I've been wondering for a while now if anyone has tried to get their new skates to crease when baking them or breaking them in from new.
The reason I ask is I've always preferred a boot that has that give in the ankle, and I've noticed some pros who've continued to use skates with such extreme creasing that it seems as if it was an intentionally formed feature of their boots. Kovalchuk's the best current example (see below), but I've also noticed it on Grabovsky's, P. Bure's, Kucherov's, and Cogliano's skates.