Jack Campbell has been breaking in pair of new white Vaughn leg pads with green and black trim the past couple days at Texas Stars training camp.

The pads are a bit stiff. That’s normal for new equipment.

They’re also a shorter. that’s a new adjustment for the Texas goalie.

“The rule changes makes them a little bit smaller, but it kind of plays to my game,” Campbell said. “I’m pretty excited. I liked them a lot and they should be ready for next weekend.”

A new rule went into effect this summer limiting the height of goalie pads. The previous rule — which was put in place before the 2010-11 season — stated a leg pad couldn’t go higher on his leg than 55 percent between the center of his knee and his pelvis.

That number changed to 45 percent when the NHL’s general managers approved rule changes at their March meeting. The AHL will follow the same rule.

Taller pads weren’t an issue when a goalie was standing. The bigger concern was the amount of five-hole coverage taller pads provide when a goalie drops into a butterfly.

With shorter pads and less five-hole coverage a goalie’s stick placement is more important. It’s become common practice that a goalie can shut down the five-hole without using his stick, allowing the stick to become a more useful weapon — for example: deflecting pucks to the corner more aggressively, risking less on a poke check.

A wall of pad in the five-hole also requires less total body control when moving side-to-side in the crease. When a goalie slides across the crease (a 2-on-1 passing play for example) in a butterfly the legs tend to open a bit. With a taller a pad this isn’t much of an issue, with a shorter pad it requires more concentration on keeping the legs together and leading movements with the stick on the ice.

For Campbell, who stands at 6-foot-3, the new rule changes have taken three inches off each pad. That’s six inches of space combined on the ice that was covered by leg pads last season, requiring a bit more athleticism and quickness on shots toward the five-hole.

“Pretty big margin there,” Campbell said. “They do make me a little bit quicker, which is good. I’m starting to feel pretty comfortable in them.”

The change in height is different for every goalie. With a formula based on leg size — not pure height — each goalie’s pad requirement was individually measured and is kept by the league office.

To make sure that players adhere to those requirements all pads worn in the NHL and AHL had to be sent straight from the manufacturer to the NHL offices in Toronto for approval. If a pad didn’t meet the league specifications or match up to a players legal measurements, it was sent back.

If a goalie is caught playing with illegal pads he will be suspended for two games. There will also be a $25,000 fine levied to the team and the team’s equipment manager will be fined $1,000.