Hockey Training Mats for Hockey Shops, Academies and Brands: How to Specify a Custom Order

A hockey training mat is a slick surface for stick-handling, shooting and skating drills off the ice. To specify a custom hockey training mat, decide four things: the drill it's for, the surface material, the size, and the printed markings or branding. Our hockey mats are made to any size and design with no minimum order quantity, and every design is confirmed on a free digital proof before production.

Most buyers ask for "a shooting pad" and only later mention that the kids will wear skates on it. That detail changes the material, so put it in the first email.

For shooting and stick-handling in shoes, the puck has to slide fast and flat, the way it does on ice. For skating drills, the surface also has to look after the skate blades and the floor underneath, and it has to grip the floor so it doesn't move when a player pushes off. A mat for a garage shooting corner and a mat for an academy's skating station are different products, even when they look alike in a photo.

We quote three surfaces. Which one is right depends on the drill above.

Size is fully custom. For a retail line, think about the floor a family actually has: a garage bay, a basement or a patio, and the size a parent can carry and store. For an academy, measure the floor area you want to cover and tell us whether the mat stays down or gets moved after every session, because that decides how it is made up and packed.

Don't guess a standard size from a competitor's listing. Send the space, and we'll quote the size that fits it.

This is where a custom hockey training mat earns its price. Sizes, patterns and sublimation printing are all made to order, so the surface can carry stick-handling lanes, shooting targets, drill numbers, an academy crest or a sponsor's logo.

Sublimation puts the dye into the surface rather than on top of it. In testing, the print held up through more than 5,000 skate passes without fading, which matters on a mat that a camp of 60 kids uses every day.

Keep the artwork simple. Lines and targets need strong contrast against the surface colour, and fine text near the edges is the first thing a player's stick wears over. If you need help, our guide to samples and digital proofs shows how artwork is checked before production.

Because hockey mats have no minimum order quantity, a shop can test one design and one size before committing to a range. If it sells, add a second size or a printed version with your shop's logo. A brand can run the same idea at a larger scale, with its own artwork and packaging.

The approach is the same one we suggest for golf: stock a small number of sizes that fit real homes, and explain honestly what the surface does and doesn't do. Our article on which putting mats retailers should stock walks through that thinking for another sport.

Players come in from a wet car park in boots and leave carrying bags and sticks. At the club entrance, a nylon and rubber logo entrance mat for sports clubs in MC-2200 (700 g/m² nylon on 2000gsm rubber, 7mm) holds dirt and water and prints club crests with no colour limit. A smaller club with lighter traffic can use MC-2450 (5mm), which starts from one piece. Our logo mat guide for gyms and fitness studios covers the same entrance problem.

Send us four things: the drill (shooting, stick-handling or skating), the size of the space, whether players will wear skates on the mat, and your artwork or logo. We recommend a surface, confirm the design on a free digital proof, and quote. Stock items typically ship in 7–15 days and custom orders in 20–30 days, plus shipping. See the sports mat range or send us your brief.

What is a hockey training mat? A slick surface for stick-handling, shooting and skating drills off the ice, used at home, in academies and in clubs.

Can players wear skates on a hockey training mat? On a mat made for it, yes. The rubber surface is 60–70 Shore A, so it doesn't blunt the blade, and it protects the floor underneath. Tell us at the start if the mat is for skating.

Is there a minimum order for custom hockey mats? No. Hockey mats have no minimum order quantity, so a shop or academy can start with a single mat.

Will the printed design wear off? The print is sublimated into the surface, and in testing it lasted more than 5,000 skate passes without fading.