Why a cage for your hockey helmet is important regardless of age
For male players, age determines whether you must have a cage or a full-face visor when playing ice hockey. Here, we delve into the regulations and explain why a full-face protection for the hockey helmet is a good idea regardless of age.
All ice hockey players under the age of 18 must wear a full-face visor or cage on their hockey helmet. After that age, it's up to each individual to decide whether to continue with full-face protection or switch to just a visor and mouthguard. However, this rule doesn't apply to goalkeepers and only to male players. Female players are required to continue using full-face protection even after their junior years.
Our hockey helmets with bares
Advantages of cages and full-face shields
Despite wearing mouthguards, it's common for players to have their teeth knocked out, and there have also been several tragic cases where players have been blinded due to stick tips or shafts slipping under the visor. The risk of these types of injuries increases as soon as one opts out of wearing a cage or a full-face shield. Therefore, Hockeystore strongly encourages all players to use full-face protection for their hockey helmets, regardless of age. You can either choose to order the helmet and cage/visor separately, or as a combined package.
Our selection of hockey helmets and accessories
The Evolution of the Hockey Helmet
Ice hockey was played completely without helmets up until the 1960s, and it wasn't until 1964 that helmets became mandatory in the local leagues in hockey's birthplace, Canada. A key factor in this evolution was the campaigns by players who voluntarily chose to play with helmets. In the most prestigious league, the NHL, the shift took considerably longer. It wasn't until 1979 that the league's president, John Ziegler, mandated helmet use in the league. Despite the new regulations, there was still a clause allowing players who began their careers before the helmet rule to continue playing without one – a provision legendary player Craig MacTavish took advantage of until 1997. Today, the hockey helmet is as crucial as it is standard in the equipment lineup, and who knows, perhaps mandatory face cages are the next step towards a safer game of ice hockey.
Rules for Cages and Visors in the Future
It's not an implausible idea that the rules for face protection will become stricter in the future. Morgan Johansson, project manager for player safety at the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, has already proposed rule changes for players born after 2004 to continue using cages or full-face visors even after turning 18. The challenges of implementing such changes seem to stem primarily from the strong traditions and culture that characterize the sport, with a general reluctance to embrace change. Perhaps it requires players themselves to take the initiative to protect their faces with cages and full visors even after their junior years – just as during the campaigns in the 60s when players chose to play with helmets, which ultimately led to mandatory helmet use for everyone.