The Epidemiology of Professional Ice Hockey Injuries in the National Hockey League: A Retrospective Analysis From 2012 to 2023
From the 2012-2013 through 2022-2023 NHL seasons (excluding the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic), the highest number of injuries occurred during the regular season, while the highest rate of injury occurred during the playoffs. The greatest incidence of injuries occurred in forwards, during the first period, due to puck-related causes. Injuries occurred most commonly to the head and hand, while injuries to the knee and shoulder accounted for the greatest mean number of man-games and days lost.
Authors
- Derrick M. Knapik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8692-4746)
- Matthew J. Matava
- Robert H. Brophy
- Matthew Smith
Institutions
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The American Journal of Sports Medicine
- Published
- 2026-02-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465261418983
- Primary Topic
- Sports injuries and prevention
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00