Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has added a new piece of equipment to his hockey wardrobe.
The 32-year-old has been sidelined with a fractured zygomatic bone since October 29 after he was struck in the face with a puck during a shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes. He appears to be slated for a return in the near future, and at Ducks practice, was seen rocking a visor for the first time in his NHL career (with the exception of wearing a bubble cage due to injury).
That doesn’t exactly look like the Getzlaf hockey fans have grown to know throughout the years.
The Ducks captain has rocked a visor while competing in international competition before, but not by choice. At the Olympics, the Regina native did everything he could to avoid looking through his.
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Getzlaf isn’t the first player to switch to a visor after enduring a serious facial injury. After Marc Staal took a puck to the face, he and his brothers, Eric and Jordan, all decided to add one to their helmets going forward after previously not wearing one.
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Playing with a bare face may add to a player’s ‘hockey image’, but Getzlaf is proof that skaters should think twice before doing so.
Even if it does mean you get chirped a bit for it.
(H/T Eric Stephens)
