.

He said Hockey Saskatchewan voted against moving to a full cage for the league, along with a couple of other provinces.

“The majority of kids (in the SJHL) are 18 and older. If there was any adjustment, it would be to follow the IIHF rule so players 18 and older have the option of wearing a half-visor or full facemask. And anybody playing junior A hockey who is 17 and under would wear the full facemask,” McClintock said.

He says it should be up to the players to decide and Hockey Saskatchewan should leave the option available to them, even if it means they have to pay more in insurance.

“Do they have the ability to make that decision? In terms of, ‘Well, let me wear a half-visor if it means I have to pay a higher premium because there’s a greater risk — for example a dental injury — then I’ll pay that premium, or the team will pay that premium, whatever the case may be,’ ” McClintock said.

In a survey conducted by the league, McClintock says the overwhelming results were that players and teams want the ability to choose what to wear and most of them chose a half-visor.

Even though Hockey Saskatchewan voted against the move, the players won’t have an option next year if it’s passed by Hockey Canada.

“As a branch of Hockey Canada, we can’t say, ‘Nope.’ If the rest of the members vote that junior A hockey is a full facemask, we can’t say, ‘Sorry, we’re not abiding by it.’ We have to abide by it,” McClintock said.

He continued to say it’s a complex decision, which is why Hockey Saskatchewan raised it to the national organization of letting players make a decision on their own if they want to pay a higher premium.

Two leagues in the country — Ontario and B.C. — already enforce wearing full cages for their players.

Junior A hockey can also be a showcase for players going to the NCAA where they wear a full facemask. The counterpoint is the United States Hockey League — which is comparable to junior A — and its use of a half-visor.

McClintock says the game has changed over the past 20 years and there is a lot less fighting in the league so moving to a full facemask wouldn’t affect it that much.

But he did raise that there could be a risk of more concussions because sticks would be going higher and there could be more verbal altercations because someone couldn’t punch an opponent directly in the face.

McClintock said it’s the organization’s role as leaders to ensure player safety, but to what measure and when it’s right to leave the decision to the players.

Hockey Canada did not respond to a request for comment on when a date would be finalized for moving to a facemask full-time, but McClintock expects it will be a phased-in approach.