This Gear Check List is a standard youth hockey equipment guide. No matter what youth league your child plays in, they will need each piece of equipment shown in the photo above. This ensures that they will be as safe as possible while on the ice, as this equipment protects your child from falls, errant sticks, and so on.

Starting from the top, the helmet is essential to any hockey player, regardless of age. The helmet protects one's head against sticks, pucks, and hits from other players. All helmets come with a HECC sticker located on the back that ensures that the helmet is not expired and is designed by the manufacturer with no modifications. Another piece of equipment that is required for youth hockey players, and is recommended to players of all ages, is a mouthguard. This will help protect your child's teeth and jaw upon impact, but more importantly, will help reduce the risk of head and brain injuries. The neck guard has a similar function to these two pieces of equipment. While the neck guard becomes optional after high school hockey, anything prior to that age requires one. Neck guards help protect against any sort of cuts that can potentially happen during gameplay. They also help protect players from the impact of items like an errant stick or helmet.

Moving down to the torso and arms, your child will need two key pieces of gear: a set of shoulder pads and a set of elbow pads. Shoulder pads are important for a variety of reasons. As your child ages, they will move through the ranks of youth hockey until they reach the age where hitting becomes a routine part of the game. A sturdy set of shoulder pads will greatly benefit them when that time comes. They will also protect your child against a multitude of other things, such as sticks and pucks from deflections or shots. Elbow pads are essential, too. They protect mostly against sticks, as they can sometimes get hooked around the arms. They can also be very helpful when falling. When young players fall, it is typical for them to want to break their fall using their elbows. Because of this, having a well-made set of elbow pads will be very beneficial. This gear can be covered by a jersey, which will help keep everything fastened.

Hockey gloves are also imperative for any hockey player, as they have a multitude of benefits. They give the player great protection against stick checks from other players, protection against the puck from shots, and protection from contact against the boards.

Next, one of the most important pieces of equipment is the jock. On all compression-style jocks, there is an interior compartment where a cup goes, which is essential, as it protects against all types of contact. They also hold up the player's socks, thanks to the Velcro tabs. Simply attach their tab to the tabs that are on the insides of all modern mesh socks and they should be good to go!

Moving on to leg protection, every hockey player will want a set of shin guards. Shin guards will help protect your child's lower legs and knees against shots and falls. You will also want to provide your child with a pair of hockey socks to cover the shin guards. It is recommended that they wear mesh socks over knit socks, as they are more breathable, more cut-resistant, and have Velcro tabs at the top that attach to the Velcro tabs on the jock. Accompanied by the shin guards are the hockey pants. Hockey pants are essentially extra padded "shorts" that fully protect a player's thighs against stick checks and shots. Hockey pants will also protect the lower back from extra stick whacks. It is important to get your child a properly fitted pair of pants to ensure that they are not sagging down or too small, which would leave the bottom of the thigh exposed.