Doctor Michael Stuart can still imagine it almost 26 years later.

It was Halloween night, 1998.

It was an innocent play, yet nearly deadly.

Stuart’s son, Mike, was a freshman defenseman for Colorado College, playing his fourth game as a Division I hockey player, against Alaska-Anchorage at World Arena in Colorado Springs, the Tigers’ home rink at the time.

Mike Stuart was trying to make a simple play on the puck when a Seawolves player lost his balance, his leg flying through the air as he fell to the ice. Stuart was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the opposing skate blade sliced ​​through his throat, resulting in what Dr. Stuart called a “full-thickness laceration.” In other words, the skate blade sliced ​​through Mike Stuart’s two layers of skin and into the tissue, muscle, and bone that protect it.

“We were fortunate that no vital structures were severed,” Dr. Stuart told the Post Bulletin last December. “I finally went into the locker room at the insistence of my wife (Nancy) and my parents, who were at the game … I didn’t want to be the doting father-orthopedic surgeon, but they stitched him up — 22 stitches — and he played the next weekend at Mariucci Arena against the Gophers.

“Again, we were lucky. It was what we call a potentially catastrophic injury, and we take that very seriously. … The headline in the Colorado Springs Gazette was something like, ‘Stuart Suffers Scariest Halloween Injury of Them All.’ He ended up okay, thank God. It could have been tragic.”

Mike Stuart played four seasons at Colorado College, was selected in the fifth round of the 2000 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, and played eight seasons of professional hockey, including a handful of games for the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.

That “potentially catastrophic injury” has stuck with his father since that day in 1998. And it’s a big reason why Dr. Stuart — the longtime co-director of Mayo Clinic Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, who retired on Jan. 3, 2024 — has pushed for years for USA Hockey to make neck protection mandatory for all players, officials and coaches who take the ice for practice or games.

Stuart’s wish has come true in a sense.

Beginning Thursday, August 1, 2024, USA Hockey will require the use of neck protection for all players and on-ice officials under the age of 18. The mandate includes players in the youth, girls and junior age groups. The ruling was passed by the USA Hockey Congress on January 28, 2024 — coincidentally in Colorado Springs.

“Safety is always at the forefront of our conversations and the action by our Congress reflected that,” USA Hockey President Mike Trimboli said in late January. “We appreciate the important work done by our Safety and Protective Equipment Committee, led by Dr. Mike Stuart, and the many others who were instrumental in the overall review process.”

USA Hockey has long recommended the use of neck protection, as well as cut-resistant sleeves, socks and tights. The legislation passed in January also includes language that neck protection is strongly recommended for adult players.

Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

The national conversation about neck protection was sparked last October when Adam Johnson, a Hibbing, Minn. native and former University of Minnesota Duluth star, died after being cut in the neck by an opponent’s skate while playing professional hockey in the United Kingdom. Johnson’s death came less than three years after Teddy Balkind, a sophomore at St. Luke’s School in Connecticut, died after suffering an unintentional cut to his neck when he fell to the ice during a junior varsity game on Jan. 12, 2022.

“I’ve been interested in this and motivated for a long time to prevent these injuries,” said Dr. Stuart, who also serves as USA Hockey’s Chief Medical Officer, “but we can’t simplify it. We have to look at the medical evidence. We have to look at the research. We have to work together as a hockey community — and that includes not only the medical representatives, but the equipment manufacturers, the officials, the players, the parents, everyone involved.”

Dr. Stuart knows the pros and cons, but from a medical perspective he firmly believes that players and officials of all ages should always wear neck, arm and leg protection while playing or practicing.

“Adults, for example, where the risk is incredibly, incredibly small … but from a medical perspective, I can’t differentiate by age, gender or level of play, because there’s still risk,” he said. “If you have 12 people on a rink at a time, everyone has two skates. Each of those skates has two blades. So from a medical perspective, I can’t say that Bantams should wear it, but high school kids shouldn’t.”

