Dan Falloon
It just took one hockey highlight two years ago to inspire Randy Hogan.
“It all started when [Florida Panthers’ forward] Richard Zednik got his neck cut two Februarys ago,” the Fort Frances resident recalled.
“I just thought that could happen to anyone, even our kids.
“It only takes one.”
After some quick thinking by Panthers’ staff, Zednik survived the injury and was back playing in the 2008-09 season.
Hogan, a carpenter by trade, went straight to work drawing up plans for a neck guard he hopes could prevent tragedy.
“I started designing a different type of a neck guard to cover more area,” he remarked. “I just started drawing up ideas and the manufacturers turned it into reality.”
From there, Hogan added cut-resistant wrist guards, skate socks, and goalie underwear—all made with Kevlar—to his repertoire while the neck guards are made with Spectra Guard.
“If you’re down, and somebody gets pushed and they step on you, that’s where this comes in,” he said as he dug a box cutter into one of the neck guards, creating a small opening after several swipes.
“You’d probably still get a bruise, but you’re still going to be protected.”
Hogan also has been canvassing professional teams to give his equipment a shot, arguing it could prevent injuries and keep players on the ice.
In recent years, big names like Teemu Selanne, Andrei Markov, and Cam Ward all have been sidelined by lacerations. In all, NHL players have lost more than 200 man-games to a cut injury of some sort since the start of the 2007 season.
“Right now, we’re just knocking on doors, trying to get NHL teams to buy in that their players are a commodity,” Hogan explained. “If they get injured, that’s a lost-time injury.
“Getting the general managers on board, then it’s them buying it and saying, ‘We want you to wear this because if you get cut, we gotta pay,’” he continued.
“It’s just a matter of time before everybody’s probably going to be doing it.
“I say, ‘Why wouldn’t you wear something that’s going to protect you, or minimize the risk of injury, if it’s not hindering you or impairing your ability to play the game?’” Hogan reasoned.
Hogan noted he had broken through in some places, and his products have seen NHL game action this season.
He also said Dr. Michael Stuart, USA Hockey’s chief medical officer, has expressed interest in testing his neck guard when their testing facility is open.
Ultimately, it comes down to safety of children. Hogan coaches the local Taggs Novice team, and sighs that he has seen far too many unsafe situations already in his stint behind the bench.
“You see the kids out there with the short gloves, and they’re rolling around,” he bemoaned. “Their skates are flailing away, and kids, you can see their ankles.
“Their neck guards are half-on, half-off.
“I know it doesn’t happen a lot, but I know it just takes the once,” he warned.
Hogan conceded his products have not yet been certified in Canada, but still can be worn along with certified equipment.
The other equipment he has designed—the wrist guards, skate socks, and goalie underwear—are not equipment required by Hockey Canada, but are meant to enhance the protection that players do need to have.
“My neck guard’s not certified, but it can be worn with a certified neck guard to protect the other areas that are vulnerable, to protect the areas that other neck guards don’t cover,” Hogan stressed.
A certified neck guard bears the logo of the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ). And Hogan hopes to see that logo on his products sooner rather than later.
“Once I get the rest of my other neck guards and that, there is a company that does pre-certification, and they tell you if it would pass,” he explained.
“They tell you what you would have to do to make it pass, so I think I’m going to do that down the road.
“But everything costs money.”
Even Hogan admitted it’s surprising that one of the major players in hockey equipment hasn’t come out with cut-resistant products yet, but he’s decided he’s going to try to strike for as long as the void in the market exists.
“They’ve got all the funding and the research, it’s just funny that they haven’t yet,” he remarked.
And while Hogan is working on the Hogan Hockey brand, that doesn’t mean he’d plug his ears if one of the large equipment manufacturers came knocking.
“I’ll listen to all offers,” he said. “For now, I’m just trying to get it out there.”
That one of the larger companies doesn’t have cut-resistant products doesn’t mean there isn’t competition, especially in the realm of skate socks. An article on The Hockey News’ website on Jan. 29 noted seven NHL teams already are using socks made by Tactics—and Montreal-based Tuff-N-Lite also is looking for its piece of the pie.
Hogan’s next big promotional effort will be presenting his product in St. Paul, Mn. at the Let’s Play Hockey Expo on March 12-13, being held in conjunction with the Minnesota High School Hockey League’s state tournament.
“There’s going to be some major players there,” he enthused. “Hockey giants like all these online retail stores, so if we get into one of those, we’re going to be looking good.”
Hogan also sees a chance to make a real impact south of the border because not all hockey associations there require neck guards, leaving open markets his product potentially could fill.
“I was real excited when I got that because the kids in Minnesota don’t wear neck guards, so I thought maybe they could mandate some associations to [make them required equipment],” he noted.
“They’re a little bit different over there. If Hockey Canada says you’ve got to wear a mouth guard, you’ve got to wear a mouth guard.
“Over there, they’re saying, well, we want you to wear a neck guard, but if your hockey association says you don’t have to, we recommend that you do.”
While Hogan attempts to get his products into online stores, they’re also available at his company’s website at www.hoganhockey.com
