Hockey players are very different from other sports when it comes to taking physical contact on the field. While other players may be content to kick the ball around and make life harder for themselves, the goalie is very much expected to engage in rough play. After all, they are the ones stopping everything from getting in to the net!
The way hockey players protect themselves is through the use of ice hockey padding. This padding is thick and provides some great protection against getting hurt. There are various forms of ice hockey padding including hardshells, bodyprotectors, and gloves.
What Padding Do Hockey Players Wear?
Let’s take a look at each type of ice hockey padding in detail and what each one is used for.
Table of Contents
Gloves
Gloves are, in fact, the most basic form of ice hockey padding and are used to protect a player’s hand. This makes them perfect for use in open ice hockey as well as in indoor competitions. The thickness of the leather or synthetic material used in the construction of these gloves is critical. Too thick and the glove will be cumbersome to use. Too thin and it will be more prone to wear out.
However, most hockey players prefer to wear thinner gloves because they believe that the padding inhibits their ability to feel their puck and communicate with their team. In addition, they sometimes use tape to enhance the touch sensitivity of the glove. The advantage of having a thicker glove is that it provides more protection against getting hit by a puck that is fired at high speeds during play.
Hardshells
As the name suggests, a hardshell is a type of ice hockey padding that is harder than the rest and provides more protection. These are perfect for use in contact sports and can withstand high speeds and powerful shots without giving too much protection. However, they are more rigid than the previous type of padding and are prone to wear out more quickly.
Hockey players often choose to use a combination of the two types of padding to get the best of both worlds. This allows them to have a thicker protection without having to worry about wearing out their gloves.
Bodyprotectors
When it comes to body protection, the goal is to provide the best protection against shots to the head and body. These are specifically designed to take the blow of a puck and minimize the amount of damage that occurs. The bodyguard is another type of body protection used by hockey players. This type of padding is flexible enough to minimize the amount of damage that occurs from high-speed shots but thick enough to provide protection against smaller hits.
In body protection, the size, shape, and material used are all critical. The larger the better as it provides more coverage. However, it should not be so large that it restricts movement. Like the other types of ice hockey padding discussed so far, body protectors are used to protect the head, hands, and torso of the hockey player. Moreover, they are also used to keep the player’s uniform clean and free of wrinkles.
Balls
Balls are used to protect the head of a hockey player. However, this type of protection goes beyond stopping a puck. The goal is to stop all the ice from going in to the net and giving the goalie no advantage. To assist with this, the size, shape, and material used in the construction of the ball are all important factors to consider.
Hockey balls are constructed out of a hard material such as plastic or composite so that they can bounce back after every shot. This is important because the goal is to keep the puck out of the net and give the goalie no advantage. Therefore, if the ball does not bounce back, it will be very difficult for the goalie to clear the puck out of the net. This can lead to more goals being scored against them.
Additionally, the shape of the ball is important because the goal is for it to be as close to a sphere as possible. Spheres are tricky to manufacture and are difficult to control. This makes them more expensive and more prone to breaking.
Conclusion
Overall, these types of ice hockey padding are important to have in your toolkit. Moreover, it is highly recommended that you invest in a pair of gloves that can take a hit. This will minimize the amount of pain that you have to endure during play and make your experience more enjoyable overall.