A gruesome injury can change the way sports safety is viewed. A realization that equipment needs to be upgrade or reinvented can often come at the price of a player's health. After Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson was cut by a player's skate and suffered a season-ending Achilles tear on Feb. 13, new equipment became necessary. Now, a company is developing a version of a hockey sock to prevent the same incident from happening twice.
Swiftwick, a leading producer of athletic compression socks, began to develop a specific sock for hockey players over three years ago. The Swiftwick Cut-Resistant Hockey Sock is designed to deliver superior cut and impact resistance that will prevent Achilles injuries from happening again.
Players will often times choose not to wear protective socks currently on the market because they believe it can inhibit their performance on the ice. Swiftwick socks allow for full range of motion while giving the protection to prevent injury. The cut-resistant socks are currently being worn by players on the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes.
"I've been wearing the Swiftwick Cut-Resistant Hockey Sock for more than two years now. I'm confident I can avoid a career-ending Achilles injury by wearing the sock. Unlike Kevlar socks, I don't sacrifice performance for my protection. I can feel the ice with great blade control," said Steve Sullivan, forward of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Swiftwick uses an ultra-high composite yarn based on state-of-the-art cut and ballistic-resistant fiber technologies. The material in the sock is comparable to that in a bullet-proof vest, yet it is still comfortable to wear.
Karlsson suffered the Achilles injury after he and Penguins forward Matt Cooke got tangled along the boards fighting for the puck. He immediately fell to the ice in pain. Cooke's skate cut Karlsson's left Achilles, requiring him to have season-ending surgery to repair it. Karlsson was leading NHL defensemen at the time with six goals, scoring three times in his previous four games. His injury has begun to raise awareness about the ways players can take precautions against the same thing happening to them.
"These kinds of situations raise player's awareness about the risks that come with the sport," said Pete Rodgers, equipment manager of the Nashville Predators. "Now many Predators are wearing the Swiftwick Cut-Resistant Hockey Sock because it is the only sock of its kind that combines performance and cut-resistance all in one; other socks on the market simply do not perform as well."
The technology in Swiftwick's socks manages moisture while providing blood flow. They double the protection against force impact slices of other protective hockey socks. Karlsson's injury was considered a rare and freak accident, but it could have been prevented. The NHL's department of player safety did not bring any disciplinary action onto Cooke in wake of the accident.
