Inside the world of NHL goalie equipment: Free custom gear, new sticks every game, ‘kid in a candy store'

New York Times

15-02-2025

As a boy in Darien, Conn., Spencer Knight did not think it got cooler than seeing Henrik Lundqvist play goalie for the New York Rangers. It had nothing to do with Lundqvist's performance. Knight loved Lundqvist's equipment.
'Red and blue. TPS,' Knight recalled with a smile of Lundqvist's pads. 'He always had cool masks.'
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Knight is now an NHL goalie. The 23-year-old might have selected a different profession had it not been for Lundqvist's stuff.
'Yeah. Yeah. One hundred percent,' said the Florida Panthers goalie. 'That's the one thing that got me into it.'
Like his counterparts, Knight has one job: Stop the puck. But NHL goalies have unique preferences for custom equipment that they have developed over time. The Bauer stick Knight uses, for example, is not the same as the CCM model that partner Sergei Bobrovsky prefers.
Goalies also have endorsement deals, and some bias is unavoidable. NHL players tend to put performance first when it comes to their equipment, though.
Goalies are also not above emphasizing aesthetics. It is the one position where NHLers can personalize their looks with paint jobs on their masks or graphics on their pads that promote self-expression.
'As corny as it sounds, look good, feel good, play good,' the Seattle Kraken's Joey Daccord said. 'If I look good and feel good, then I feel like I can play confident and just go out there and do my thing.'
With assistance from GearGeek, an online database of NHL players' equipment choices, here is how some goalies like their equipment and why they prefer things just so:
The glove is Daccord's No. 1 priority. Last year, Daccord used the same glove for all 50 starts. He breaks in his glove for one or two months in practice before it's ready for game action. In comparison, he needs just one practice in a new blocker until he's comfortable wearing it in a game.
'My glove is very important for how the rest of my body feels. If my glove feels stiff, the rest of my body feels stiff. Swear to God. If I don't feel comfortable with my glove and my hand catching pucks, I feel like it carries on throughout the rest of my body and I feel really stiff. So it's really important for me that my glove is perfect. When my glove's right, I feel like the rest of my body can move freely.'
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Daccord is one of the NHL's best puckhandling goalies. He is not quick to switch his sticks.
'I don't go through a ton of sticks. I don't break a lot of sticks. Probably use 20 or 30 during the year.'
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Because of how active he is with his touches, Daccord emphasizes mobility to chase pucks down.
'As a goalie, there's nothing worse than being in there and feeling restricted by your gear. If you put on a new chest protector and it's really stiff, you can feel kind of restricted by your gear. So for me, it's finding whatever's going to help me perform my best and feel my best.'
Knight likes to take each part of his gear and get it dialed in through trial and error. With his skates, Knight focused on the cut of his blades. He is currently at 7/8', a relatively shallow hollow. This cut lets him glide around the crease. But he is cautious about taking his tinkering too far.
'One thing I like to play around with is my blades. I've gotten incrementally duller. I'm at 7/8', which is pretty shallow. I've played around with that. I'll be really finicky with that. But then I get to a point where I've got to stop. I'm like, 'All right, I'm out. I've got to focus on what's important.''
Korpisalo used to wear a True boot with a Bauer cowling. When he switched several years ago from Vaughn to True pads, Korpisalo ditched the cowling. He's happier now.
'It's a complete feel of the skate. There's no rivets or something that might loosen up. That's the biggest change I've made: the skates. It's perfect. Especially the response you get from pushing, not catching your edge. Not having a separate cowling, it feels like I can transfer the power right away. I use the skates as long as I can. The previous True skates I had, I used for two years. I find it hard to change skates.'
Korpisalo is not finicky with his gear. He knows others who are.
'I'm not a gear nerd in any way compared to some other goalies. The stuff some of the goalies know about the gear is mind-blowing. I'm like, 'Huh, I never even thought about that.''
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His father, Jari Korpisalo, was a skilled forward in Finland. He used his connections to acquire used gear for his son.
