CBS Boston 1/18/22: After Friend’s Death, Wayland Teen Wants Neck Guards Mandatory For Youth Hockey Players. Sam Brande is on a mission to make a change. “I want to be able to make a change because of what happened to one of my good friends,” Brande said. The 16-year-old lost his childhood friend, Teddy Balkind, in a tragic fatal hockey incident earlier this month.

Metrowest Daily News 1/18/22:Wayland hockey player Sam Brande starts petition for use of neck guards after friend’s death. After a Connecticut high school hockey player died from a neck injury on Jan. 6, Brande created a petition to make neck guards mandatory across USA Hockey. The hockey player’s petition on Change.org has over 96,000 signatures.