What’s the Best Hockey Skate Blade Profile for Speed?
I get the question more than any other. The answer is the 13 ft radius because it puts more blade on the ice than (generally) any other player profile. Speed skaters use a perfectly flat blade with no rocker/profile what so ever. The more blade in contact with the ice, the more pressure/friction the skater can convert into propulsion.
Effective application of Blade Profiling is all about understanding how much blade to put on the ice so as to maximize speed without sacrificing turning. For example, playing hockey in a speed skate would be difficult when it came to maneuvering in tight areas and starting and stopping.
