After more than 250 games in junior, college and minor-pro leagues, and another 675 in the NHL, Daniel Winnik’s 31-year-old face is, in his words, “beat up beyond repair.”
Still, he continues to muck it up in the corners for the Washington Capitals, his caved-in nose fully exposed. He’s a rarity in the NHL these days, a player who competes without a visor.
Winnik’s loved ones have given up, grown tired of convincing him to change his tune regarding face shields: “My wife has tried to get me to wear one, but she gets it.”
This stubbornness is not unique.