'Never new. Never. I got my first new gear when I signed my first pro contract in Finland. I think I was 18. First time I got my own mask, own gear. Before that, I always used someone else's. So maybe that's where it stems from. If I have gear, I'll be fine. It's really expensive. Growing up, you might grow an inch or two inches a year and grow up from the gear. It didn't matter what gear I had. I just managed to go through with it. I was lucky my dad knew a lot of people. I did have a mix and match: red glove, blue blocker. Of course, I was looking at other kids like, 'I wish I had that.' My dad was like, 'Nope. You're going to play with those. You're not getting new gear.' I respected that.'
Oettinger keeps Bauer busy. He wants his pads hard and stiff.
'I like new gear. I like new stuff pretty much every month. I feel great and I have confidence when I have new gear. It makes me feel big. So I try to switch as much as I can. I like hard, stiff stuff. I just don't like soft gear.'
Oettinger feels the same way about his stick. He's got the specifications dialed in. As long as it's fresh, he's happy.
'New stick every game. Same curve and flex I bought when I was 12 from Total Hockey. Same stick for a while and I don't see it changing anytime soon.'
Oettinger's parents bought him new equipment when he outgrew his gear. Oettinger signed an eight-year, $66 million contract on Oct. 17, 2024. He joked he can pay them back now, especially because he gets new stuff whenever he wants without paying a dime.
'It's insane. Kid in a candy store. We're very lucky. It's probably one of the nicest parts about playing at this level.'
Pickard has worked with Vaughn for multiple seasons. When the company releases new pads, Pickard takes them on with no questions asked.
'I just make sure I have a little bit of team colors on the pads. But the Vaughn guys will come up with a new pad and I'll be like, 'Sure, sounds good. I'll use it.' Not very particular with gear at all.'
Pickard is hands-off with his stuff. Some goalies are not.
'I've played with those guys. I don't have a ton in common with them. I don't know how to have those conversations with them. As long as it's firm and not broken down, I can use it. Once they get broken down, the next set comes.'
Pickard's Vaughn loyalty only goes so far when it comes to his stick.
'Their sticks were so bad that I just approached them. 'Guys, I can't use these things. They just chip.' So they're like, 'Yeah, they're no good anyways. Go use whatever you want.''
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Good pads are Skinner's priority, and not simply for stopping pucks. Seamless movement is critical.
'There's a lot of different things that go into making a pad. The way I'm able to feel out there. The seal on the ice. The way I'm able to get a seal on my posts. Being able to come out of the post into whatever position I'm in.'
It's been a process for Skinner to find a solution he likes. Part of this is because of his evolution.
'You get older. You feel like maybe you don't need a strap. 'What's the point of the strap?' Or you think you need a little more strapping on the calf. Or I need more help around my ankles because I'm getting older. So there's a few things that change as time goes on. Obviously how the game changes, too. The game is played a lot in RVH. So I've changed some strapping in my boot. I don't have any strapping in there right now. The game's played (in RVH) so much. So I just felt I don't need extra weight there.'
Some goalies like straps and buckles to secure their pads. Swayman recently did away with his.
'Now I'm all Velcro. It's a little different. It makes it a little lighter. It's been really awesome to see how True's adapted to new ways to make goalie pads more efficient, fit better, maneuver better on the ankle and knee. What feels good for me is when I'm in a butterfly, if I can touch the top of the pads together without crossing them over and there's no gap there, that's a pretty good fit. And where my knee's landing on the pad. Just so there's proper weight distribution throughout the whole pad so I'm not having squeakers go through my five-hole or even over the pad too.'
Swayman wore used pads until he was 16 in his first year of junior. Using custom gear still makes him marvel.
'There's no bad days. I don't take it for granted, ever. That's something that's able to ground me. I remember pretty well how much I wanted new pads. Now you can go into the equipment room and grab a new goalie glove. It didn't used to be like that. It's a good feeling. It makes you work hard and earn it every day.'
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(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic, with photos by André Ringuette, Zak Krill and Leila Devlin / Getty Images)