Looking at the rough nature of the game, ice hockey equipment was devised and developed to assist players through the game. The equipment can be broadly classified into two categories, i.e. protective gear as well as non-protective gear. Besides sticks and skates (non-protective equipment), players of this game are also equipped with safety gear to avert injuries. These include, neck guards, shin pads, chest protectors, padded shorts, protective gloves, mouth guards, elbow pads, shoulder pads and helmets etc. Let’s take a look at the equipment used by general players:
Helmet
With sticks flying all around in the air, speeding pucks and players tumbling and falling all over, proper head protection while playing this game is a must. Helmets are of two kinds, i.e. the ones used by the players and the ones used by the goalie. Goalie helmets are generally heavier than the ones used by players.
Neck Guards
Neck guards are extremely necessary and it’s advised that players not enter the rink without wearing one. Why? They are the only thing that will protect your neck during falls as well as from flying sticks and pucks. A neck guard may however restrict neck movement. In order to counter this, a number of hockey equipment manufacturers have come up with neck guards that are slim, compact and flexible.
Shoulder Pads
Shoulder pads are needed to avoid injuries from pucks, sticks as well as falls. Are they necessary? Yes they are? A number of players have had to stay out of the game for more than a few seasons as they went to practice without putting on their shoulder pads. A slip disc isn’t that far away if you forget to do so as well.
Hockey Gloves
Good quality hockey gloves are needed to provide optimum protection to the hands. Most gloves are constructed with thin palms as well as fingers whereas more padding is provided to the other side of the hands. Gloves provide extra protection and support to the thumbs and inhibit it from bending.
Shin Guards
Shin guards are generally needed to provide optimum protection to the shins and generally come along with a kneepad. They are mostly constructed to provide protection to the frontal area with the help of a hard shell. The shin pads usually don’t provide any protection to the calves.
Mouth Guards
As the name suggests, mouth guards are needed to protect the mouth. You’ll come across a number of variants in the market, a few of which will also enable you to speak from the mouth.
Skates
This by far, is the most important equipment for this game. You can’t really play this game well without a good pair to take you around. Ice skates are usually constructed with a rigid metal shell and are often reinforced with a metal mesh in order to prevent the blades from cutting through. Hockey skates are different from figure skates in a way that they come without toe heals. There is a lot more to hockey gear, both protective and non-protective. Refer to online resources for more.