For christmas this year, I was the happy recipient of a gift card toward a new pair of hockey skates. Although my old pair was only a couple of years old, I felt, and some of my teammates felt, that I wasn't getting the explosive power out of my strides because the current boot wasn't supportive enough. Although I have no idea how accurate that is, I was happy to upgrade to something a little bit more protective.

I settled on the Bauer Nexus N8000 skate, after much deliberation. The Nexus series promises a wider/deeper fit, which felt pretty good on my cankles. They also have a substantial amount more protection, and were substantially more firm.

Yesterday I took advantage of MLK Day to try them out. There was an open hockey skate in East Aurora (the Healthy Zone Rink), which was a pretty good time. It might have been placebo, but I was able to generate a few goals with some good shots, and I think it was because I felt more stable when shooting. So far well worth it.

I'm looking forward to Thursday, when I will try them out in our pond hockey playoffs... hopefully they will give me the _edge_ I need to take home the cup!