The 10 Best Hockey Nets

For a driveway goal that matches what players see at the rink, the Franklin NHL Championship has the full regulation opening and thick steel posts built to take real shots. Small wheels at the back let one person tip it up and roll it off the street when a car comes. The net arrives cut to fit the frame. Lacing it onto the posts is slow, fiddly work, so plan on a long first build.

Families who want a true six-by-four goal without paying top price should look at the Franklin NHL Street + Roller set. Its steel frame snaps together at the joints, and the heavy net comes cut to size, so most of the build is lacing. It suits asphalt, sport-court tiles and indoor dek floors. There are no wheels or ice spikes, so moving it means carrying it, and it can slide on smooth floors.

Players who skate on a backyard rink or a frozen pond get the most from the Franklin NHL Cage. Its two-inch steel posts match the tube size of rink goals, and removable spikes in the feet bite into the ice so the frame stays put. A tarp wraps the lower net to keep skate blades from catching and slicing the mesh. The deep frame is bulky, and it takes real space to store once the ice melts.

Sized for younger players, the Franklin Youth Steel Goal copies a rink goal's look with a shelf bar across the top and a brace at the back. The net is thick enough for hard slap shots with a ball, and the frame is made to sit outside through rain. Kids who move up to a full-size goal will outgrow it. The posts are thin steel, so pucks fired from close range can dent them over time.

Light enough for a child to drag across the driveway, the Mylec PVC Junior Goal uses thick plastic pipe with a center support, and it handles balls and plastic pucks well. Mylec makes it in the U.S. The net slides over the pipes like a sleeve, so there's no lacing at all. It doesn't really fold; it comes apart into pipes for storage. Hard shots with real pucks can crack the plastic.

If lacing a net sounds like a chore, the Franklin NHL Quikset skips most of it. The net slides onto clips already fixed to the frame, and a few turns of a screwdriver lock it down. A flat shooting pad comes in the box, so a player can practice puck shots on the driveway as if on ice. The steel goal is full regulation size, but you'll need your own screwdriver, and without wheels it gets carried.

Everything two kids need for a first game comes in the Mylec Deluxe Hockey Set: a plastic goal, a pair of curved sticks and a ball that doesn't bounce much. The goal goes together by hand, with no tools, and comes apart again for the garage shelf. It's a ball-hockey setup at heart. A player who starts shooting real pucks will need a steel goal, and smaller kids may find the sticks long.

The Soozier Street Goal offers a nearly full-width opening in painted steel at a budget price, with a fabric skirt along the bottom. Its net hooks on with stretchy cords, which makes setup quick. The cage is shallow, so hard shots can bounce back out, and the maker warns against using it in strong wind. It has only a short sales record, so how well it holds up over several seasons is still unclear.

Knee hockey in the basement and mini-stick games in the hall are what the Franklin Mini Steel Goal suits best. This little goal has a real steel frame, a heavy net held by welded loops and a shelf on top for spare balls. It's sturdy enough to sit outside for short shots with a ball too. It's sold as a single goal, so a two-sided game means buying a second one.

For a first taste of the game, the Franklin Kids Folding Goals set has two small goals, sticks that lengthen as a child grows and soft balls for knee hockey. The corners fold and lock, so both goals pack flat into a closet or car trunk in seconds. These are light frames for little kids. They slide around on hard floors and won't stand up to hard shots from older players.