IIHF

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Recorded May 13, 2026

IIHF mandated that all goaltenders in international competition wear protective masks — a foundational equipment-safety rule formalizing what had progressed from optional adoption (Jacques Plante in 1959) to widespread but voluntary use over the following decade. The mandate preceded the IIHF's mandatory-helmet rule for skaters by two years (1970 vote, with goalie masks tightened separately in 1972) and predates equivalent NHL mandates by years. Coverage of facial impact zones produced a measurable reduction in catastrophic goaltender injuries.

Recorded May 8, 2026

Most consequential IIHF scoring-rule change of the modern era: tie games eliminated and a three-point system adopted in which a regulation-time win is worth three points, an overtime or shootout win two points, and an overtime or shootout loss one point. Voted in 2006 and first used at the 2007 World Championships, the system rewards regulation-time outcomes over those decided in extra periods, eliminating the tactical incentive to play for a tie that the prior two-point system had created. Mirrored later in many domestic European leagues.

Recorded May 8, 2026

Overtime format unified across all IIHF competition tiers: every overtime period — at the World Championships, the World Junior Championship, IIHF-sanctioned international play and Olympic ice hockey — now uses a 3-on-3 golden-goal structure, replacing the 4-on-4 (and earlier 5-on-5) configurations that had stood through prior reforms. The reduced skater count produces more open ice, faster pace, and earlier resolutions, aligning IIHF overtime with the format the NHL adopted in 2015–16.

Recorded May 8, 2026

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Recorded Mar 22, 2026