Hockey sticks and certain pieces of equipment made in the United States could become considerably more expensive for Canadian players and families — but the impact won’t be the same for every piece of gear.

Buying hockey equipment in Canada is already expensive. A top-end stick can push $400 or $500, skates can easily reach $1,000 at the elite level, and outfitting a growing minor-hockey player from head to toe can cost a small fortune.

Now, another potential cost is entering the equation.

Beginning September 8, 2026, Canada is imposing a new round of counter-tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods originating in the United States. Tariff rates on affected products range from 15% to 50%, depending on their customs classification.

For hockey players, one particular category stands out.

Hockey Sticks Are on the 50% List

Canada’s official list includes tariff classification 9506.99.00 at a 50% rate. 

That number might not mean much to the average hockey parent, but Canada’s Customs Tariff breaks it down further.

Under 9506.99.00, subcategory 11 specifically lists “hockey sticks, for ice hockey.” The same broader classification also contains an “other” category for ice hockey and field hockey equipment. 

That means qualifying hockey equipment that is considered U.S.-origin could face a major additional cost when imported into Canada.

And 50% is significant.

However, there is an important detail that needs to be understood before assuming your $400 stick is about to become a $600 stick overnight.

A 50% Tariff Doesn’t Necessarily Mean a 50% Retail Increase

The tariff is applied during importation — it isn’t simply a 50% surcharge slapped directly onto the sticker price at your local hockey store.

Retail pricing includes several components: the manufacturer’s price, importer or distributor costs, shipping, retailer margins and taxes.

So if an importer pays substantially less than the final $400 retail price for a stick, the 50% tariff would apply to the applicable customs value rather than simply adding $200 to the store price.

How much eventually reaches consumers will depend on how manufacturers, distributors and retailers respond.

They could absorb some of the expense, increase wholesale prices, increase retail prices or use some combination of all three.

That is why the prices in HockeyGamedayTV’s graphic are best viewed as illustrative examples rather than predictions.

A $400 stick, for example, could conceivably move into the $500-plus range if a substantial portion of the additional import cost is passed along.

A $500 premium stick could potentially creep well past $600.

For families buying several sticks per season, even a smaller increase could add up quickly.

Not Every Bauer, CCM or Warrior Product Is Automatically Affected

This may be the most important part of the entire story.

The Canadian government specifically says the counter-tariffs only apply to goods originating from the United States. 

That means the location of a company’s headquarters, distributor or warehouse isn’t necessarily what determines whether the tariff applies.

A piece of hockey equipment does not automatically become subject to the tariff simply because it carries a familiar brand name or was shipped through an American warehouse.

Where that particular product qualifies as originating from under Canada’s rules is what matters.

For consumers, that could produce a strange situation where two similar-looking hockey products from the same brand experience very different price pressures depending on where they were manufactured.

What About Skates?

Here is some good news.

Ice skates are classified separately.

Canada’s 2026 customs schedule places ice and roller skates under 9506.70, rather than 9506.99. 

The newly announced list places the 50% tariff on 9506.99.00, but not the skate classification.

So there is currently no new blanket 50% hockey-equipment tariff on skates under this measure.

That doesn’t guarantee skate prices won’t change. Currency fluctuations, manufacturing costs, shipping and other tariffs can all influence retail pricing.

It simply means Canadians shouldn’t look at the new 50% hockey tariff and assume a $700 pair of skates is automatically about to cost $1,050.

Hockey Tape Could Be Another Product to Watch

Tape gets a little more complicated.

Canada’s September 8 tariff list includes 3919.10.99, covering certain self-adhesive plastic tape and similar products in rolls no wider than 20 centimetres.

That category carries a 50% tariff for qualifying U.S.-origin goods. 

That could potentially capture some clear plastic shin-pad tape, depending on the exact material and customs classification.

Traditional cloth hockey tape may be classified differently, so it would be inaccurate to say that every roll of U.S.-made hockey tape is automatically facing the new 50% tariff.

Still, even inexpensive items matter when thousands of teams and players use them throughout an entire season.

Existing Inventory Could Delay the Impact

Canadian players also shouldn’t expect every hockey shop to change its prices the moment September 8 arrives.

The government says the new countermeasures do not apply to U.S. goods that were already in transit to Canada when the tariffs came into force. 

Stores may also already have weeks or months of inventory sitting in Canadian warehouses.

That means any price increases could appear gradually rather than immediately.

One retailer might still have older inventory at its previous cost, while another may need to reorder tariff-affected equipment sooner.

Consumers could therefore see noticeably different prices from store to store.

The Bigger Concern for Hockey Families

The significance of these tariffs isn’t necessarily one dramatically more expensive purchase.

It’s the cumulative cost.

Imagine a family buying two sticks, shoulder pads, pants, tape and other equipment during a season. Even modest increases across multiple pieces can turn into hundreds of additional dollars.

And for families with two or three children playing competitive hockey, the impact multiplies.

Hockey affordability has already become an ongoing discussion in Canada. Registration fees, travel, tournaments, equipment and ice costs make the sport one of the more expensive youth activities.

Any further increase in equipment prices isn’t likely to make that conversation disappear.

What Should Canadian Hockey Consumers Do?

For now, the best thing consumers can do is pay attention to country of origin and actual retail pricing, rather than assuming every piece of American-brand hockey equipment will rise by 50%.

Some affected products may rise substantially.

Some may see smaller increases.

Others may see no tariff-related increase at all.

But for U.S.-origin hockey sticks and other equipment that falls under the affected 9506.99.00 classification, Canada’s new tariff is very real — and somebody along the supply chain will have to account for that additional cost.

The biggest question is how much ultimately reaches the person standing at the cash register.

And with premium sticks already approaching the price of a monthly car payment, Canadian hockey families will be watching closely.

Sources: Government of Canada, Department of Finance Canada; Canada Border Services Agency 2026 Customs Tariff.