NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Grinder

Haven't quite kept up with the pace of once a week for builds but here is an interesting support build I ran for about ten games.

A link to this build can be found here.

Grinder, Legend 3

6'0"

195 lbs.

13" blades

Regular Stick Flex

Second Lowest Curve

Deking: 90 (+5)

Hand Eye: 60

Off Awareness: 50

Passing: 90 (+5)

Puck Control: 90 (+5)

SS Accuracy: 50

SS Power: 70

WS Accuracy: 64 (+5)

WS Power: 60

Aggression: 90

Body Check: 85 (+5)

Def Awareness: 64

Discipline: 99

Faceoffs: 60

Fighting: 60

Shot Blocking: 70

Stick Check: 91 (+8)

Acceleration: 79 (+5)

Agility: 79 (+5)

Balance: 85 (+5)

Durability: 60

Endurance: 90

Speed: 78 (+5)

Strength: 85 (+5)

As you can see this build is setup to crush the opposition and it is quite good at that. However, let us start with the offensive side of this build. This build is good for scoring from five feet out and that is about it. It is a go to the front of the net and get dirty build. It does have enough deking to score on the break as well but it is practically not fast enough to get into those kinds of positions very often. Passing feels very wooden with this build due to the criminally low offensive awareness but it can be managed. As I mentioned before, this build is defensively setup to take the body sporting high checking and aggression. The aggression also helps with picking up loose pucks both offensively and defensively offsetting the poor defensive awareness. Finally the maxed stick check allows you to take the puck away without a hit as a change of pace. This build skates pretty well for the lower skating stats but won't allow you to blow by people. Luckily you have high strength and balance so you can take an inordinate amount of punishment without being knocked down. Endurance is a touch low for where I like it but it doesn't seem to hurt the build too much.

Overall, this build is best served being used as the 3rd human forward on a line. You can use it to intimidate opposing teams and keep your team from being intimidated. Drive the net hard, play hard on the boards, and hit everything that moves and you will like this build.