When it comes to winter sports, none are as popular or as revered as hockey. From rinks sprung up across Canada in the 19th century, to the annual Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings, hockey has resonated with fans for generations because of its combination of skill, strategy, and sportsmanship.
Hockey is truly a winter sport, but it isn’t shy about sharing its charms with summer seasons. In fact, many leagues around the world have adopted a ‘year-round’ approach, making the most of the sport’s versatility. With this in mind, here’s a run down of what hockey skates do the pros wear.
Table of Contents
Shiny Metal
We’ll start with the basics: what do hockey skates look like? The short answer is ‘metal’. That is, metal in the form of blades or rimless skates. This is the most basic and classic type of equipment used in hockey. The longer answer takes us into the history of hockey skates.
You may know that the first hockey game was played in Montreal in the winter of 1875. However, it wasn’t until years later that the equipment to play hockey started to appear. In the summer of 1879, a young hockey player by the name of Arthur Jeffery discovered that his ice skates were too slippery to be effective on ice, so he spent hours every day in the summer heat, polishing and sharpening his metal blades. On some accounts, Jeffery even used beeswax to help improve the grip of his metal blades on the ice.
It was during this time that professional hockey started to take shape. Before the end of the 19th century, most teams had a player or two who spent their off-season polishing their blades, which were mainly made of metal. The first hockey stick was also patented in 1879, and was made of wood. However, the design would be heavily modified over the next two decades.
Stiff Boots
Hockey is most often associated with winter, but the sport was actually born in the summer. This is because the first hockey games were played on ponds and lakes, and the players would actually skate in the water until they reached the point where the ice began. The association between boots and hockey began in the early 20th century, when players started wearing heavy boots to help protect them on the ice. The traditional style of these boots is called a ‘polar bear’ or a ‘stiff-boot’. You’ll often see images of hockey players in the 1910s and 1920s wearing these types of boots, due to their distinct style.
Rimless Blades
If you think that all hockey players look the same with their long underwear, shiny metal blades, and stiff boots, think again. The shape of the hockey blades had developed into four distinct styles by the end of the 19th century, and each one wore a distinct set of clothing. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, hockey players would skate in baggy overalls or slush pants, but would replace these with tight-fitting garments by the 1920s. This is when hockey started to become associated with masculinity and toughness, and the equipment reflected this shift in identity.
Scarf And Mitts
When you’re playing hockey in the winter, the last thing you want is to be cold. For this reason, hockey players started wearing multiple layers, starting with tight-fitting slush pants and a long-sleeve jersey, followed by a heavy sweater and a jacket. This is why hockey equipment has always been designed with the male figure in mind; to keep the male figure sleek and strong. In the winter of 1932, hockey players began wearing mitts to protect their hands from the freezing temperatures. This is also when masks started to appear, as players wanted to protect their eyes from the whipping winds and debris that could be whipped up by a hockey stick.
Facial Protection
When you’re playing hockey, you don’t want to hurt your face, especially when you’re a professional hockey player. For this reason, many hockey players started wearing facial protection in the form of masks or helmets during play in the 1940s. Helmets were originally used to protect the head from being banged against the ice or the boards in rough play, but they would also become associated with pro hockey players and their toughness. This is even before they were used as a protective gear in car accidents, where the head was the most susceptible to injuries due to the force of the crash.
Gloves
To keep their hands warm, hockey players started wearing gloves in the 1800s, but they weren’t necessarily designed to protect their hands from getting hurt. In fact, until the 1930s many teams would play without gloves due to the rough play that was common at the time. The first gloves used for hockey were thin leather gloves, and the first pair of gloves worn by a professional hockey player was designed and made in Canada by the Beaver Brand. In the 1910s and 1920s, boxing gloves were used as a replacement for the thin leather gloves, and eventually replaced them completely. Today, hockey players wear gloves for the same reason they wear hand warmers in the first place: to keep their hands warm during play.
What Do Pros Wear?
So, you’ve got your shiny metal, your stiff boots, your rimless blades, your winter sporty attire, and now you’re wondering what do pros wear when they’re not playing hockey?
Well, it depends on the sport and the time of year. In the winter, the most recognizable professional athlete is almost certainly the golfer, as he or she will be wearing all the necessary layers as mentioned above. This is followed by track and field athletes, who also need to keep their body warm, so they will typically wear a thinner jacket layer and shorts or tights instead of pants. When the temperature is below freezing, basketball players will also be seen in warm-ups, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and often a long-sleeve jersey as an extra layer. Some baseball players also wear a thicker sweater and long johns under their clothing to keep their body temperature up – even when the temperature drops below freezing, they need to stay alive!
The Rise Of The Windproof Jacket
One of the most significant changes that took place in Olympic sports over the past two decades was with winter sports clothing. Especially with hockey players and skiers. This is because the winter months are the time when the weather is most unpredictable and inhospitable, so athletes want to be prepared for anything. This is why almost all top-notch teams wear windproof jackets in the winter (with or without ski gear). As already mentioned, Arthur Jeffery, the inventor of the ice hockey rink, is responsible for some of this evolution. Jeffery realized that the winter months were the only time during the year when ice hockey could be played, and so he designed a jacket that was built to be waterproof. This marked the start of a new trend: instead of protecting your body from the elements, you were now protecting your body from the effects of the elements! Imagine that!
Layer It Up
The key to staying warm in the winter is simple: you need to layer up. The more layers you have on, the better. You get this natural insulation from your body heat, which can remain trapped between your layers. Many people, myself included, underestimate the effectiveness of layering in keeping one warm, especially when walking or running. Imagine what would happen if we stopped wearing clothes for a second and acted like animals: we would freeze in no time! So, if you want to stay warm, you need to keep your body covered with as many clothes as possible. The only problem is that when it comes to layers, you can never have too many. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start and where to end, and this is why most people get cold even when they are wearing several layers of clothing.
The Evolution Of Hockey
This is a very brief overview of the evolution of hockey, and it doesn’t even touch the surface of the topic. Still, I think it might be useful to get a general idea of where this wonderful game came from and where it is headed. So, here goes: