Hockey helmet study raises questions for Winnipeg hockey parents

Some Winnipeg hockey parents are taking another look at the helmets their kids strap on after a startling new study.

Researchers in the U.S. found most new helmets are either marginal or not recommended for use at all.

Christine Laarveld has two boys, 7 and 10, who play hockey in Winnipeg and says she's concerned about the findings of the study.

"I mean, it's better they're wearing something as opposed to not wearing anything on the ice," she said. "But I want to know that my son is going to be protected on the ice."

She said she knows nothing will protect them 100 per cent.

"I'm not naive," she said. "But I expect when my sons are wearing the protective equipment that it's going to be doing the job that it's advertised to do so. And [that] it's going to minimize their risk as much as possible," she said.

Darcey Bourgeois also has a son who plays hockey. She is concerned, too.

"Definitely. If you're spending how much money to protect your kids, and the concern now is concussions with hockey and other sports as well, you'd want to make sure the product is there to protect your child, right?"

Bourgeois said up to now, she's been satisfied that hockey helmets were safe, because they have to be approved by the Canadian Standards Association.

But she said she's now questioning that

"I'm aware of those standards," she said. "But if you're saying 75 per cent of them aren't good, what does that sticker even mean then?"