from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

Soon there will only be a handful of players skating around NHL rinks with unprotected eyes. Eventually, the visor-less NHLer will be as rare as a 9-7 game.

Extinct.

The league’s decision to grandfather mandatory use for all rookies starting two years ago has had a profound effect on how the issue of eye protection is viewed inside dressing rooms. It’s removed a stigma and prompted several veteran players to don a visor, even a few of those known to agitate or fight.

Just 77 of the 715 skaters who have played a game this season have done so without a visor, according to numbers compiled by Sportsnet with the help of each NHL team.

That means 89.23 per cent are now wearing a shield – a dramatic increase which can't be entirely accounted for by player turnover since the new rule was adopted.

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