Long time hockey fans know that over the past four or five decades, there have been some massive changes when it comes to all the equipment in the game. Perhaps no equipment changes are quite as obvious as the pieces used by goalies; when hockey first began to be televised the goaltenders played with no face protection, hard as that is to believe! Today, of course, all goalies wear masks (or helmets, if you prefer) but even the style of these basic pieces of equipment has changed a lot over the past couple of decades. Let’s take a quick look at some of the big changes when it comes to goaltending equipment in ice hockey.

Strides in manufacturing and newly invented materials have made a huge difference in the types of goaltending equipment that is available. Pads, for example, used to be made just from leather that was stuffed with hair. Pads have always had to be light enough for goalies to maintain their flexibility, yet not so light that a deflection causes a costly rebound. A good balance is found in today’s use of synthetic leather and nylon on the outside of goalie pads and cell foams and plastic inside the pads.

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