Hershey

Lots of good advice, some I'm not sure about. Hockey is an excellent sport through adulthood. Jump in with both skates! At 54, I've played 47 years and not sure I see quitting anytime soon. I recently bought a new pair of skates at Pure Hockey. I've worn Bauer Supreme all my life and was certain I would be in them again. They were beyond uncomfortable. I decided to go to Pure Hockey in Amherst and wasn't excited when a young lady was sent over to help me. Turns out, she was excellent and very knowledgeable. Each manufacturer has a different size run, so it's hard to have a general rule of thumb for the right fit. Pick a price point and try on several different manufactures and models. While skates often aren't comfortable for a few skates getting close to comfortable is a great start. We all have different foot builds and each skate is set up different, so if your buddy raves about his brand and model, it's very likely that you two don't have the same feet characteristics. It goes way beyond wide feet and narrow feet. It can include the preference of the toe box and heel width. I wound up buying the exact manufacturer and model I knew I didn't want. They were baked properly, sized properly, and sharpened properly. I do like the advice someone gave you about checking out Leisure Rinks in West Seneca. They were comfortable from day one and I never had lace bite with any skate. As far as playing, there is a novice league at Leisure and Holiday that is suited for the beginner. Lastly, I enjoying skating 2-3 a week and play a few over 50 tournaments each year and a few over 30 tournaments. What I find inspiring is that each tournament in these senior series, is the over 60 and over 70 divisions. Seeing 75 year old guys still playing tournament hockey makes me smile. Have fun, good luck.