Quantifying ice hockey goaltender leg pad kinematics and the effect that different leg pad styles have on performance

Goaltender leg pad innovations, whether the result of professional player feedback or National Hockey League equipment regulations, are rarely tested for their effects on the goaltender’s body. This study quantified peak drop velocity and range of motion of four different ice hockey goalie leg pads with respect to the goaltenders’ legs during butterfly manoeuvres. Twelve junior goaltenders, ranging from 16 to 20 years of age, performed five butterfly manoeuvres in each of the four leg pad conditions (flexible-tight leg channel, flexible-wide leg channel, stiff-wide leg channel and control). The pad conditions followed similar kinematic patterns in the sagittal and frontal planes. In the transverse plane, the stiff-wide pad achieved significantly greater external rotation (~10°) during the butterfly compared to the flex-tight and the flex-wide leg pad conditions. Goaltenders performed significantly faster butterflies in the flex-tight (3.05 m/s) and the flex-wide (3.0 m/s) leg pad conditions compared to their own control (2.82 m/s) leg pads ( P = 0.018 and P = 0.004, respectively). The kinematic information obtained during this study provides ice hockey goaltender equipment manufacturers with a baseline understanding of how leg pads move with respect to the goaltender’s legs. Future leg pad modifications can then be compared to these data to understand the modification’s effect on the goaltender’s body and performance ensuring that leg pads continue to improve both the safety and performance of goaltenders.