Hockey pucks and balls come in many different sizes, weights, colors and materials. Some hockey pucks are used for ice hockey while others are used for roller hockey or street hockey. The same is true for hockey balls, although, typically hockey balls are not used for organized league games of hockey. Additionally, you'll find that some hockey pucks and balls are designed for game use while others are used strictly for practice and training purposes.
Official, regulation ice hockey pucks are made with vulcanized rubber that is 1" thick and 3" in diameter, weighing in at 6 oz. These are the dimensions for ice hockey pucks used at all levels of play for all age groups from mini-mites to the professional level. You may find that some youth hockey leagues use 4 oz. pucks rather than 6 oz. pucks in order to make it easier for the younger players to handle the puck effectively and focus on developing their hockey stick skills.
Roller hockey pucks and ice hockey pucks are made with similar dimensions of thickness and diameter, but that's where the similarities end and the differences begin. Inline pucks are plastic rather than rubber, and both sides of the puck have several protrusive pegs or plastic ridges around the outer edge to reduce surface friction and allow the puck to slide more easily on the playing surface. Roller pucks come in many colors, but most hockey leagues use either red or black pucks. Depending on the color of the playing surface, some leagues may choose to use a more brightly-colored puck such as neon green, yellow or orange. The official puck of NARCH is the Rocket Puck, which is also used in many competitive leagues. You'll also find IDS Pro Shot Pucks, Sonic Inline Hockey Pucks and others at HockeyGiant.com.
Training pucks and balls come in a variety of weights and sizes so that you can improve your puckhandling, shooting and passing skills. Weighted pucks help strengthen your arms and core shooting muscles making it much easier to shoot and handle regulation hockey pucks. There are also many, great hockey balls that are designed specifically for the purpose of allowing you to practice your puckhandling skills off the ice with a ball that moves and feels very similar to an ice hockey puck.
Hockey Giant also carries a variety of hockey training tools and accessories, such as stick weights, shooting targets and resistance skating sleds that will help you improve all aspects of your game from shooting and puckhandling to skating and coordination.
