ALLIANCE Hockey has issued a bulletin noting that both Referees and Players have been removing CSA stickers from their helmets. This contravenes both ALLIANCE Hockey policy and Hockey Canada rules as follows...
Alliance Hockey – 28.0.1
“All players, including goaltenders, shall wear a CSA approved hockey helmet to which a CSA approved hockey facial protector must be attached and not altered in any way. Penalties shall be assessed in accordance with HC Rule #24.”
Hockey Canada Rule 24.6:
“If the Referee’s attention is drawn to the possibility that a facial protector or helmet may not be certified (CSA approved), or if the Referee observes that a facial protector or helmet may not be certified, and should that piece of equipment in effect turn out not to be certified, the referee shall assess a Minor penalty and at the same time order that illegal piece of equipment removed from the game.”
Once a CSA sticker has been removed from a helmet it is considered to be altered and as such no longer meets ALLIANCE Hockey, Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada standards of protective equipment. Further, being altered brings into question Hockey Canada insurance coverage if an injury was to occur.
In short,
do not remove the CSA sticker from your helmet.