Whether you're wearing Overdrive or not, it's very important to keep the toe area of your skates free from all interference by your pads because this can restrict your mobility.

When the foot rolls to the side, the toe area hits the ice and levers the main blade off the ice, causing a slip(left).

If the pads don't lift out of the way when your foot rolls to the side (right)...

...then they'll lever you off the main blade even earlier in your move (left). The pads will restrict your mobility by limiting how much you can push and possibly causing slips.

It's not a difficult problem to solve. The photo shows Hasek's pads. The inside buckle crosses over to lift the pad and expose the toe of the boot.

The solution I prefer and the one that is becoming the standard is to keep your toe laces loose. The feet are all about mobility so they can't be restricted in any way.

This is especially important when you're down. Allowing the feet some freedom to move saves you time, effort and lets you maintain coverage along the ice. The photo shows how, when you're down in the ProFly, you can drop your foot for an edge without having to lift the knee off the ice.

Keeping the toe laces loose will also save you a lot of unnecessary knee pain. In the photo above, if my toe strap was tight and holding my skate up in the pad, I would definitely feel it in my knee. You don't need to be twisting yourself like this because goaltending is hard enough on the body.

So how loose should the laces be? If they're too loose they'll get in the way of both blades and you'll either slip on them or cut them. Loose doesn't mean all over the place. Just give your feet enough room to move around a bit so they're not locked into the pad. Once you try it you'll never go back and your knees will thank you.

Here's another look at what happens when pads don't move out of the way (right)...

..and when they do.

To get maximum mobility, the distance from the blade to the ice ('A') has to be as small as possible. For this reason, all of the following can cause you mobility problems.

Foam extensions on the pad or the inside leg protection. Some foam extensions cover the ankle right down to the heel and will affect recoveries if you use the heel (see 'Using the Heel' below).

Straps should run through the arch. Even the heel strap can widen distance 'A' if you use the heel for recovery (see 'Using the Heel' below).

Even toe laces can be a problem because they'll get thicker with snow and ice and create a slipping point.

The same applies to the plastic extension on the Graf Cobra skates. All of the above can increase distance 'A' and should be either moved or removed to get full mobility from your main blade.

		In both of these drawings, distance 'A' is the same. This means that the main blade will be taken off the ice at the same time when the boot rolls to the side.
...a foam extension of the pad.		...when you roll off the main blade, you'll roll onto...	...overdrive
...zero gripping ability.		...which has...	...less gripping ability than the main blade.
...all your grip.		...so you lose...	...some of your grip (main blade grip minus overdrive grip).
You must get full use out of your main blade because that's where all the power comes from.
		The main blade can work down to 45° (left), so don't take it out early with Overdrive (right).
Again, see that Overdrive takes over only at 45°, when the main blade would normally slip out. That means keeping it close to the side of the boot so distance 'A' will be as small as possible. Overdrive is supposed to take over from the main blade--not overlap it.

			If width 'A' determines when the side of the boot will take out the main blade and the narrower, the better, then you can see how using the heel would be useful.
	The photo shows how the heel edge reaches the ice before the toe edge. Learning how to use the heel can save you a lot of time on your recoveries.
		Using the heel is limited to recoveries because on a lateral moves, when you push off, the heel lifts first so it is of no help.