Coroner concerned over future deaths if neck guards are not worn in ice hockey

Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson was hit in the neck by the skate of a member of the opposing Sheffield Steelers team.

Fans look at floral tributes outside the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, ahead of a memorial for Nottingham Panthers’ ice hockey player Adam Johnson (Zac Goodwin/PA)

The coroner investigating the death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson has told the governing body of ice hockey in the UK she is “sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future” if neck guards are not worn.

Sheffield’s senior coroner Tanyka Rawden opened the inquest into the death of Johnson on Friday following the tragic incident at the city’s Utilita Arena on October 28, when he was hit in the neck by the skate of a member of the opposing Sheffield Steelers team.