The dreaded toe pick: Why hockey players hate it but figure skaters need it

They are a hockey player's number one nemesis: the dreaded toe pick. 

Toe picks are located at the front end of a figure skate. They're small, sawlike ridges at the front of a skate that assist figure skaters in executing their tricks, jumps and lands on the ice. Throughout Season 5 of Battle of the Blades, we saw many of our hockey stars succumb to the dreaded toe pick, and saw them fall. Hard. 

Battle of the Blades choreographer Julie Marcotte explains that without the toe pick, no jumps or landings are possible. Despite their difficulty for the hockey players — who use a more curved, unobstructed blade to skate on — they are one of the most crucial parts of figure skating. 

Brian McGrattan said it best, "Once she [a toe pick] starts, you're goin' down. Face first."