Can you use your hand in ice hockey?
I · Intermediate · Game flow · 2 of 13A player may stop or bat the puck with an open hand. Play stops if a hand pass reaches a teammate outside the passer's defending zone. A player may catch the puck but must drop it at once. Striking the puck with a stick above shoulder height stops play if the same team then gets the puck.
How it works
- Open hand: a player may stop, bat or push the puck with the hand.
- Hand pass: play stops if the puck is directed to a teammate or the team gains an advantage, and the team then gets the puck.
- Defending zone: hand passes are allowed there.
- Deflections off a hand: no violation if no advantage was gained (2026/27).
- Catching: allowed, but the puck must go straight down to the ice.
- Closing the hand: skating with the puck, covering it or picking it up is a minor penalty.
- In the crease: a defending skater covering the puck there gives a penalty shot.
- High stick: batting the puck above normal shoulder height; play stops if the same team gains control.
- Goals: no goal off a stick above the crossbar.
The glossary has the hand pass, the handling the puck, the high-sticking the puck, the penalty shot, the goal crease and the zone.
Tricky cases
A defender hand-passes to a teammate in their own zone. Stop?
No. Hand passes are allowed in the defending zone.
A player bats a high puck with the stick to an opponent. Stop?
No. Play continues when the high stick sends the puck to the other team.
A defender covers the puck with a hand in the crease. What follows?
A penalty shot to the attacking team.
Can a player bat the puck into the net with a stick held above the crossbar?
No goal, unless a defender does it into their own net.
Why the rule exists
Hockey is a stick game, so the hand may be used only to stop the puck. The high-stick limit protects players from sticks swung near faces.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hand pass | Not in the defending zone | IIHF 79.2 |
| Hand deflection | No advantage, no violation (2026/27) | IIHF 79.1 |
| High stick and goals | Crossbar is the limit | IIHF 80.3 |
From the rule book
International Ice Hockey Federation, Official Rulebook 2026/27 (version 1.0, June 2026), Rules 63.6, 67, 79 and 80. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the IIHF Official Rulebook, revised each season.