Goalie pads are among the most important pieces of equipment for a goalie to wear, and kid’s goalie pads are no exception. Goalie pads not only protect the shins, knees and so on from injury due to puck impact, they provide a broad, flat surface that is ideal for stopping goals, and protects the legs from the ice when the goalie must skid to save the goal. Kids goalie pads come in a variety of sizes and colors, and can be either very simple, or a miniature version of the equipment used in the NHL.

Goalie pads have not always been a part of hockey. Early in the game, under ‘Montreal rules,’ goalies were forbidden to either kneel on the ice or to wear any equipment other than the standard equipment worn by the rest of the players on the ice. Certainly, any use of padding or specialized equipment to aid in blocking the puck was strictly forbidden. However, like so many things, this was a rule that was made by the people who didn’t have to live by it, and it didn’t last for long.

In 1891, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the first recorded use of goalie pads took place. In this instance, the pads were actually cricket pads, but the fad caught on, and by 1896 they were used for the first time during a Stanley Cup playoff. After that, there was no stopping the rising trend, and goalie pads eventually became a regular part of goal tender equipment for kids and adult players alike.

Good goalie pads will protect the leg from both ice and pucks while still allowing a certain degree of flexibility and movement. If a parent is so inclined, many of the manufacturers of professional hockey equipment now offer child sized versions of the same gear worn by the child’s favorite NHL goal tender. If, on the other hand, the only need is for a modest bit of protection during a neighborhood game of pond hockey, then there are kids goalie pads available for that purpose, too, at a proportionately lower price.