I played goal for years and I started when I was 15 back in 1995 I think. First year all I had was an sk2000 with a bubble mask. No dangler no neck guard. One of the first practices I played I took an unscreened slapper from the point directly in the neck. It was shocking and scary but I was fine in a couple minutes. Guess I got lucky.So the kids I'm coaching are not what I'd call elite! Probably slightly better then average for their age at best.
Can an elite 11-12 year old hit 75 mph? Probably. For our kids we really don't work on or practice slap shots anyways, but their writers are probably more like 40 mph. But that's still a fair bit of force. When coaching I have to remind myself NOT to stand near the net when they're doing any drill that involves shooting.
Throughout my adult career I wore a padded neck guard with collarbone protection and a dangler. It's insane to me that modern goalies play without either.