Hockey equipment size chart: how to find the right size for every piece

Enter height and weight: the tool gives the category and a first estimate for every piece. Then add the measurements you took with a tape. Each one replaces the estimate with the manufacturer chart for that piece. Tap a dot on the figure to see where to measure.

The helmet and neck guard only show up with their own measurement: no chart derives head or neck size from height, and both are safety gear.

You need a soft measuring tape, ideally a second person, and a player in thin base layers. For three pieces, manufacturers and retailers do not measure the same thing, and mixing the two methods gives one to two sizes of difference. Each time, we kept the manufacturer catalogue method (Bauer, CCM, Warrior), the one used by the tables on this page:

Height is taken barefoot, back to the wall. For skates, what counts is foot length, standing, in socks: see hockey skate sizing. For the stick, the right length and flex.

There is no universal grid: each brand cuts its categories differently. Bauer's grid is the only one that gives both height and weight, in two unit systems. It is the one the tool uses for the general category.

The helmet is sized by head circumference, and the same 56 cm (22 in.) head can be a small or a medium depending on brand and model. A good fit puts the front of the helmet just above the eyebrows, the helmet does not move when the player shakes their head, and the chin strap is snug, not dangling.

Certification. Hockey Canada rule 3.6(b) requires every player, goalies included, to wear a CSA-certified helmet with an unaltered CSA-certified face protector. CSA certification does not expire: according to Hockey Canada and a CSA letter, the date on the sticker is the year of manufacture. The 6.5-year expiry people talk about belongs to the American HECC certification, mandatory under USA Hockey, which does not apply in Canada.

When to replace it? There is no fixed lifespan: replace a helmet that is cracked, whose padding is loose or missing, or that took a violent hit. After a blow to the head, the player comes before the helmet: see the signs of a concussion.

Shoulder pads are sized by chest circumference. They cover the shoulders, upper back, chest and upper arms, and the back overlaps the pants slightly. A simple test: with the arms raised a little above the shoulders, the pads should not dig into the neck.

Elbow pads are sized by forearm length, arm bent at 90 degrees, from the elbow to the wrist crease. The cup should sit on the point of the elbow, the top should meet the bottom of the shoulder pad's bicep guard, and the bottom should reach the cuff of the glove. With short-cuff gloves, pick an elbow pad long enough to meet the glove.

Bauer has no Senior S shoulder pad; CCM and Warrior do. If your measurement falls in two sizes, try both: the one that leaves the smallest gaps between pieces wins.

Gloves are sold in inches, from 8 to 15. Measure the hand flat, from the tip of the middle finger to the wrist crease, and read the chart; roughly, that measurement in inches times two gives the size. A good fit feels like slightly loose winter gloves at the fingertips, and the cuff reaches the bottom of the elbow pad.

Pants are sized by the waist, just above the hips, then checked against height. Standing, the pant leg reaches the top of the kneecap and covers the thigh guard of the shin pads without covering the knee. In a full crouch, everything should stay in place.

Shin guards are sold in inches. The manufacturer catalogue measurement runs from the centre of the kneecap to the centre of the outer ankle bone, no skate. It reads larger than the shin guard size: 18 to 19 in. (46 to 48.5 cm) means a 16 in. shin guard at Bauer. Many retailers measure from the knee to the top of the skate, seated, instead; that number is roughly equal to the size. Do not mix the two.

At the fitting, the cap is centred on the kneecap, the padding above the knee slides about 2 in. under the pants, and there is no gap between the bottom of the shin guard and the skate.

Yes in minor hockey. Hockey Canada rule 3.6(f) makes a BNQ-certified neck guard (Bureau de normalisation du Québec) mandatory for every player registered in minor and female hockey. In Quebec, regulations also require a neck guard meeting standard NQ 9415-370 whenever the rink is booked for hockey, on top of the CAN/CSA-Z262.1 helmet and the CAN/CSA-Z262.2 full face protector. Government and municipal posters call it mandatory; we could not read the regulation itself to confirm exactly how it applies to adults.

A neck guard is sized by neck circumference. It should be snug without choking and cover the whole throat. The bib style goes under the shoulder pads and covers the upper chest. A neck guard protects against cuts, not against spinal injuries.

Because hockey equipment protects by overlapping: each piece meets the next. The shoulder pad meets the elbow pad, the elbow pad meets the glove cuff, the pants cover about 2 in. of the top of the shin guard, the shin guard reaches the skate. A piece that is too big slides, twists and opens a gap exactly where a puck or a stick hits. A helmet that is too big moves on the head, which defeats its purpose.

Buying "to grow into" is tempting with a child who is shooting up, but an equipment fitting guide attributed to Hockey Canada, read in a copy hosted by a minor hockey association, specifically warns against it for skates. A piece in the right size is better, even if it means reselling or swapping it next year: several minor hockey associations run used equipment swaps. To sort what is worth buying new from the rest, see when to invest in equipment, the beginner equipment list and the cost of a season.

If you track their games in RinkLog (attendance, ice time, shots), you will also see the season go by, and the moment the next size is due rarely comes as a surprise. For a goalie, gear is measured differently: see goalie equipment sizing.