The Post Bulletin spoke with more than a dozen high school-age coaches or hockey players about the new neck gaiter mandate. While their willingness to comply varied — some players say they don’t notice any difference or discomfort wearing neck gaiters, others say they’ve used them during practices this summer and still find them uncomfortable — the consensus among those surveyed was unanimous: The rule is in place for a reason, and they’ll eventually get used to wearing something around their necks.

An internet search shows that neck protection ranges in cost from about $25 for a loose neck collar to $150 for a top-of-the-line long-sleeve shirt with neck and arm/wrist protection. Cut-resistant socks range from about $20 to $50.

“I’ve always worn one,” said Hannah Peterson, a rising senior at Dodge County who has worn neck gaiters for the past two seasons. “It’s a matter of getting used to it, it’s a big change, obviously, but I think it’s going to be really important.

“I know some people love it, and some people hate it.”

Peterson said she was once cut by a skate blade during a competition. The blade sliced ​​across her arm, but “it wasn’t too deep,” she said. Still, that — along with her preference for the way the cut-protection shirts look — is why she wore the extra layer of protection.

“Sometimes it can be a matter of your own teammates jumping over the boards and kicking you,” she said. “With your neck, it’s scary to think about a skate being that close to your head, but it does happen. I’ve seen and experienced a lot of close calls.”

Peterson’s teammate and classmate Nora Carstensen has never worn a neck gaiter or a long-sleeved shirt with built-in neck protection before. She tried out different types during summer training and said that while they add heat and some discomfort, she understands the reasoning behind wearing them.

“If I have to wear it, I’ll wear it, but I know it’s good for us,” Carstensen said. “I understand why they made the rule and it’s really good to help players stay safe.”

Dodge County head coach Jeremy Gunderson said he is all for the new rule, but acknowledged that neck guards won’t completely prevent injuries but can hopefully lessen their severity.

Gunderson had his players try out different types of neck guards during summer workouts so they knew what to expect when the high school season begins in late October.

“It’s about the safety of the players,” he said. “I can’t believe that players, especially goalies, haven’t had a mandate before. They’re on their knees a lot and there’s ice skates flying around them all the time.”

Post Bulletin File Photo

Rochester Lourdes defenseman Owen Barclay has worn neck protection for years. It wasn’t necessarily his choice, but Barclay said he has no discomfort or issues with the extra layer of gear.

“It was mainly my dad who suggested it, and of course for safety reasons,” said Barclay, who wears the long-sleeved shirt with a neck gaiter. “It’s not something I think about on the ice. It’s not uncomfortable. I don’t really notice it at all.”

Barclay said he has seen players and teammates cut their legs, but he has never seen them cut their upper bodies.

“I think it’s a good thing,” he said of the mandate. “I don’t think some people are going to like wearing them, but I think it’s something that needs to be done to be safer on the ice. There’s always a little bit of a fear factor, but with this you have a little bit more of a sense of protection.”

Lourdes head coach Jeff True is a big proponent of not only neck protection, but arm and leg protection as well. True has suffered serious injuries from skate blades, both as a player at Grand Rapids High School and as a coach at Lourdes.

“It was during a high school game,” True said, “a friend of mine, a teammate, had a pretty bad cut on his neck. He was bleeding pretty bad, but luckily it wasn’t anything serious and he was OK.

“And a player I coached, Montana Streit, probably got his wrist cut in 2015 trying to get a puck behind the net. He had to be rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance and was out for a couple of weeks. So we’ve seen some pretty bad things over the years.”

True encouraged Lourdes’ players to try out different types and brands of neck guards over the summer so they could get as accustomed to them as possible before the high school season started in November.

“I’m pretty old-fashioned in a lot of the ways that I think have to do with hockey, but this is … proven that we can prevent injuries, prevent potential deaths,” he said. “Given the circumstances that have occurred over the last few years, why wouldn’t we implement it?

“I’m glad USA Hockey took that action, glad the (Minnesota) State High School League took that action and glad we’re implementing it. First and foremost, player safety has to be the number one priority.”