Mouthguards and protective cups: required, recommended, or up to your league.

Mouthguards, body by body

Hockey Canada and its branches

Hockey Canada's 2026-28 rules leave most mouthguard decisions to its Members. Where a Member has made one mandatory, the same rules on proper wear apply as for helmets, facial protectors and throat protectors. Under Rule 3.6(f) the referee penalizes a mouthguard worn improperly, and Rule 10.6(d) sets a misconduct for that after one warning to the team. In half-visor divisions, Note 6 to Rule 3.6(e) gives one team warning and then a misconduct for any later infraction, and encourages referees to give the warning to the coach.

Branch rules show how different the requirement can be within one country:

• Hockey Northwestern Ontario requires an intra-oral mouthguard that is one piece, contacts all teeth of both jaws, is at least 3 mm thick between the teeth, and may be any colour except clear. It explains the colour rule as letting officials and emergency staff see quickly whether a mouthguard is in.
• Hockey Saskatchewan states that Hockey Canada does not mandate mouthguards in its playing rules, so its officials will not enforce league mouthguard mandates. It recommends a properly fitted mouthguard at least 3 mm thick for U9 to U18 players other than goaltenders. The 2026-28 rulebook does make a mouthguard compulsory in half-visor divisions, so check how your branch applies that.
• Hockey Eastern Ontario's December 2023 policy notes that the Hockey Canada rule on improper wear covers mouthguards only where one is required.

USA Hockey: not confirmed from the rule text

We could not read USA Hockey's 2025-29 Rule 304 directly. Search summaries of it say players in the Youth and Girls classifications from 12 and under through 18U, high school and Girls 19U, goalkeepers included, must wear a coloured, not clear, internal mouthpiece covering the remaining teeth of one jaw, and that a dentist-fitted mouthpiece is strongly recommended for everyone. A club newsletter describes a team warning for a first violation and a misconduct for later ones. We could not confirm any of this wording, so check the current Rule 304 with your association.

Fitting

The Pashby fitting guide (Hockey Development Centre for Ontario with the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund) says an internal mouthguard can be attached to the facemask, protects the teeth and may help reduce concussion risk, and recommends having it fitted by a dentist.

Jock and jill protection

We found no governing-body rule that requires skaters to wear a protective cup or pelvic protector. For goaltenders, NFHS Rule 3-3-1 (2024-25) lists a protective cup or pelvic protector among the equipment a high school goalkeeper must wear, and the Pashby guide says goaltenders should wear a special athletic support.

• Fit, per the Pashby guide: a jock or jill strap is fitted by waist size, and protective cups come in sizes for all players. Torn straps, especially where the leg straps attach to the cup, should be repaired or replaced immediately. It also recommends a properly fitted sports bra for every female player.
• Jock or jill: Hockey Canada's goalie fitting guide, as summarised in search results, describes two options, a jock (a protective cup) or a jill (a flatter pelvic protector), and says the right choice depends on anatomy rather than gender. We could not open that guide directly.

Face protection and mouthguard rules are linked in several rulebooks, so check both together; see visors, cages and full face protection.