Goalie Fitting Guide

Since goalies are in direct contact with the puck for the majority of a hockey game, they need gear specially designed to provide them with the utmost protection. Manufacturers produce specially designed helmets, skates, chest and arm pads, catcher and blocker gloves and leg pads to accommodate the protective needs of the goalie. This equipment not only provides them with the most innovative protection, but also offers the greatest mobility and range of motion.

Goalie Masks

Goal Masks are designed differently, but are sized in the same way as player masks. Two designs are available for the wire cage: Standard and Cat Eye. Standard is the most common choice, providing the goalie with a full wire cage of protection. Cat Eye features two eye cutouts in the full wire cage, offering the goalie better vision. Cat Eye is only allowed in junior and pro-level hockey. However, HECC Certified Cat-Eye masks feature wire bars in the eye cutouts and are legal for all levels of play.

When sizing the goal mask, it should fit snugly against the chin. If the mask is too long, it is possible that the nose and mouth will come in contact with the mask on impact. When the goalie’s mouth is closed, the chin should fit comfortably into the chin cup. To ensure the mask is attached properly to the helmet, follow the specific manufacturer instructions you receive with the goal mask.

Goalie Skates

Goalie skates are designed differently than player skates to provide a proper fit with the leg pads. However, goalie skates and player skates are sized in the same way. Skates play an extremely important role in terms of performance. If a skate is not properly sized or is uncomfortable, it is more likely the goalie will experience blisters or damage the boot support. There are fundamental steps to take to correctly size your goal skates.

It is crucial that your skates have good stability and strong ankle support.  A solid exterior is vital to protecting your feet from the puck and other skates. Typically, you want a skate that is 1 to 1 ½ size smaller than your shoe size. For children, it is acceptable to order a half size bigger to accommodate growing feet; however, any larger will cause blisters to form and will break down the sides of the boot. Also, too large of a skate will also affect a players mobility and balance.

When trying on a skate, wear socks similar to ones that you will wear while playing. After putting on the skate, press your foot forward as far as possible so that your toes press against the front of the skate. When in this position, you should be able to place one finger between the inside of the boot and the heel of your foot. After that, sit down and kick your heel firmly into the back of the boot. Firmly tighten the laces through the first 2-3 eyelets until the skate is snug near the toe. Remember to keep your foot placed flat on the ground while lacing the skate.

After lacing up the skate, make sure you walk around to test the comfort level of the skate. Remember, it takes a few wears to break them in; the more you wear your skates, the faster the skate will mold to your foot. It is also important to have your blades sharpened regularly—about every 6-8 hours of practice or game time is ideal.

A few important considerations to remember when fitting a skate:

• Does your heel move? There should not be any movement or lifting with your heel. If your heel does move, it will take away from your performance.
• The skate should be very snug for proper support to enable a good push-off without any movement.
• It takes a few wears to break in a new pair of skates. Heat-fitting is an option that helps expedite the break-in process.

Heat Fitting is a process in which skates are baked in a special oven to achieve a more perfect fit. This process helps round out the stiff sides and upper part of the boot, conforming to the shape of the goalie’s foot. Heat fitting shortens the break-in period by about half the time.

Chest and Arm Pads

Goalie chest and arm pads protect the upper body and arms. For proper protection, the shoulders should fit comfortably into both shoulder cups and the pads should extend to the waist. The pads are equipped with adjustment straps that allow you to alter the fit of the arms, chest and back to achieve a comfortable fit. The arms can be adjusted so that your elbows fit comfortably in the elbow cups. If the arm pads are too long, they will interfere with your catcher and blocker gloves. The arms should extend about 1 ½ inches above your wrist bone.
 

Blocker and Catch Glove

The blocker and catch gloves provide complete protection for the length of your arm and hand. The blocker is worn on the stick hand. It has a padded leather or synthetic leather palm to hold your stick and a wide solid blocker to deflect shots. The catch glove resembles an oversized first basemen’s mitt with a wrist blocker and is worn on your non-stick hand. Catch gloves have an oversized catching area, a molded one-piece thumb area and curved palm and individual finger areas.

The cuff of the blocker and catch gloves should extend one to two inches over the bottom of the arm protection on your chest and arm pads. Also, most players don’t like gloves that fit so snug that their fingers feel cramped, so make sure there is a little wiggle room.

Blocker and catch gloves are sold in “Regular” and “Full Right” styles. “Regular” is for right-handed players who use the left hand for the catch glove and the right hand for the blocker and stick. “Full Right” is for left handed players who use the right hand for the catch glove and the left hand for the blocker and stick.

Goalie glove size is determined by age and size. There are four available sizes: youth, junior, intermediate, and senior. There should be no more than 1/4 inch between the tip of the goalie’s finger and the glove. Any more room will not provide the goaltender with the proper amount of leverage necessary to close and control the glove.

Leg Pads

How to put on goalie leg pads

It can be difficult to figure out proper fitting for goalie leg pads without some instruction. They come with a variety of straps, clips and laces and it’s important to wear them properly in order to allow proper movement and protection.

First, know that the straps are meant to be worn loose, especially on the top half of the pad. With the exception of the knee cradle/knee strap, it is important for the straps to be worn loosely. Otherwise, you will not be able to butterfly properly. The leg pad needs to fit loose enough on the leg, so that it can rotate when going down to the ice to butterfly.

The image to the right shows how lose goalies wear their straps. Some wear them looser than others, but this will give you a better idea.

Toe Ties: These are the strings at the toes of the pad and they are meant to keep the skate and pad in sync. First, make a ¾” to 1” knot from the toe bridge of the pad like the image to the right.

This allows you to tie the laces tight and still allows the pad to shift enough when using inside edges for lateral movement. Without this knot, the pad will be too snug and may grip the ice instead of the skate blade, causing the foot to slip out from underneath.

Lacing Toe Ties: There are multiple ways to lace toe-ties. The pictures below depict the most common and easiest tying method. Align the toe of the pad to the toe of the goalie skate. Take both laces and loop them through the first hole on the bottom of the skate near the toe; do the same through the second middle hole; finally, bring the laces up over the top of the skate and tie tightly.

Step 2
Pull tightly and repeat Step 1 through the second hole of the skate holder.

Goalie Sticks

Measuring a goalie's stick length is very important and often overlooked with younger goaltenders. When measuring for correct size, remember paddle length is the most important feature. Paddle length helps the goalie maintain a proper stance. To elaborate, the Paddle (thicker part of the goal stick) must be long enough so that when the goalie is in the proper stance (knees bent, stick flat on the ice 8" to 12" in front of their toes), the Blocker is aligned with the Leg Pad and is not overlapping the Leg Pad. If the Blocker is overlapping, the Paddle is too short. If there is room for a puck to squeeze between the Leg Pad and Blocker, the Paddle is too long. At the same time, it is important that the length of the Shaft (thinner part of the goal stick) is not too short or too tall when poke-checking or playing the puck.

It is difficult to use the manufacturer's measurements as a guide because their measurements do not always match other manufacturers'. In other words, a 24" paddle from one brand may not be the same as a 24" paddle from another brand, which is why it is so important to know how to properly size your goalie stick. In addition, goalie sticks are not measured solely by inches; they are also classified by size: youth, junior, intermediate and senior.

For learn more on how to buy for goalie equipment please see Goalie Buying Guide.