Erik Karlsson was one of a number of Pittsburgh Penguins players who wore a neck guard during practice on Thursday.
"I don’t think it is a bad thing, and I’ll probably try it out for a bit and see if I can get accustomed to it and go from there," Karlsson told reporters afterward.
Other Penguins players to wear them included Lars Eller, Ryan Graves and Marcus Pettersson.
The change comes following the death of former Penguins player Adam Johnson, who died after his neck was cut by a skate in a game in England last weekend.
Neck guards are not mandatory in the NHL, but Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has since announced the organization will mandate them at the minor-league level and "strongly encourage" the NHL players to wear them.
Karlsson has a history with skate cuts. Back in 2013 — when he was with the Ottawa Senators — Karlsson's Achilles tendon was cut by the skate of then-Penguins forward Matt Cooke. Karlsson missed 31 games with the injury and it led to a number of players switching to Kevlar socks for additional protection.
"I wish I (wore the Kevlar socks) back then," Karlsson said on Thursday. "That's probably what started that trend, my injury there. Most guys now just wear it, it's just like a normal sock anyway."
Other players around the league have been spotted with neck guards at practice, including Capitals forward Tom Wilson on Thursday. Capitals teammate T.J. Oshie wore one during the warmup prior to Thursday's game against the New York Islanders.
Oshie owns his own company, Warroad Hockey, that produces neck guards.
Four Jets players, including Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti, were seen wearing neck guards on Wednesday.
"The magnitude of the situation that unfortunately happened puts a lot of things in perspective," Karlsson said. "We all have families and friends — we do this because we love to do this and we get paid well to do it, and stuff like that. At the end of the day, we do it because it’s a choice. I don’t think anyone would keep doing it if it meant risking your life every day going out there. If you can wear a small piece of equipment to hopefully prevent something like that again, I think that’s a win."
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