TORONTO — Simon Benoit pulls his shoulder pads down from the hook on his stall in the corner of the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room to show a curious visitor a new modification made to his equipment.
Sewn into the collar of his well-worn pads is a new soft, black neck guard, added because of the wakeup call that was Adam Johnson's tragic death by skate blade on Oct. 28 in England.
Benoit, 25, initially tried a "full sleeve" guard that rode closer to his chin but has happily settled on a half guard that covers most of his throat.
The defenceman has worn the added protection for two games now and doesn't mind it one bit. He doesn't find the collar too hot or uncomfortable and doesn't even think about it once the puck drops. (He goes shirtless under his gear, anyway, to breathe more.)
"The neck guard itself, I don't feel it," Benoit says. "It's just a question of look. That's it."
A few Maple Leafs, including veteran Mark Giordano, have test-driven a variety of neck guards in practice. So far, only Tyler Bertuzzi and Benoit have incorporated them into their game-night attire. (William Nylander is on record saying he's willing to give one a try at some point.)
Comfort is one hang-up. Peer pressure is another.
Benoit says "for sure" any NHLer who dared toss on a neck guard before Johnson's death would stick out for appearing different, and hear it from his peers. (To this day, the name Tomas Plekanec can illicit turtleneck jokes.)
"Everybody knows it's a risk. So, I think it would be stupid now to chirp somebody for wearing a neck guard," says Benoit, whose eyes were opened by last month's horror. "It is tragic. It's really sad for his family.
"My girlfriend was like, 'I want you to wear one.' She wasn't panicking or anything, but she was scared. I said, 'I'll look into it.' So, I tried it. Didn't mind it.
"Once that happened, I feel like you won't get chirped on the ice for wearing a neck guard anymore. Everybody's more conscious. Like, it's not just about style. It's for your own protection, right?"
Our behaviours are shaped by our experiences.
In 2018, Benoit was an AHL rookie and teammate of fellow Anaheim Ducks prospect Jack Kopacka when the forward sustained a violent skate laceration.
"He got his wrist sliced open right in front of us, like, next to the bench. And he cut the vein, too," Benoit says of his former San Diego Gulls mate.
Kopacka was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. He survived and is playing pro in Sweden.
"It could have been really bad. I remember just blood [spurting everywhere]," Benoit says, re-enacting the scene. "So, all his teammates, everybody, were like: 'We're doing wrist guards.' So, I just got used to it as well."
Benoit wears cut-resistant ankle sleeves, too. And he's been strapping shot-blockers onto his skates since junior, once he saw hard pucks break defencemen's feet.
"It's just a question of protecting yourself," says the matter-of-fact Benoit, happy to add one more piece of safety gear to his stall.
Neck guards are mandatory in Canada's minor hockey system but only recommended south of the border. (That could change.)
Benoit believes NHLers like him can set an example and further dispel a stigma that neck guards don't look cool.
"You see little kids play, they're just like falling on the ice and stepping all over each other. So, like, those [accidents] can happen, right?" Benoit says.
"Now, if kids can look at me and think, 'Oh, he's wearing it, so maybe I should be wearing one, too,' that's good. And it all comes from that accident. If you can take that and use it as positive, you should."
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