Changes to IIHF Rulebook for 2026/27

One of the most noticeable changes is to face-offs.

There are a few small changes to the IIHF Rule Book for this coming season which will impact Motorpoint Elite League games in 2026/27.

You may already have seen some of them in pre-season, most notably with face-offs.

Under Rule 76, when a team commits a face-off violation, the centre of the offending team will now be removed from the face-off and replaced. The exception is a face-off following an icing, where the centre will not be removed for the first violation and will instead be given a warning.

Offside has also been updated. An attacking player who enters the attacking zone before the puck must now have possession and control of the puck with their stick in order to avoid being ruled offside.

There is also a clarification to the high-sticking rule. For contact to be considered high-sticking, the opponent’s shoulders must be at waist level or higher. This is designed to clarify situations where a player is significantly bent over when contact with a stick occurs above their shoulders.

The updated rules were already in place for exhibition games and will continue to apply when competitive action begins this weekend.

The full rulebook is available here, while the Motorpoint Elite League's Casebook is here.