<P> In 2002, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a study identifying the protection offered against concussions between the half - face shield and the full - face shield . The use of a full - face shield compared with half - face shield significantly reduced the playing time lost because of concussion, suggesting that concussion severity may be reduced by the use of a full - face shield . </P> <P> The first player to regularly wear a helmet for protective purposes was George Owen, who played for the Boston Bruins in 1928--29 . In 1927, Barney Stanley presented a prototype of a helmet at the NHL's annual meeting . It was quickly rejected . </P> <P> Helmets appeared after the Ace Bailey--Eddie Shore incident on December 12, 1933, as a result of which Bailey almost died and Shore suffered a severe head injury . After that, Art Ross engineered a new helmet design and when the Boston Bruins took to the ice in a game against the Ottawa Senators, most of the players donned the new helmet . Most Bruins players didn't wear the helmet after the game, with the exception of Eddie Shore, who wore it the rest of his career . In the 1930s, the Toronto Maple Leafs players were ordered to add helmets to their equipment . A few minutes into the first game with the new helmets, the popular King Clancy famously flung his off . The helmets were generally unpopular with fans, media, and other players . A few players, such as Des Smith, Bill Mosienko, Dit Clapper, and Don Gallinger continued to don helmets . </P> <P> During the Original Six era, Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach briefly wore helmets . Jack Crawford wore a helmet to hide his bald head and Charlie Burns wearing one to protect the metal plates in his head from an injury incurred in playing junior ice hockey, predating his NHL career . </P>

When did they start wearing helmets in hockey