With Minnesota kids heading back to school, the Minnesota Wild schedule announced and new coaches getting their final rosters in order at a few of state’s college hockey programs, excitement is brewing in the State of Hockey.
At the same time, there is uncertainty about the cost of the protective gear and other equipment Minnesota athletes need to play hockey. With a trade war between the U.S. and Canada ramping up, the price and availability of that equipment could be an issue for Minnesotans as they prepare for another winter of hockey.
Ice skates and hockey sticks for sale at Strauss Skates and Bicycles in Maplewood on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
In late August, a 50% tariff on many popular Canadian goods, including hockey equipment, went into effect after trade talks between the countries stalled. Since then, Canada has vowed to enact retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods as part of a pointed trade war that started after President Donald Trump began his second term in 2025.
Changes on campus
The men’s hockey program at the University of St. Thomas works exclusively with equipment manufacturer CCM, which is headquartered in Montreal and was founded in 1899 as Canada Cycle and Motor. With each member of the Tommies’ roster using between 12 and 24 sticks each season, Adam Krinsky — the school’s assistant athletics director for equipment operations — buys in bulk.
That provides a bit of a break from retail prices, but Krinsky acknowledged he has been hearing from CCM reps more than usual as the U.S. and Canada escalate their war of words.
“I got an email this morning. I got an email two days ago,” Krinsky said last week. “It’s very much on everyone’s radar right now, and we’re just trying to figure it all out.”
The Tommies’ equipment budget for the 2026-27 season was drafted last January, and many of the orders for gear such as sticks, helmets, gloves, pants and elbow pads were placed in July. Since then, the White House announced its new tariffs, and specifically mentioned hockey sticks in its announcement.
“Things change so much, so you have to have a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C,” Krinsky said. “Moving forward, I think that’s what everybody is doing right now. We’re having to adjust on the fly.”
Retail readies for a rise
At the youth and high school levels, where the cost of playing hockey is a perpetual concern for families, the international trade talks hit home. Economists point out that in most trade wars, the cost of tariffs is ultimately borne by the consumer. In this case, that means moms and dads who drive their children to and from the rink most winter nights.
Stop into Strauss Skates in St. Paul, or Pure Hockey in Burnsville, and they can outfit you with everything you will need to get onto the ice. It won’t be cheap, there or anywhere.
Andrew Ellis adds price stickers to a hockey stick at Strauss Skates & Bicycles in Maplewood on Wednesday, Sept 2, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
A few generations ago there were a handful of hockey stick manufacturers based in Minnesota crafting the tools of the trade almost exclusively out of ash, birch and maple. While you can still buy wood sticks named Northland (originally made in St. Paul) or Christian Brothers (founded in Warroad), they’re now made in Canada — and sold mostly for nostalgia and senior leagues. The vast majority of sticks are now composites and made in Asian or Mexican factories for Canadian companies.
A wood stick like the Christian Brothers Superlite 5000 would cost $25 or $30 in the early 1980s, when the gradual switch to materials like aluminum and composite began. At Pure Hockey last week, a high-end Bauer composite stick was for sale at $389.
A clerk there who declined to share their name said they haven’t seen tariffs affect prices yet but acknowledged it’s a situation that they are watching closely.
Stick shortages during COVID
This is not the first time world events have trickled down to a hockey team’s stick room. A few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many aspects of American life, the folks in the Minnesota hockey community could already feel a storm coming.
There was a massive interruption of the supply chain when Chinese factories were closed because of the initial spread of the virus. It made hockey sticks harder to come by as early as December 2019, three months before the first local mandates to “flatten the curve.”
“Sticks were harder to get during COVID, but we never had an issue getting what we needed for our players,” a Minnesota Wild spokesperson said. It should be noted that in times of equipment shortages, NHL teams are generally first in the pecking order, and most professional players receive their equipment directly from sponsors.
Politics in play
Following the COVID-related shortages, and with trade tensions between the U.S. and China seemingly always a factor, some hockey gear companies have moved their manufacturing operations to other countries, including Vietnam, in an effort to avoid the tariffs imposed on Chinese-made goods.
“Like many goods, when China became the focus of our trade conflict, the folks that were producing those products in China moved nearby to other Southeast Asian economies that were not facing that tariff,” said King Banaian, a professor in St. Cloud State University’s school of economics and a former Minnesota state representative.
Banaian added that the specific mention of hockey sticks by the White House may be a negotiating tactic, and those who are shopping for hockey gear in the near future shouldn’t start panic buying just yet.
“(Negotiators) could say, ‘Hey, if you’ll do this for me, I’ll take hockey sticks off the list,’ or something like that. That wouldn’t surprise me,” Banaian said. “It will be probably not a great impact for the parents of kids in youth hockey. But for people skating at the pro level or the near-pro level, it will have some impact because the high-end stuff… that is coming out of Canada and will get hit by the 50% tariff.”
Prices already prohibitive
In the spring of this year, Cottage Grove hockey mom Beverly Schmitz checked with her 11-year-old son, who said his skates fit fine. By the middle of the summer, he said his feet were falling asleep while he was on the ice and he was in some pain when skating.
“We thought we were all good and three months later, we have to get him new skates because he went up two sizes,” Schmitz said.
There are some equipment swap events that help parents find used gear at discount prices, and some youth hockey associations — including Cottage Grove — offer some rental equipment. Still, Schmitz readied for the worst upon hearing hockey sticks were specifically mentioned by the White House.
“I’m not going to lie. When I read that I was like, ‘Ugh, great. Just what I need,’ ” Schmitz said, sarcastically. “Just add it to the list, I guess. Should I be surprised? No. I thought it was a little cheap, and of all the things to go after in this world. Why is that it?”
Summer and early fall is traditionally the time parents buy their kids’ gear for the coming season, and the overall price of hockey — which also includes travel to tournaments and ice time rental — forces most to be budget-conscious.
Josh Arnold of Moorhead, who had two sons on the Spuds’ 2026 state high school championship squad, bought their gear early in the summer. “We got the end of last year’s stock for discounted prices,” he said.
To outfit his son Will, who backstopped the Spuds’ title last season and will likely be the starting goalie in 2027, Arnold paid $3,000 for leg pads and gloves, $650 for a chest protector, $1,000 for a helmet, and $235 for a goalie stick on sale, down from $339.
Goalie skates can run from $300 to $900 depending on the brand and materials.
Nolan Nygaard, the primary goaltender as a senior at Duluth East last season, will play juniors for the Minnesota Blue Ox in Coon Rapids this winter. His father, Bob, said they may have dodged a bullet by purchasing Nolan a new glove, blocker and leg pads this summer before the tariffs were a factor.
The change in gear was partially necessary to match his new team’s colors, as East primarily wears black and red.
Fully outfitting a goalie at the youth level can cost up to $2,000, while gear for high school, junior and college level puck-stoppers can run well over $5,000. If the tariffs are enforced, many fear that those prices could skyrocket in the coming months.
“As goalie parents, we pay more than enough already,” Bob Nygaard said. “We certainly don’t need tariffs to make it worse.”