How many players are on a hockey team?
Each team normally has six players on the ice: five skaters and one goalie.1,2 An NHL team dresses at most 20 players for a game: 18 skaters and 2 goalies.3 (NHL Rule 5)
The details
USA Hockey allows up to 20 players in a game, no more than 18 of them skaters. Tier I 15-Only, 16U and 18U, and girls Tier I 19U, may dress 22 with up to 20 skaters.4
In USA Hockey, a team must start with at least six players, and the game is forfeited if it drops below four.4
IIHF teams may list 22 players: up to 20 skaters and 2 goalies.2
NHL regular-season overtime is 3-on-3, and a team never plays with fewer than three skaters. (Rule 84)3
Penalties can never drop a team below three skaters; extra penalized players wait for an earlier penalty to end. (Rule 26)3
Players may change during play only once the player leaving is within five feet of the bench. Stepping on early, or playing the puck or an opponent while both players are on the ice, is too many men. (Rule 74)3
Too many men is a two-minute bench minor that a referee or linesperson can call; a goal scored before the whistle by the team with too many men does not count. (Rule 74)3
If a deliberate too-many-men bench minor cannot be fully served because time is running out, or it happens in overtime, a penalty shot is awarded instead. (Rule 74)3
Only players listed on the lineup before the game may play. A goal scored while an ineligible player is on the ice is disallowed, and he is removed. (Rule 5)3
More hockey rules
Hockey positions explained · What is a power play in hockey? · Hockey penalties list · All hockey rules
Sources
- Wikipedia: Ice hockey · accessed 2026-10-23
- IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27 · accessed 2026-10-23
- NHL Official Rules 2025-26 (league) · accessed 2026-10-23
- USA Hockey Official Playing Rules 2025-29 (linked from usahockey.com/rulesandresources) · accessed 2026-10-23
Rules are paraphrased, not quoted; the rulebook wins wherever wording matters. NHL rules unless a league is named.