Fitting and sizing: every piece, from helmet to skates.

Our main source here is "A Guide to Fitting Hockey Equipment" by the Hockey Development Centre for Ontario and the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund, hosted by Hockey Eastern Ontario and written for parents, coaches, trainers and players. Hockey Canada publishes its own player and goalie fitting guides under its Game Change programme, but we could not open them directly, so points from them are taken from search summaries and labelled. We found no USA Hockey fitting guide. Retailer advice is included where it adds detail, labelled as claims.

Three rules before you start

• Do not buy to grow into. The Pashby guide says oversized equipment slides away from the area it is meant to protect.
• Fit in what you play in. Fit everything wearing the same light undergarments and socks you use on the ice.
• Fit pieces together. Elbow pads meet the shoulder pads and the gloves; pants overlap the shin pads (Pashby guide); and a retailer, HockeyMonkey, says to check a neck guard with the shoulder pads, helmet and jersey on (claim).

Skates

• Pashby guide: check the feet for any irregularities first. In the unlaced skate, push the foot forward until the toes touch; there should be about one finger-width behind the heel. Kick the heel back before lacing. Laced, the eyelets should be about 1.5 to 2 inches apart. Never wrap laces around the ankle.
• Shoe size to skate size (claim): a Scheels guide gives a rule of thumb for Bauer skates of about 1.5 sizes down from shoe size for adults, about one size down for juniors and youth, and about three sizes down from women's shoe sizes. The guide gives this for Bauer skates only.
• Toe room, where retailers disagree (claims): one says the toes should lightly touch the toe cap standing and pull back slightly with the knees bent; another says to leave about a thumb's width.
• Heel and width (claim): Icebox Hockey says the heel should be locked in the pocket with little movement and the width snug without side-to-side slide.
• Volume (manufacturer claim via a retailer): Bauer's three fits run from Fit 1, low volume, to Fit 3, high volume. Bauer's foot-scan figures, as a retailer reports them, put about 37% of feet in Fit 1, 44% in Fit 2 and 19% in Fit 3.

Helmet and face protection

• Helmet, Pashby guide: snug and staying put with the chin strap fastened, the front just above the eyebrows, CSA approved for Canadian play, and checked inside and out for cracks.
• Helmet, retailer (claim): HockeyMonkey says level about one finger above the eyebrows, snug without pressure points, no rocking when you shake your head, and about one finger of space under the fastened chin strap.
• Facemask, Pashby guide: measure from the front of the helmet to the bottom of the chin to size it; the chin should sit in the chin cup; the mask must be compatible with the helmet and never cut or altered.

Hockey Canada's 2022 helmet reminder pointed families to an equipment fitting guide in its Safety Teamwork publication. See helmets and face protection for the certification rules.

Neck guard

• Pashby guide: it must carry the BNQ certification label, fit snugly and cover the throat fully.
• IIHF 2026/27, Rule 9.12: choose a design that covers as much of the neck as possible.
• Retailer (claim): HockeyMonkey says to measure the neck just below the Adam's apple and check the fit with shoulder pads, helmet and jersey on.

Shoulder and elbow pads

• Shoulder pads, Pashby guide: protect the whole shoulder joint through its full movement; arm pads reach just above the elbow; the back pad meets the top of the pants; nothing digs into the neck when the arms are raised. For female players, a combined shoulder and chest protector adds chest protection.
• Shoulder pads, Hockey Canada guide (search summary): slip on easily, sit comfortably and stay in place when moving, with straps secure under the arms and on the biceps.
• Elbow pads, Pashby guide: the point of the elbow in the inner cup, the top meeting the shoulder pad, the bottom reaching down the forearm into the glove cuff.
• Elbow pads, Hockey Canada guide (search summary): the elbow in the centre of the pad, left and right on the correct arms, straps snug but not tight.

Gloves

The Pashby guide says gloves should be snug but not tight and overlap the elbow pad through the full range of motion, with shock-absorbing padding on the back of the hand and soft palms without holes.

Pants and shin pads

• Pants, Pashby guide: fitted by waist size with the shin pads on, slightly overlapping the top of the shin pad, and protecting the front and side of the thigh, the tailbone, hips and kidney area. For female players, fit the hips first, then check the length.
• Pants, Hockey Canada guide (search summary): resting on the hips and slightly overlapping the top of the knee pads, without sagging or limiting movement; suspenders optional.
• Shin pads, Pashby guide: sized in inches in junior and senior sizes and fitted with loosely laced skates on. The pad's knee cap is centred on the kneecap and the bottom reaches where the foot meets the leg at a right angle, with no gap above the skate and no excess length.
• Shin pads, Hockey Canada guide (search summary): the knee in the centre of the cap, with about two finger-widths between the top of the foot and the bottom of the pad.

Jock or jill

The Pashby guide says a jock or jill strap is fitted by waist size and that protective cups come in sizes for all players, and recommends a properly fitted sports bra for every female player. See mouthguards and protective cups.

Stick

Sources differ on the height. The Pashby guide says that in street shoes the stick should reach between the chin and mouth, and just below the chin on skates, and that younger players should use junior sticks. Ice Warehouse says between chin and nose in shoes and about the chin on skates (claim). It also suggests a starting flex of about half the player's body weight in pounds, often 10 to 15 points softer, and gives size bands by age: Youth to about age 7, Junior about 6 to 12, Intermediate about 11 to 16, Senior 14 and up (claims). See sticks.

Goalie equipment

The Pashby guide says goalie pads are fitted with goalie skates on, kneecap in the middle of the knee roll, from the toe of the skate to about four inches above the knee. Pants should leave room for the belly pad, upper-body protection should cover the collarbone, chest and abdomen and run down the arms to the wrist, and blocker and trapper should fit the hand and overlap the arm pads. The goalie stick blade should sit flat on the ice in the crouch. In the NHL, goalie pads, chest protectors and pants are sized to each goaltender by league measurement; see goalie equipment.

Keep the Pashby guide's reason for not buying to grow into in mind as a player grows: oversized gear slides away from the area it is meant to protect.