Ice hockey / Rule 09
Player equipment
IIHF · 2026/27In short
Helmets, protection and safe equipment.
Mandatory protection
Players wear approved helmets with properly fastened chin straps and must use neck laceration protection in every IIHF category. Additional face and mouth protection requirements depend on age and competition category. Protective equipment must comply with safety rules.
Losing a helmet
A skater whose helmet comes off must immediately leave the ice, rather than retrieve and replace it while remaining in play. Goalkeeper mask loss follows separate stoppage rules that consider puck control and an immediate scoring opportunity.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. Independent topic summaries of the supplied IIHF Rule Book 2026/27, version 1.0, June 2026. This is not the NHL rulebook or a complete reproduction. Women’s, junior and pilot provisions are identified separately; competition regulations govern applicable formats. References use PDF pages.
Sources & approach ↗
Sources & approach ↗