A high-sticking decision starts with the stick, the contact and the opponent's position. Asking only whether the player meant to cause harm misses the practical question: what actually happened?
This article uses the International Ice Hockey Federation Official Rule Book 2026/27, checked on 20 September 2026. Rule numbers below refer to that edition. Use it for games governed by that book; an NHL, NCAA, national-association or local-league decision needs its own appointed rules.
The IIHF's official rules hub states that its latest published version controls IIHF events. Check that hub when applying this explanation in a later season.
Rule 60.1 defines a high stick by contact above an opponent's shoulders, with those shoulders at waist level or higher. The 2026/27 edition adds this height qualification.
For a useful replay, look for an angle showing both players' posture at contact. A tight shot of the face alone leaves out part of the evidence.
Rule 60.1 permits accidental contact during a normal shooting windup or follow-through, and with a bent-over opposing centre during a face-off. A wild swing at a bouncing puck is not the shooting exception.
Compare a normal shot's follow-through with a hurried swing at an airborne puck. Calling both actions an attempt to play the puck hides the distinction officials must examine.
Rule 60.3 allows optional video confirmation or cancellation of a double-minor, particularly to identify whose stick caused the injury; it refers to Rule 18.4.
When watching a crowded crease scramble, follow the shaft back towards its owner. The nearest opponent is an assumption, not an identification. Then examine the action and injury separately instead of letting the final close-up explain the entire sequence.
Playing the puck with a high stick belongs to Rule 80, separately from Rule 60's opponent-contact penalty.
For that decision, continue to hand passes and high-sticking the puck. For other stick actions, see slashing, hooking and tripping.
Checked on 20 September 2026. The examples and viewing suggestions are explanatory illustrations, not additional official casebook rulings.