Do pro hockey players profile their skates?
In the NHL, however, the most common cut is much shallower, between 5/8” and 3/4″. Players in the NHL also get their skate profiles customized 100% of the time. Obviously they are very persnickety about their skates, as this is their livelihood.
When you buy a new pair of skates they come with a factory grind on the steel. It is recommended that you get them profiled before skating in them. The most common profiles are 7 foot 9 foot 11 foot and 13 foot.
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 profile is best? A smaller profile (7′) will make less contact with the ice than a larger profile (13′). Less ice contact (7′) allows for greater maneuverability and acceleration, but also digs into the ice more than a larger profile (13′), which means slower top speeds and increased fatigue.
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.
In the NHL, however, the most common cut is much shallower, between 5/8” and 3/4″. Players in the NHL also get their skate profiles customized 100% of the time. Obviously they are very persnickety about their skates, as this is their livelihood.
A hockey skate doesn't have a single edge, like a knife. It's a 3-millimeter-wide piece of steel hollowed out down the middle in an inverted U to create two edges. An NHL player uses both edges on both skates, like a skier shifting weight from side to side during turns.
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.
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Some examples of ROH used by current and former NHL players are:
| Wayne Gretzky – 1/2″ | Sidney Crosby – 9/16″ |
|---|---|
| Joe Sakic – 5/8″ | Evgeni Malkin – 11/16″ |
The Sparx Sharpener will not contour the profile of the blade. But, unlike traditional manual sharpening which alters the profile after 15-20 sharpenings, the Sparx Sharpener will hold the skate profile throughout the life of the steel thanks to the consistent RPM, Speed, and Pressure applied by our Grinding Rings.
How do I choose a hockey skate profile?
What is hockey skate profiling ft. ProSharp - YouTube
Boiled down to its essence, performance profiling is about customizing the shape of a hockey skate blade to put more blade in contact with the ice (with the attendant gains in top speed, stability and efficiency), while preserving the agility and explosiveness that are essential to the game of hockey.
Bauer's Power Profile is a 4 Zoned Radii, known as a Quad profile. The blade shape is designed with 4 zones uniquely placed and designed for specific performance improvements during all types of edge work. The first zone, located near the toe of the runner, is shaped to maximize acceleration.
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.
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.
| 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" |
Some players will sharpen very frequently, such as every 2-3 hours of ice time, while others go for an entire season without sharpening. If you're unsure of where to start, try getting them sharpened after 10 hours of ice time, and then adjust as you feel is necessary.
The most common radius of hollow cuts are ½” and 5/8” for skate sharpening shops because it provides the best balance between edge depth and glide speed.
Jochen Hecht of the Buffalo Sabres, Dennis Seidenberg of the New York Islanders, Marcel Goc of the Nashville Predators, and Christian Ehrhoff of the Buffalo Sabres are NHL players who use T-Blade skates.
Four NHL players are skating on heated blades said to enhance performance. Heated skate blades that are supposed to enhance performance are being used by four anonymous NHL players.
What is the best skate profile for defenseman?
Prosharp recommends a quad profile for players who need to cover a lot of ice. It is the ideal profile for centers and defense. You will feel balanced on your skates when transitioning from gliding to striding. This profile maximizes full stride length.
Some players might want them sharpened after every game, but other players might get them sharpened once every three months. A general rule of thumb is every 12 hours of use. Certain instances, though, can cause you to need a sharpen to make them skateable again.
You'll need to take to the ice a few times before your new hockey skates truly start to feel broken in. After sharpening the skate blades, you'll want to make the skates conform to your feet. Hands down, the best way to start the break-in process is to bake your skates—a method of heat-molding them.
8 TIPS ON HOW TO BREAK IN NEW FIGURE SKATES - YouTube
Boiled down to its essence, performance profiling is about customizing the shape of a hockey skate blade to put more blade in contact with the ice (with the attendant gains in top speed, stability and efficiency), while preserving the agility and explosiveness that are essential to the game of hockey.
