Unlike Formula 1, millions of kids play the game and want to play it like the pros. Constantly changing the rules is feasible for the NHL. Goalies probably get new equipment every year anyway. But you can’t expect goalies in the recreational setting to do that. Probably the only people who would like that are the pad manufacturers. You’re also forgetting that the main aspect of goalie pads is protection and there’s a natural increase in protection as shooting power increases with stick technology. That being said, the hockey world needs to rip the bandaid off and simply make the goalie pads 6 inches narrower (3 off each) if they want more goals.
You're right, they're not. But if the league they play in says that their pads have to change, and the goalies are staring down a $200 investment in pads (this isn't totally unreasonable) there could be a lot of folks who can't swing that kind of cash just to have their kids play in a youth league, or adults who play in a beer league.
Hockey is already expensive - for goalies especially. More rule changes = more $$$ spent, and not always for great reasons.
Right, but why would the league institute this change? Because kids want to play in the NHL. Yes, kids aren’t going to care if the goalie pads are slightly different, but it’s the same enthusiasm for the NHL that puts pressure on the leagues to conform to the NHL. Have you ever seen a league play in a non NHL sized arena in North America? Sure is funny that huge infrastructure changes happened even though smaller cheaper rinks were viable for a long time.
Where I’m from in northern Ontario, a hockey centric place in the world, more kids played in recreational leagues than at the local barn rinks. Sure, playing shinny is really fun, but at the end of the day, kids want to play hockey as seen on TV. Whenever I went to the barn rink with my goalie equipment, people loved it because it was one of the few times they actually could shoot on a goalie. Playing posts or with a fake goalie is just as challenging (given I wasn’t very good) but it’s not the same as the real thing.
Yeah, but these rules don't need to be extended elsewhere. There are already tons of rules and gear that changes in popular sports based on the level of professional play... all the way down to swimming where professional meets have very different restrictions on suits, googles, caps than youth events.
Also as the article states, for most younger players, these changes wouldn't be an issue as the goalie isn't quite big enough to cause the rules to be needed.
It wouldn't be necessary to echo every minor change at lower levels of the sport. Racing is no different. Kids grow up racing karts, then the serious ones maybe move to Formula 3, Formula 2, before (a very select few) move up to F1. The equipment (car) at each of these levels is massively different, but the skills carry over, as they would for hockey, even if the goalie pads weren't identical.
Of course it wouldn't be necessary, but all the incentives are lined up against that happening in sports with millions of players. There's a reason why indoor soccer plays second fiddle to outdoor soccer. People aren't interested in playing sports with transferable skills. They are interested in playing what their idols play. Lacrosse is a prime example. In the US, the outdoor version is vastly more popular than the indoor version. In Canada, it is the exact opposite due to our access to indoor arenas and lack of summer months. To say something is possible without looking at the massive cultural momentum behind something is silly. You call equipment changes minor, but the very first thing hockey players do when they get to a high enough level is remove the cage from the helmet.
