Why and if hockey skaters want less tight boots?

[Query]

A skate tech said hockey skaters prefer much less tight fits than figure skaters. Fewer hockey skaters bother with heat molding. They want boots to cup ankles snugly, but are less snug at the ankles, and often much less snug at the front of the foot.

Is this typical, or just one skate tech?

Even as a non--expert figure skater, I need snug skates almost everywhere, especially at the ankle, to control edges, and to (try to) balance spins. If I jumped faster, I would probably also want more sideways pressure to control jump landings - though I've known high level skaters who didn't. It seems obvious that both jumps and landings need strong pressure between the front of the boot and the front of the foot - at the front of the toes and/or higher up. And I need some front pressure is needed to keep the heel pressed against the heel pocket, and to prevent the foot from sliding forwards.

I've used hockey skates some, but never played. But a lot of good hockey skaters stop and reverse directions sideways very fast, do sudden fast sideways jumps, and need to keep balance when checked, all of which I would think needs very strong pressure between the upper and the side of the foot. But does it need less sideways pressure than figure skating?

Or are there other reasons? E.g., is it easier to do sudden unpredictable edge changes and jumps with somewhat looser ankles? Or is the the running step use for fast breaks faster with somewhat looser ankles?

I don't know if any hockey moves involve strong pressure against the front of the toes or the front of the foot. E.g., do they only need enough to keep the heel in the heel pocket and avoid sliding forwards?

[Query]

I thought of one more possible reason. Hockey skaters favor very light boots. And they use their boots as body armor. AFAICT, that means, at the high end, they use carbon fiber reinforced stiff resin - possibly a stiff epoxy resins. (Incidentally, carbon fiber itself can be very flexible, and there also exist more flexible epoxy resins.)

That means if they want any sideways bend, they may need a relatively loose fit on the sides.

Most, but not all figure skaters that I know have chosen leather uppers, which is slightly more flexible.

I'm not sure if that explanation makes any sense.

[LunarSkater]

Simple - different equipment for different sports. This breaks it down for complete newbies, but it's very clear and simple: https://www.purehockey.com/c/figure-skates-vs-hockey-skates

[Query]

Thanks!

The sentences that addresses my question in that link is

Its leather boot is tight enough to support the ankle, but pliant enough for the skater to achieve the jumps and contortions figure skating demands...

Hockey skates are built to turn, stop, and accelerate quickly.

The implication is that supporting the ankle is more important for figure skates than hockey skates. Because turning, stopping and accelerating quickly is incompatible with tight skates that support the ankles well. Which is sort of what I guessed.

I suppose this could be generalized to speed skates - which usually aren't high enough to provide any ankle support. Likewise with running shoes, even trail running shoes.

But I'm trying to figure out why.

I wonder if it is partly a matter of the types of conditioning that typical figure vs hockey, etc. skaters. Maybe the kinds of practice the latter routinely do builds stronger ankles than figure skaters get. I more or less came to that conclusion when I looked at ski boots. Alpine (downhill) & telemark (mostly downhill) ski boots provide a lot of ankle support. Cross country boots provide less, especially cross country boots designed for racing.

I wonder if this would change if materials and construction techniques made it possible to build extremely lightweight boots that provided strong enough lateral support to prevent ankle injuries, but interfered very little with pointing and flexing ankles. Or whether the maneuvers hockey skaters do are better if they bend the ankles more.

[LunarSkater]

But I'm trying to figure out why.

Simple - different sports require different equipment. It's honestly not more complicated than that.

Speed skates are build minimalistically because the heavier they are, the slower the person goes. Hockey skates are built for speed and mobility. (And whoever told you that hockey players don't bake skates, well, all I hear around the rink when hockey is in season and everyone has new skates is where to go to get them baked because the rink doesn't do it.)