Hockey is a hard-hitting and fast-paced game that can be dangerous to the participant without the proper equipment. The puck is made out of a hard material called vulcanized rubber, and can travel at speeds approaching 100 mph. Players check (block) each other with their bodies in an attempt to gain possession of the puck. The boards surrounding the rink are firm and have little give. All of this makes hockey a game that requires maximum protective equipment.
Skater's Equipment
Step 1
Put on a helmet to protect your head. A helmet was not required equipment in hockey until the 1970s. However, the game is quite hard-hitting, and absorbing a check that sends a player to the ice requires protection to the head. A helmet is padded on the inside and must be strapped on under the chin to be effective.
Step 2
Put on shoulder and arm pads to provide upper body protection. Shoulder pads in hockey are not the same as shoulder pads in football, which are large and bulky. However, they will protect the shoulder, upper arms and chest from the pucks.
Step 3
Wear shin pads to protect your lower legs from hard shots. Blocking shots is one of the most important aspects of playing hockey. Shin guards in hockey cover a smaller area than they do in baseball because players have to skate unencumbered. Players also wear foam pads in the upper legs to protect from hard shots.
Step 4
Wear hockey gloves on your hands. These gloves are stiff on the outside to protect your hands from getting slashed with a stick or hit with the puck. However, the underside of the gloves is quite movable and flexible to allow the players to maneuver the puck deftly.
Goalie Equipment
Step 1
Put the goalie mask on over your head. Goalies did not wear protective masks until 1959 when Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens went to the ice wearing the protective gear after absorbing yet another puck to the face. He told his coach he would not return to the ice unless he could wear his mask, and many goalies followed his lead. The last maskless goalie played in the NHL in the early 1970s (Andy Brown of the Detroit Red Wings). The mask covers the entire face and is secured by a plate that fits over the back of the head.
Step 2
Put on a chest protector that goes down to waist level and includes the upper arms. These pads allow a goaltender to painlessly absorb a slap shot that may be moving at 100 mph.
Step 3
Wear an athletic supporter that includes a specially enforced protective cup. This is an essential piece of equipment that provides security to the goaltender.
Step 4
Tie on leg pads that help the goaltender make kick saves without fear. Pads may be 38 inches in length and 12 inches in width. They are made of foam.
Step 5
Put on goalie skates that have steel-enforced toes and sliding blades on the bottom. Goalies must move quickly from side to side, and the special blades on their skates allow them to do so. The steel toes allow the goalie to make a kick save without injuring their vulnerable toes.
Things You'll Need
- Helmet
- Shoulder pads
- Leg pads
- Goalie mask
- Goalie chest protector
- Goalie pads
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