Newcomer to the Pittsburgh Penguins Ryan Graves is still working with neck guards at practice.

With each day that passes following the death of former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Adam Johnson, more players across the world are beginning to wear neck protection.

A handful of Penguins wore neck guards during a practice after head coach Mike Sullivan highly encouraged the usage to his team.

Since then, only veteran forward Jeff Carter wore one in game action, but he may have company pretty soon.

Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves was part of the initial group to wear neck guards in practice, and has continued to experiment with the extra protection.

In the morning skate ahead of the Penguins match with the Buffalo Sabres, Graves was wearing a new, white neck guard.

According to Graves, this new white one is more comfortable, but admittedly possibly less safe.

“This one’s more comfortable,” Graves said. “Probably a little less protective I would say. It’s definitely going to be a balance.”

The comfort level of a neck guard is exactly what has made it a slow transition for many players.

When the group of Penguins first tried neck guards, they had thick black ones that had extra protection in certain areas of the neck.

Graves noted that he’s still experimenting with his options, but this new white one might stick around for a little.

“That one’s pretty good,” Graves said. “Might try that one for a bit. Just trying it out, it’s something new to us.”

While the conversation of neck guards has reached a new level, Graves believes there is still room to grow, and the push will be led by some of the games leaders.

Graves noted some veteran and big name players in the NHL like Carter, T.J. Oshie, and Anze Kopitar are wearing them, and that should make a difference in the spread of their usage.

“That will change the culture around it a bit,” Graves said. “When guys like Kopitar, he’s played like what 1,200 games? When guys like that, if he’s willing to wear it and think it’s fine… that will help change the conversation.”

Much like how there is multiple brands and styles for every other piece of hockey equipment, there are multiple different kinds of neck guards.

Players will keep experimenting and seeing what works best for them, and soon enough it’s possible most of the NHL is donning the protection.

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