The most important piece of equipment you can get is the mouthgaurd. I play no-contact shinny with a bunch of guys and one time I had an accidental collision with a short feller. My jaw hit on the top of his helmet and all the lines on the ice and boards flashed yellow. I went straight to the bench to make sure I wasn't concussed. Upon feeling comfortable that I wasn't and I rested for 10 to 15 minutes, I got back out and played. About 24 hours later I came upon the realization that I had a concussion. My wife, a physical therapist, informs me that a mouthgaurd would've prevented my concussion.
The only piece of equipment that I don't have is shoulder pads. Most guys I play with don't have them. I do know that one of my friends would've benefited from them though... I was at the side of the net and he was in front standing on the crease (he was on the opposite team). I saw an opening and thought I'd bank the puck off of the goalies leg and into the net... I missed the goalies pads and the puck shot straight up at my friend and hit him right on the nipple. If he had shoulder pads the pain would've been much much less worse.
So you can make a case to wear all the gear, it just depends on what you feel most comfortable wearing or not wearing.
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