EDMONTON, Alberta The sight of defenseman Borje Salming's faceafter a severe on-ice incident in a game last week has persuadedcenter Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers to try playing hockeywith a visor.
Salming, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, needed more than 100stitches in his face when he was cut by a skate blade. He hadremoved the visor he formerly used.
Salming said if he had been wearing the visor, he wouldn't havesuffered the cut.
"I have a whole new appreciation for face shields," saidGretzky, the Oilers' captain who has resisted wearing one. He neverhas had a serious cut around his eyes.
"The shield has always been too heavy for my light helmet, butthey've come out with a smaller, thinner one now," he said. "I'll tryit in practice for a few weeks. I've done it before, but taken itoff."
Gretzky said other players tend to carry their sticks higharound players wearing shields, another reason he has resistedwearing one.
However, he said, "They're cleaning the game up now, crackingdown on high-sticking."
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