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In late October, the hockey world was struck by the tragedy of former NHL player Adam Johnson when his neck was cut by an opponent.

Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers in a Champions Cup game in England on Oct. 28 when a skate blade cut his neck. Police subsequently arrested Matt Petgrave on suspicion of manslaughter.

The Star spoke to multiple people about their thoughts on the matter recently.

When we asked a man who only referred to himself as Mike what his thoughts were on neck protection, he said. 鈥淭he problem with neck protection is that it traps heat. That始s the main problem with neck guards and why most people don鈥檛 wear them. I have been thinking about it but whether I始ll actually go out to get one and wear it during hockey play is a different matter. I始d need some time to try it out.

鈥淥f course it始s sad that this happened to somebody. I heard a recent interview with Wayne Gretzky who始s talking about how kids these days have to use neck guards and how they始ve been doing it their entire lives but again, it始s the heat trapping issue that始s a concern. I get hot really fast and I sweat quite heavily when I play so the neck guard would make that worse.鈥�

When he was asked about the importance of players wearing neck guards in the future, he said, 鈥淥ne of the things to consider is that it is very rare to have to a skate to the neck. It does happen, but it is a very rare occasion so I mean you could argue it始s a useful prevention measure, it doesn鈥檛 have a high cost and it doesn始t really inconvenience the players that much.鈥�

Zack Seguin said that it was unexpected and that he will be wearing a neck guard moving forward. Patrick Greenland shared the same opinion as Zack and said, 鈥淚t never even crossed my mind for that to happen but I始m definitely wearing one now.鈥�

Tom Ullyett has been playing hockey and wearing a neck guard for over 20 years.

鈥淪ometimes it takes a tragedy to raise awareness. It鈥檚 unfortunate but certainly in the hockey world, either North America or Europe, awareness has been raised once again that neck guards should be a mandatory piece of equipment. Many players have worn them for a long time and it鈥檚 interesting that it takes a horrific situation for our sport to improve the quality of the protective equipment.鈥�

He went on to explain how visors were barely used 20 years ago but nowadays everybody uses them. 鈥淗opefully, this will move us ahead in terms of our thinking about protecting a vital part of your body. I鈥檓 no doctor but you can bleed to death in a heck of a hurry if you get sliced in your neck, so I鈥檝e worn a neck guard for many years. I play in the Whitehorse Oldtimers Hockey League, terrific league but even there, your neck is at risk, people fall down, you fall down, maybe a bit of a scramble in front of the net, players鈥� legs and arms flying around. Bodies going in different directions.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not hard to imagine a skate striking a part of another player鈥檚 body so I very much hope that the tragedy in England moves us forward but not just on an individual level thinking about protecting your neck are but at a more strategic level, at a league level. There鈥檚 at least one league in Canada that has now made neck guards mandatory so I鈥檓 hoping that that wave will happen.鈥�

Ullyett hopes to see his peers in the WOHL wear neck guards.

鈥淚 hope that I始ll see more neck guards this season; I would love it if they became mandatory whether it be in the rec league, in the women始s leagues too 鈥� although women are a bit smarter than men when it comes to protecting themselves.

鈥淚始m hoping that this moves us ahead and that it doesn始t take another tragedy to rethink about what we始re doing.鈥�

Matt Petgrave was recently released on bail.

The English Hockey Association released a statement saying they strongly advise players to wear a neck guard going forward.