Ice Hockey Equipment History

Some background in the evolution of hockey equipment in hockey s early days players had nowhere near the same level of padding and equipment at their disposal.

Ice hockey equipment history. Ice hockey helmets are made of a rigid but flexible thermoplastic outer shell usually nylon or abs with firm vinyl nitrile foam padding inside to reduce shocks. 1880s 1900s players began to. Professional pads were stuffed with deer hair which is hollow giving more protection. Aside from skates and a stick the remainder of the equipment that we see today was non existent.

The national hockey league. Hockey helmets come in various sizes and many of the older designs can also be adjusted by loosening or fastening screws at the side or at the back. The hockey rink is equipped with two benches for the penalized players. Incredible cutting edge technology pours into the top of the line hockey equipment today.

A hockey stick is sports equipment with the help of which players move a puck around the rink. Most modern goaltending equipment is made from hydrophobic synthetic leather and nylon on the outside and dense closed cell foams and plastics inside. The first ever recorded indoor ice hockey game took place on march 3 1875 at the victoria skating rink in montreal but it was much different than modern day hockey in that each team had 9 players and it was played with a wooden puck. In the past pads were often made out of leather and stuffed with horse hair.

Today modern ice rinks are kept clean and smooth by the use of a machine called the zamboni. Helmet a helmet with strap and optionally a face cage or visor is required of all ice hockey players. The first artificial ice rink mechanically refrigerated was built in 1876 at chelsea london england and was named the glaciarium. Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice usually in a rink in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent s net to score goals.

Hockey equipment has seen tremendous advancement over the past century and now the new standard for the uniform will be established with the rbk edge uniform system. Even the most essential tools the player s skates and hockey stick were often homemade and constructed with whatever materials were on hand. The equipment of a field player includes the following. By the opening of the 20th century sticks were being manufactured shin pads were worn the goaltender began to wear a chest protector borrowed from baseball and arenas still with natural ice and no heat for spectators were being constructed throughout eastern canada.

Ice hockey spread to europe around the turn of the century and the first olympic games to include ice hockey for men were the 1920 antwerp summer games. Olympic history six a side men s ice hockey has been on the programme of every edition of the winter games since 1924 in chamonix. One goaltender and five players who skate the span of the ice trying to control the puck and score. It was built near the king s road in london by john gamgee.