How we recommend
We recommend gear by category and use, not by brand, and do not quote prices. We may earn a commission on purchases at no cost to you.
Check the sticker and your rules
A goalie mask must carry the certification your association requires, and pads and gloves must measure within your rulebook's limits. Nothing on this page says a product is certified or legal for play. Check the sticker and your association's current rules.
Get coached
This page explains the principles. It is not a substitute for a qualified coach or your association's programme, and it does not replace medical advice.
What the rules require
The IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 11.1, the NHL's 2026-27 Rule 11.1 and Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Rule 3.5(a) start from the same principle: apart from skates and stick, a goalie's equipment must be made only to protect, with nothing giving undue help in keeping goal. Then they measure.
| Item | IIHF 2026/27 | NHL 2026-27 | Hockey Canada 2026-28 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg pad width | 28 cm (Rule 11.2) | 11 in (Rule 11.2) | 27.94 cm, 11 in (Rule 3.5(b)) |
| Leg pad height | Not stated in the rule as summarised | Set for each goalie from knee and thigh measurements | 96.52 cm (38 in) maximum |
| Catching glove perimeter | 114.5 cm | 45 in | 114.3 cm (45 in) |
| Blocker | Back padding 20.5 by 38.5 cm | 8 by 15 in | 20.3 by 38.1 cm (8 by 15 in) |
| Mask | IIHF-approved design; a puck cannot pass through the openings | League-approved | CSA-certified helmet and facial protector; the goalie type has a blue CSA sticker |
For US high school play, NFHS Rule 3-3-1 (2024-25) lists the required goalie equipment: gloves, skates, stick, a neck laceration protector, a separate flapper-style throat protector, leg pads, padded pants or hip pads, a protective cup or pelvic protector, a chest and arm protector, and a HECC/ASTM full face mask with helmet and chin strap. USA Hockey's own goalie rule text could not be read for this site.
In the NHL, league staff may take a goalie's equipment for measuring at any time, and a goalie found with illegal equipment is automatically suspended for two games under Rule 11.9. Hockey Canada lets a captain ask for a goalie's pads or gloves to be measured at a stoppage.
Our picks by category
Goalie leg pads
The Pashby fitting guide says to fit pads with goalie skates on, the kneecap in the middle of the knee roll, and the pad running from the toe of the skate to about four inches above the knee. Hockey Canada's Rule 3.5(b) says pads must not be altered in any way.
Best for: Every goalie, sized to the leg
Catching glove and blocker
The Pashby guide says both should be sized to the hand and overlap the arm pads. Hockey Canada says the webbing between thumb and finger must be no more than is needed to fill the gap, and that any other pocket makes the glove illegal. The Pashby guide warns never to warp a blocker.
Best for: Every goalie
Chest and arm protector
Upper-body protection should cover the collarbone, chest and abdomen and run down the arms to the wrist, per the Pashby guide. The IIHF's Rule 11.3 says it must be proportioned and sized to the individual goalie, and is illegal if the shoulder cap rises above the shoulder's contour in a normal crouch.
Best for: Every goalie
Goalie pants
The Pashby guide says they should be loose enough for the belly pad. The IIHF says they must be sized to the goalie, and that loose shells closing the gap between the legs are illegal.
Best for: Every goalie
Goalie masks
A retailer, HockeyMonkey, says goalie headgear is certified separately from skater headgear and the two are not interchangeable (claim). In Hockey Canada play, look for the blue CSA goalie type. On large-eye "cat-eye" masks, CARHA Hockey, the Canadian adult recreational body, allows only a CSA-approved version, which has an extra bar across the top of the eye opening. In IIHF women's U18 play the mask must also stop a stick blade passing through.
Best for: Every goalie, certified for where they play
Neck guard, plus throat protector
A hanging throat protector on the mask is not a neck guard. The IIHF allows one in addition to the mandatory neck laceration protector, Hockey Canada's Rule 3.6(c) still requires a BNQ-certified throat protector in minor and female hockey, and the NFHS requires both pieces. See the neck guards guide.
Best for: Every goalie in a league that requires one
Goalie jock or jill
The Pashby guide says goalies should wear a special athletic support, and NFHS Rule 3-3-1 requires a cup or pelvic protector. Hockey Canada's goalie fitting guide, as summarised in search results, says the right choice depends on anatomy, not gender.
Best for: Every goalie; required in high school play
How to choose
Skates and stick
Goalie skates need a protective cowling at the front and a flat blade no longer than the boot under the IIHF's Rule 9.11, and Hockey Canada's Rule 3.4 reserves them for goaltenders. The Pashby guide says the goalie stick's blade should sit flat on the ice in the goalie's crouch; stick limits are on the sticks page.
Fit to the goalie's stance
Hockey Canada's Goaltending 1 manual (2020) says each goalie's stance differs. Fit pads, pants and chest protector in the goalie's own crouch and butterfly, because several rules, such as the IIHF's shoulder cap test and the NHL's limits in the butterfly, are judged in those positions.
Hand-me-downs and growth
The Pashby guide's rule never to buy equipment to grow into applies here too: oversized gear slides away from what it protects. Measure the goalie, then compare with the pad and glove limits of your rulebook.
Care
The Pashby guide says to dry goal pads after every use and store them upright. The South Dakota Department of Health's 2015 guidance on MRSA in school sports recommends routine cleaning schedules for shared equipment; see equipment care.
For how coaches teach the stance and movement this gear must allow, see goaltending. Goalie rules are revised often, so check your association's current rulebook before buying.
Sources
- IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27, Rule 11 Goalkeepers' equipment (online edition)
- IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27, Version 1.0 (PDF, FISG copy)
- NHL Official Rules 2026-2027 (index of NHL rulebooks at Scouting the Refs)
- Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028 (PDF)
- NFHS, Ice Hockey Rules Changes 2024-25
- MIAA, NFHS ice hockey rules interpretations, 3 December 2025 (PDF)
- CARHA Hockey, CSA-approved goalie masks
- A Guide to Fitting Hockey Equipment, Hockey Development Centre for Ontario and the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund (PDF)
- Hockey Canada, goalie equipment fitting guide (PDF)
- HockeyMonkey, when to replace a hockey helmet (retailer)
- South Dakota Department of Health, MRSA and school sports (2015, PDF)
- Hockey Canada, Goaltending 1 reference material (2020, Hockey Saskatchewan copy, PDF)