The Iconik 2 blocker matches the Iconik 2 catch glove I picked as Best Premium in our goalie gloves roundup — and on the blocker side, Brian's nailed the rebound control problem. The reinforced Bri-Fuse board with thermo reinforcement gives the blocker face exactly the right amount of stiffness: hard enough to ricochet a slapper to the corner, just soft enough to deaden a wrister into a controllable rebound.

The flared upper board is the genius move. Instead of a flat blocker face, the top edge angles slightly forward — which means high pucks deflect down and away from your face cage instead of bouncing back to the slot. The Digitech palm gives you a textured grip that holds your stick locked in even when sweat builds up, and the synthetic leather shell is light without sacrificing durability.

This is the blocker for the modern butterfly goalie. If you're already running a Brian's catch glove, the matched pair is a unified set with consistent feel across both hands.

The Tacks Pro is what CCM built when they redesigned the Tacks line. The Litexcore board is thinner than competitor boards but feels paradoxically stiffer in the hand — CCM's foam composite engineering is doing real work here. Slappers come off the face with serious power, ricocheting cleanly to the corner. If you're a goalie who wants pucks moving away from danger fast, the Litexcore is the right board.

The HEXA+ palm is grippier than CCM's previous palms, which used to slip in glove-side practices. The X-Stiff sidewall is the durability story: previous CCM blockers used to soften where the sidewall meets the board after a season of slap-save impacts. The new molded sidewall doesn't budge.

This is the blocker for the goalie who wants pucks gone fast. Pair it with the matching CCM Tacks Pro catch glove for a unified pro setup.

The ION Pro Select blocker is built for the modern paddle-down goalie. The HD blocking board reinforced with carbon-fiber composite gives you a ridged but balanced face — pucks stay where you drop them in paddle-down position instead of trickling out toward the slot. Vaughn carried over the flared upper board from the SLR4 line, so high pucks deflect cleanly down and away.

The VX suede palm is the other story here. It's an older-school feel — less plastic, more grip — and it's the secret to why Vaughn blockers have always felt so connected to the stick. The Jenpro shell holds its color and shape through a season of practice abuse, and the cuff articulates well enough that wrist motion on a poke check feels natural.

This is the blocker for the goalie who plays low and active. If you sit in paddle-down for traffic plays or you slide aggressively post-to-post, this blocker eats pucks and lets you reset. Pair with a Vaughn ION Pro Select catch glove for a coordinated paddle-down kit.

The Vapor Flylite is the matched partner to the Vapor Flylite catch glove I picked as Best Overall in our goalie gloves roundup. Bauer built it as the largest blocker board in the Vapor lineup — HD-optimized blocking board reinforced with CURV composite, the same material Bauer uses on the KONEKT 2 skate shell. Stiff but light, with serious blocking surface area.

The 14.5-inch DuraConnekt+ palm is the most refined palm on this list. Soft enough to feel the stick, durable enough that the lacing doesn't pull through after a season. The reinforced CURV side plate (upgraded from the previous Hyp2rlite generation) protects the back of the hand from clappers that catch the inside edge.

This is the blocker for the goalie who hates feeling weight in the hand. If you've ever played a long shift and felt your blocker droop in the third period, the Flylite fixes that. Coordinates perfectly with the Vapor Flylite catcher for a unified Bauer Vapor kit.

The Catalyst L87 is the steal of this whole roundup. At $300, you're getting a real performance blocker with a molded angled board that deflects pucks to the corner just as effectively as the $530 Brian's. The new inner cuff thumb guard with straight index finger protection is genuinely better than what some flagship blockers offer — finger pucks off the inside cuff don't sting like they used to.

The SureGrip palm is exactly that: real grip, no slipping, holds the stick locked in even with sweat. The Jenpro shell is the same material the Vaughn ION Pro Select uses, so you're not giving up shell durability at this price. The full setup is genuinely competitive with $400+ blockers from the bigger brands.

This is the blocker for the U18 player moving up to senior gear, the beer-league goalie buying their first quality blocker, or anyone who wants a backup blocker without spending flagship money. Pair with a budget catch glove like the CCM EFlex 7.9 for a complete sub-$700 hand kit.