Kelly Rand’s teenage twin boys playing hockey in St. Paul, Minn., are going through growth spurts that force the family to buy new equipment what seems like all the time.
The goaltender’s US$400 helmet in 2022 now runs US$1,000. The chest protector they got last year for US$465 now goes for US$900.
For a sport that is increasingly expensive for everything from gear and ice time to travel and coaching, the latest round of 50 per cent tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration against Canada was most unwelcome news as they threaten to ramp up prices even more.
“If a kid on the ice breaks a stick, every other parent is looking at that mom or dad going, ‘Ahhh oh, no!’” Rand said. “You feel for them. How many $400 sticks can you afford in one season?”
Hockey sticks and skates are among the more than 550 goods named in the tariffs by the White House. Custom equipment is also manufactured by True Hockey in Canada and imported into the U.S., according to B&R Sports director of E-commerce John Merola, who said skates and goalie gear fit into that category.
An average stick is now US$200, Merola said, with high-end versions ranging up to US$400. He noted that Bauer, CCM and True still make many custom items in Canada.
“This not a minor blip by by any means,” Sports & Fitness Industry Association CEO Todd Smith said. “Even if manufacturers have moved over the last several years from Canada to other countries, there’s still [a] healthy amount being manufactured in Canada and, yeah, this 50 per cent tariff is a big deal.”
Rising prices and popularity amid production shifts
When Rand’s family bought custom goalie gear a couple of years ago, the entire setup cost US$3,300. Skate pairs that in 2016 went for between US$80 and US$900 are now US$200 to US$1,230, according to HockeySkates DB, a database that charts the prices from various companies.
Inflation, as well as tariffs on other countries, are behind the price jumps in recent years. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s manufacturers sales report said the amount spent on hockey equipment increased 45.4 per cent from 2020-25, up to US$332.9-million from US$228.9-million, dovetailing with increasing participation in the sport.
According to U.S. International Trade Commission data, which does not separate ice and field hockey equipment, gear from Canada made up roughly 8.5 per cent of imports last year, fourth behind 52.7 per cent from China, 13.2 per cent from Vietnam and 9.5 per cent from Thailand. Of the 2.1 million hockey sticks imported last year, trade data shows more than 1.5 million (74.1 per cent) came from China and 268,000 (12.8 per cent) from Mexico, compared to 18,909 (0.9 per cent) from Canada.
Chris Douglas, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint, called it unlikely that stick prices will go up 50 per cent across the board, noting Canada’s modest market share, but wonders what will happen if demand increases.
“Maybe that causes the price of hockey sticks to rise somewhat – maybe by $50 or something like that,” Douglas said. “Hockey is expensive with the equipment, ice time and so forth, so maybe there’s a family right on the margin where $50 or $100 in additional cost causes them not to enroll their kids at hockey any longer.”
The question is how long the tariffs will last
When Trump imposed tariffs on China, Merola said that had a bigger impact on business but not right away.
“Bauer, CCM – the big, heavy hitters in the market – came in and said: ‘We’ll absorb these costs. Don’t worry about it,’” Merola said. “And then as nothing happened, they kind of came back and said, ‘We can’t cover this, so we’re gonna have to increase pricing.’”
That wait-and-see approach could happen again this time, delaying how long manufacturers and retailers pass on the increase to consumers. Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade talks could resume if Washington became serious about negotiations.
Douglas said it all comes down to expectations for how long the tariffs will be in place.
“It’s hard to form expectations of the current tariff regime where tariffs are changing basically every day, it seems like,” Douglas said. “But if there’s an expectation that tariffs are going to be permanent or at least in place for the long term, then I think prices rise pretty instantaneously because the cost of production has risen and that gets passed on to consumers via a higher price.”
Merola thinks long-term tariffs will lead companies to move more production to the U.S., Asia or elsewhere. Roustan Hockey, the last major hockey stick factory in Canada, last week reaffirmed it will keep making them there, despite the challenges.
“We remain committed to our employees, our customers and our manufacturing operations here in Canada,” founder W. Graeme Roustan said in a statement after hosting federal minister Evan Solomon for a tour of the facility in Brantford, Ont.
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association is advocating for the tariffs to go away, especially given what Smith said was a seven per cent increase in hockey participation in the U.S. over the past three years, a boom attributed to the 4 Nations Face-Off, Winter Olympics and more.
While pointing out the National Hockey League, USA Hockey and teams have contributed significant efforts with learn to play programs that include free equipment and ice time, Smith is concerned about the long-term impact of tariffs.
“This has, obviously, the potential to really stunt that growth,” he said. “It couldn’t be a worse time for tariffs to hit in terms of really having the having the possibility to increase costs.”
Facts Only
* A goaltender’s helmet cost US$1,000 in 2022, up from US$400.
* A chest protector cost US$900 in the current context, up from US$465 the previous year.
* Average hockey sticks are now US$200, with high-end versions up to US$400.
* Custom goalie gear cost US$3,300 when purchased a couple of years prior.
* Skate pairs went from US$80–US$900 in 2016 to US$200–US$1,230 by some data.
* Spending on hockey equipment increased 45.4% from 2020-25, reaching US$332.9 million.
* Canada's goods made up approximately 8.5% of imports from Canada in 2021.
* More than 74.1% of imported hockey sticks in 2021 came from China.
* The Sports & Fitness Industry Association reported a seven percent increase in U.S. hockey participation over the past three years.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative shifts from simple cost inflation to an inquiry into the structural sustainability of cross-border trade policies and market concentration within the sporting goods industry. The concern raised by the parents highlights how external economic pressures—tariffs and global production shifts—translate directly into accessible costs for consumer goods, particularly for families involved in niche sports. The debate about price increases is complicated by differing expectations regarding the duration of the tariff regime; if tariffs are perceived as permanent, immediate cost transmission occurs based on increased production expenses. Furthermore, the reliance on non-Canadian manufacturing for key components introduces vulnerability, as evidenced by the heavy reliance on Chinese imports for sticks. The context suggests a tension between maintaining established national manufacturing interests in Canada and navigating evolving international trade dynamics. The underlying implication is how external political decisions reshape domestic economic realities and affect participation growth in specific sectors.
Bridge Questions: If manufacturers successfully shift production to non-tariffed regions, what regulatory mechanisms could be implemented to protect domestic manufacturing capacity? How should consumers factor in geopolitical instability when budgeting for specialized recreational equipment? Does the current pricing structure inherently create an exclusionary barrier based on geography or trade agreements, regardless of immediate market demand?
Sentinel — Human
The text appears to be a human-written synthesis of economic data and personal narrative, effectively connecting specific product cost inflation with broader trade policy concerns.