Dressing a NHL Player

Have you ever wondered how much all of that equipment that the players wear costs?
No? Well, I have!
So, here's the article that you never asked for!

For this example we will use Auston Matthews. This makes it a little bit easier as he has an endorsement deal with Bauer. Some of the assumptions that need to be can be made using Bauer equipment. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are assumed and not confirmed. All prices are in Canadian dollars.

This example just takes into account ONE set of equipment. I can only assume that most players have several extras such as skates, gloves, and especially sticks.

The first thing you would put on would be your under layers, or core wear, or whatever you want to call it.

Bauer Premium Compression Pant with Jock ($80) *
Bauer Elite Padded Senior Long Sleeve Top ($125) *
One would also need a belt to hold up their socks.
Let's assume Matthews uses a Bauer Garter Belt ($12) *

 

Matthews uses a lot of Bauer products from the Nexus 1N line;
Bauer Nexus 1N shin guards ($160) *

Next, socks need to be pulled over your shin guards and fastened with the belt. Most players will also use clear tape over their socks to tape their shin guards in place. We will likely never know the price that the teams or league pays for uniforms and equipment, so these items may be the most inaccurate of all the pieces listed here.

1 roll clear tape ($2) *
Reebok Edge socks ($30) *

The pants then get pulled up. Some players will use a belt to hold their pants up while others will use suspenders and for this exercise I will assume that Matthews uses suspenders. As well, most players don't want to switch their actual pair of pants whenever it's required (alternate uniform use or trade). Nowadays pants have pants shells over top of them to match the team's uniform. This allows the players to use the pants they are comfortable with regardless of the situation.

Bauer Nexus 1N Pants ($230) *
Bauer Nexus 1N Pants Shell ($50) *
Bauer Pants Suspenders ($12) *

It appears that skates and sticks are the most important and cared for pieces of equipment among players. You likely would take meticulous care of your skates too if they cost a thousand dollars!

Bauer Vapor 1X 2nd Gen. Skates ($1000)

When I'm getting dressed for hockey this is the point where I stop and take a walk around the rinks. Take a look at what's happening on the other rinks. Maybe I'd fill my water bottle at this point or start to tape a stick. I always go to hockey ridiculously early because it's all about being around the rink and being around the sport.

Shoulder pads are next. When you view a lot of post-game interviews in the dressing room you will notice that a lot of the players use the CCM QuickLite shoulder pads, however due to Auston Matthews' endorsement deal with Bauer I will assume that he uses their equivalent. The same applies for the elbow pads.

Bauer Nexus 1N Pro Shoulder Pads ($190) *
Bauer Nexus 1N Pro Elbow Pads ($140) *

Now is the point in the process that the player would pull on his sweater. There's no way to know how much the teams pay for a game ready sweater from Adidas. These sweaters are of higher quality than the Adidas authentic jerseys and they are made in Canada. I've used the Adidas authentic jersey for this example because I would assume that the team would get a big discount.

Adidas Authentic Sweater #34 Matthews ($250)

Gloves are one of those items where the players will have multiple pairs so that they have dry gloves every shift. We will use one pair for our example here. Players will then need to cover up their salad and throw a bucket over top of it. All players who enter the league must wear a visor, so we've attached one of them for this example. Auston Matthews does not appear to wear a mouth guard and it has been excluded from our list below.

Bauer Nexus 1N Gloves ($220)
Bauer Re Akt 100 helmet ($290)
Bauer Pro Straight Visor ($90) *

And finally you can't play hockey without a twig. It would be hard to get a number on how many sticks a player uses during a full season. One a game? Something that NHL players do is tape their sticks every game. Thus, a roll of tape has been added to our equipment list.

Bauer Nexus 1N Stick ($250)
Renfrew Black Hockey Tape ($3) *

And now our hypothetical Auston Matthews is ready for game action!

 

What was the final retail value of Matthews' equipment that we listed?

$3,134

That price is just for one set of equipment. As we mentioned above, almost all players have extra pieces of equipment to ensure they are always preforming their best.

How much does your equipment cost?
I'd also love to hear in the comments what your oldest piece of equipment.
And what your most expensive piece of equipment is.

Next time we will tackle the goalies!