Visors, cages and full face protection: who must wear what.

Hockey uses three kinds of face protection on a skater's helmet: a visor (a clear shield over the eyes, often called a half visor), a cage (a wire mask), and a full-face visor (a clear shield covering the whole face). The IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 9.7 names exactly these three. Which one a player must wear depends on the body running the game, the player's age or category, and in some cases the year the player was born.

IIHF: by category

Other IIHF points from the 2026/27 rules: a player whose visor cracks or breaks during play must leave the ice at once. Tinted or coloured visors that make eye contact with the player impossible are not allowed. Wearing a visor in a way that could injure an opponent counts as dangerous equipment (Rule 9.8). A player with a facial injury may wear a mask or protector of an IIHF-approved design, and the team doctor may prescribe one in the first instance; the other team can lodge an objection with the IIHF.

NHL: the visor rule and its grandfather clause

Under the NHL Official Rules 2026-2027, Rule 9.7, every player with fewer than 25 games of NHL experience must wear a visor properly fixed to the helmet so that it gives adequate eye protection. The rule has applied since the 2013-14 season, so a player who had already reached 25 NHL games before then is not covered by it. The Hockey News reported on 3 July 2026 that Jamie Benn, Ryan O'Reilly, Zach Bogosian and Ryan Reaves were the four NHL skaters who played without a visor in 2025-26, and that Reaves was unsigned for 2026-27.

The NHL rule, like the IIHF's, allows a League-approved mask or protector for a player with a facial injury, first as prescribed by the club doctor.

Hockey Canada: full face unless you are senior or major junior

Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Playing Rules, Rule 3.6(b), require every player, goaltenders included, to wear a CSA-certified helmet with a CSA-certified facial protector securely attached and not altered in any way, on the ice and in pre-game warm-ups. The straps of the facial protector, where it has them, must be fastened to the helmet. Rule 3.6(e) then sets out who may wear what:

• Senior and Major Junior: a CSA-certified full facial protector or visor is compulsory. For male adult recreational hockey, it is recommended but optional.
• Every other category and division, female hockey included: a CSA-certified full facial protector is compulsory.
• Goaltenders, all divisions: a CSA-certified helmet with a CSA-certified facial protector securely attached and unaltered.
• On the benches: players on the players' or penalty bench must keep the certified helmet and facial protector on and attached. A first violation brings a team warning, and later ones a minor penalty to the team. The rule's interpretations allow a player on the bench to raise the mask for a drink or remove the helmet to clean a visor, and allow helmets off in a glassed-in penalty bench.
• Half visor divisions: where a division allows a half visor, a mouthguard is compulsory, though recommended but optional in Senior hockey.

The CSA sticker colours

Rule 3.6(e) makes it mandatory for players buying a new facial protector to follow this table, which links each type to the colour of its CSA sticker:

The rulebook notes that some of these types differ only in the penetration requirements of the CSA standard. An undated Pashby fitting guide describes the white class as for players 10 or older; the 2026-28 rulebook's wording is any age, and the rulebook is the text that applies to play. CSA Group's catalogue lists a new face protector standard, CSA Z262.2:26, adopting ISO 10256-3:2024 with Canadian changes and dated 24 August 2026; we could not confirm whether it changes these classes.

Alterations and tints

Under Rule 3.6(b) any alteration to a CSA-certified facial protector destroys its certification. Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador has warned that tinted face protectors and aftermarket tints break CSA certification and Rule 3.6(b) for that reason. Under Rule 3.6(f), wearing a facial protector improperly, or wearing uncertified equipment, is penalized as illegal equipment, and Rule 10.6(d) adds a misconduct after one team warning for wearing it improperly.

United States: high school and USA Hockey

• NFHS (high school): all face masks and shields worn by high school players, goalkeepers and officials must meet HECC/ASTM certification, and goalkeepers must wear a HECC/ASTM full face mask with a helmet and chin strap (Rule 3-3-1, 2024-25).
• USA Hockey: we could not read USA Hockey's 2025-29 rule text directly. Search summaries of its Rule 304, and a retailer guide, say youth and high school players must wear a HECC-approved facemask with the helmet, that adult goalkeepers need a full facemask but not a HECC one, and that USA Hockey strongly recommends a HECC-approved full facemask in every classification. We could not confirm this wording, so check the current Rule 304 with your association.
• Attachments: Minnesota Hockey said in January 2021 that attaching anything to a HECC-certified helmet voids its certification unless the helmet maker approves it and HECC's validator verifies it, and pointed players to HECC's website for the current list of approved products.

Fitting face protection

• The Pashby fitting guide says a facemask is sized by measuring from the front of the helmet to the bottom of the chin, the chin should sit in the chin cup, the mask must be compatible with the helmet, and masks must never be cut or altered.
• A retailer, HockeyMonkey, says face protection must be certified as compatible with that helmet model and fitted with the maker's hardware (claim).
• The Pashby guide says visors should be cleaned after every use.

Goalie masks follow separate rules and certification; see goalie equipment.

Before you buy, check which type your category requires, read the certification sticker, and confirm the mask or visor is made for your helmet model. Rules change between editions, so check your association's current rulebook.