Most hockey helmets do not do a good job of preventing concussions, a new study finds, with even the best-rated helmet not scoring well enough to significantly cut the risk of a brain injury.

The findings come from researchers at the department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. They tested 32 helmets currently sold to players at all levels of the sport, from recreational shinny players to the professional leagues.

None of the helmets earned ratings of four or five stars. Only one, the Warrior Krown 360, tested well enough to earn three stars, or a 'Good' rating. Six helmets earned two stars, or ratings of 'Adequate'; 16 helmets earned just one star, or 'Marginal.'

The rest earned zero stars and were rated 'Not Recommended,' including helmets made by Bauer, Reebok and CCM.

The cost of the helmet seemed irrelevant to how well it fared in testing: some of the most expensive didn't perform well, while some of the cheaper performed better.

The study was funded by private donations, and helmet manufacturers had no part in the testing, the researchers say.

Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, looked at the study and says it's important to note that even the best-rated helmet did not perform nearly well enough.

"I don't want parents or players to go out and say, 'I'm going to go out and buy the three-star helmet and I’m going to be totally protected from concussion.' That's the wrong result to take from a study like this," he said.

The Virginia Tech team's co-director, Stefan Duma, says he wasn't altogether surprised by his findings, given that most of hockey helmets have too small an offset, or space between the shell and the player's head to perform well in concussion-prevention testing. He says today's helmets are really only meant to prevent skull fractures from direct hits.

"Now, we're looking at how to prevent concussions and how do we reduce that risk. That's going to require a larger offset and more padding," he told CTV News Channel Monday from Blacksburg, Va.

The team performed almost 2,000 tests, both on an ice rink and in a lab, testing each helmet twice in four directions at low, medium and high speeds. The tests were designed to match what a player would experience while hitting the boards or ice, or colliding with another player.

The findings are published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

The researchers say that, while there will never be a concussion-proof helmet, a properly made helmet should be able to reduce the risk of concussion. They note that helmets are only one piece of the equation to minimizing concussion risk; rule changes and safer play are likely even more important in reducing high-risk head impacts.

Cusimano would agree with that.

"(These results) mean that we have to consider other things, like rule changes and behavioural changes, because no helmet is going to prevent a player completely from concussion.

Hockey helmet manufacturers have struggled to create a safe helmet that is not so large it would be too difficult to play in. While most of the helmets in these test fared poorly, the Virginia team is confident that helmets can be improved. They note that when they released safety ratings data on football helmets four years ago, only one helmet at the time rated five stars.

Manufacturers moved to improve their products, so that by last year, many of the new football helmets that entered the market earned top marks under their rating system. The team hopes the same will happen with hockey helmets.

“Our focus is to improve the safety of the sport, and we have spent a great deal of time developing the methods and relaying these to the manufacturers so that they can optimize their designs,” Duma said.

“Our hope is to see new helmets come into the market with improved performance.”