Do any NHL players wear true skates?
True Pro Custom Skates are now worn by 122 NHL players, 110 AHL players, and 60% of all NHL goaltenders.
The TRUE skates have made their way to the NHL with players like Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Ryan Johansen (Nashville) being some of the players to sport the brand's gear.
Roughly 90 per cent of NHL players wear at least one piece of Bauer equipment. Seven out of 10 wear Bauer skates. As the puck dropped on the current NHL season, Bauer was the top hockey stick provider for the league's players—beating out rival Easton—thanks in part to the introduction of the new Vapor APX model.
There are plenty of players out there looking for something new, or something different, and TRUE can absolutely fit the needs of those players. They offer a different and unique design, like it or not, and the performance is on par with the best out there for the price point.
Our Rating:
These are a great mid-range priced pair of skates. Comfortable and explosive. Not quite on the same level as the top tier of skates, but much better than the lower tier.
This evolution in design provides you a skate that is truly fit for performance. True Pro Custom Skates are now worn by 122 NHL players, 110 AHL players, and 60% of all NHL goaltenders.
TRUE Hockey and Lefevre Inc (aka Lefevre Goalie) officially acknowledged today they are joining forces, with the former acquiring the latter. Rumors of this union started shortly after Lefevre's design contract with CCM concluded at the end of 2019, and it's a match that makes strategic sense for both companies.
How much do hockey skates cost? Hockey skates range in price from about $50 for an entry-level Youth model to around $1000 for a top-of-the-line Senior model.
Skates, which cost $700 per pair, are equally customizable. “Your skates and your stick are the most important part of your equipment,” Davidson-Adams said. “These guys have to have full control because this is what wins championships — skates and sticks. If you can't skate and you can't shoot, you can't do much.”
The company is currently owned by Canadian private "Birch Hill Equity Partners", after the Adidas Group sold the brand for around $100 million in 2017. As of June 2021, the newly appointed CEO by Birch Hill Equity Partners is Marrouane Nabih.
Why are true skates good?
True skates tend to be very stiff but the all the True Skate tongue designs give you a great forward flex so your really don't feel the stiffness that way. You feel it more as you stride the boot doesn't move at all on your feet, which helps optimize the power transfer to the ice.
TRUE offers both ice and inline custom skates for players—the only maker to do so. In both styles, 1-piece boots are built with thermo-plastic and carbon fiber layers. TRUE's goalie skates come in a more traditional 1-piece boot with a cowling, or a cowliningless 2-piece boot for a sharper attack angle.

Generally, these skates fit 1.0 size down from your regular shoe size. Generally, these skates fit 1.5 sizes down from your regular shoe size.
The standard time frame is 3-4 weeks. Yes, you read that right 3-4 WEEKS for a fully custom skate! Every now and then we can get skates sooner or later than that time frame but its very consistent for the most part.
So, how often do players in the NHL get new skates? It varies from player to player. Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning says he uses a new pair of skates every ten games. Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks said he used to get a new pair of skates four to five times a season.
- Stick Usage by Brand. Warrior37.3%31. Bauer37.3%31. CCM13.3%11. ...
- TRUE44.6%37. Vaughn20.5%17. Bauer20.5%17. Brians9.6%8. ...
- Skates Usage by Brand. TRUE78.3%65. Bauer14.5%12. CCM6%5. ...
- TRUE45.8%38. Vaughn20.5%17. Bauer20.5%17. Brians8.4%7. ...
- Bauer59%49. CCM20.5%17. Vaughn18.1%15. SportMask1.2%1. ...
- TRUE45.2%38. Vaughn20.2%17. Bauer20.2%17. Brians8.3%7.
Player Name | Position | Skates |
---|---|---|
Mitchell Marner | Right Wing | TRUE TF Pro |
Morgan Rielly | Defenseman | CCM Ribcor 100K Pro |
Nicholas Robertson | Left Wing | TRUE TF Pro |
Ondrej Kase | Right Wing | Bauer Supreme Ultra Sonic |
Wayne Gretzky - 1/2" | Sidney Crosby - 9/16" |
---|---|
Joe Sakic - 5/8" | Evgeni Malkin - 11/16" |
Chris Pronger - 7/8" | Jordan Staal - 5/8" |
Mark Messier - 1" | Sergei Gonchar - 1-1/4" |
Paul Coffey - 1" to 2" | Alex Ovechkin - 1/2" |
The majority of pros use something with a shallower hollow, but preference does widely vary. I used a 5/8ths hollow, but as I got older and heavier, I switched to the less sharp 3/4ths.
What skate hollow does Crosby use?
Around 3:44, he mentions that Crosby used to prefer a deeper hollow, but now uses a 1/2" hollow.