Auston Matthews makes huge equipment change at the Winter Olympics
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is gearing up for the Winter Olympics with Team USA, and it looks like he wants to protect himself.
Auston Matthews is the captain of Team USA, and there is no denying that he is going to be in for a very interesting Olympic tournament.
Team USA is one of the favorites in this tournament, and there is quite a bit of pressure on Matthews and his teammates to perform under the pressure.
With that being said, today was a big one for the team, as they finally made it to Italy and got to practice on the ice for the first time.
It was here that Matthews was named captain of the team. It was also revealed that he would be linemates with Jake Guentzal and Matt Boldy.
Auston Matthews puts on some neck protection
During the practice today, Matthews was rocking some new equipment. In fact, he had on a piece of gear that you almost never see him wearing.
Below, you can see that Matthews had on a neck guard. This is a piece of gear that can be controversial amongst NHL players.
Having said that, it appears as though Matthews is testing it out. Whether or not he uses it during the games, remains to be seen.
For some reason, neck guards are not mandatory. At the end of the day, it is something that can absolutely save your life.
With that being said, the Olympics and the NHL should think about seriously encouraging the players to stay protected.
You never know what can happen on the ice, and as we saw last year, some pretty devastating situations can arise.
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