NHL 13: The Return of the Dead Puck Era

Note: I meant to publish this back in November but I have had to deal with some family issues so it never happened. I am putting it out now because I still think it is worthwhile.

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Back in the early 1990s up until the 2004 lockout the NHL went through a period of decreased offensive output known as the dead puck era. This time was epitomized by the play of the New Jersey Devils trapping their way to three Stanley Cups. The Devils would choke teams into submission and win games 1-0 or 2-1. Not to take away anything from Devils fans but this was dull unwatchable hockey for everyone else.

This year EA has managed to bring back the slog of those years with NHL 13. I have given them time to make a patch and put in multiple tuner sets to adjust the goalies but this is clearly the game they want us to play. A game where in our October playoff run our last three games ended up 2-1 in 4 overtimes (OT), 1-0 (3OT), and 2-1 (2OT). We got the banner but honestly we were wrung out and it was absolutely zero fun. I would say nearly all of those goals scored in the last three games (by both teams) were cheap rebound goals off of weak wrist shots from bad angles. Real chances including cross creases, solo shots from inside the hash marks, and shots off of nice passing plays in general were shut down like pregame warm up shots.

It is to the point where we crack jokes when we score a goal that looks like an actual hockey goal every two or three games. It it always something along the lines of, "Someone call EA they need to patch that out because it looks like hockey". I get that they don't want automatic goals but the percentages of high quality scoring chances that get stopped are not even close to realistic. The fantastic site behindthenet.ca had a really great post on NHL shooting percentages from particular zones on the ice. As you can see from the plot  shots from below the hashmarks range from 15-35% effective. I haven't run the numbers but I would venture a guess that shots from those areas in NHL 13 are roughly 10% or less effective outside of breakaways. I would happily take good shots from that close in going in at 15-35%. Even worse in NHL 13 it seems to be random what goes in. Last night we had two shots from outside the hashmarks at 45 degree angles go in opposite side. Given that the goalie regularly stuffs 2-1s with perfect passes I have to call those both weak goals. This leads to the impression that scoring and winning is random.

So can teams be good at this game? Sure better teams find a way to win and we have been ranked as high as in the top 100 at times but our method is by playing crazy suffocating defense, letting super goalie clean up most of our mistakes, throwing tons of shots on goal hoping for rebound goals, and springing people for breakaways. I have heard it said the word fun doesn't mean anything and it is lazy to use it. However, in this case, what EA has given us is not fun.

What does this mean for me? I think I am close to being done with NHL 13. I am not sure if I am going back to 12 or just playing other games but as of right now the game feels more like work than entertainment at this point. The joy of setting up beautiful passing plays to score goals just doesn't exist anymore. We don't pass on a two on none anymore because the higher percentage play is shooting it yourself. That, in a nutshell, is an all encompassing  indictment of how NHL 13 has failed us.

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That was how I was feeling back in November. We are actually thinking about starting up again and our plan going forward is to never play with fewer than 4 players and always use a human goalie. That should fix most of the issues we have with the game.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Power Forward

Today I am featuring a Power Forward build.

Power Forward
Legend 3
5'10"
180lbs
11" Skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the bottom

Deking: 83
Hand Eye: 82 (+8)
Off Awareness: 81
Passing: 70
Puck Control: 81 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 77
SS Power: 70
WS Accuracy: 77 (+8)
WS Power: 80 (+5)

Aggression: 82
Body Check: 87
Def Awareness: 78
Discipline: 80
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 78
Stick Check: 80

Acceleration: 82 (+8)
Agility: 78 (+8)
Balance: 75
Durability: 66
Endurance: 78
Speed: 82 (+8)
Strength: 74

First off, let's get this out of the way, I have not been a fan of the power forward since NHL 11 when speed/acceleration were essentially broken and it was the only build to run. I am going to be comparing this to my grinder build since that is my favorite build right now.

Offensively this build is fairly solid top to bottom, decent shots, decent hand eye, decent deking, and reasonable puck control. It is slightly better than the grinder in this category.

Defensively it seems to hit better than the grinder even with similar checking numbers but also has a worse stick check and defensive awareness. It does seem to scoop up pucks somewhat better than the grinder at similar aggression levels.

Athletically it can take a hit well, maybe somewhat better than the grinder. However, this is offset by significantly worse skating. Even dropping a couple of points in agility makes the build struggle to turn. Perhaps going to 9 inch skates would help but would also limit the speed and acceleration of the build which is already worse than the grinder. Playing this build I found myself a step behind the play a lot which hurt defensively and offensively.

So in summary I am not a huge fan again but I could see this working if you like to work the walls and camp in front of the net for garbage. Just don't expect to out run or out turn many people with this build.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Two Way Defenseman

This week we have a two way defender build that should allow you to keep the front of the net clear and yet also chip in a bit offensively.

2 Way Defender
Legend 2

6'0"
195lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the bottom


Deking: 77
Hand Eye: 79 (+8)
Off Awareness: 77 (+5)
Passing: 82
Puck Control: 78 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 77 (+5)
SS Power: 82
WS Accuracy: 69
WS Power: 65

Aggression: 79
Body Check: 82
Def Awareness: 85
Discipline: 82
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 79
Stick Check: 82 (+5)

Acceleration: 82 (+8)
Agility: 81 (+8)
Balance: 75
Durability: 65
Endurance: 80
Speed: 81 (+8)
Strength: 75

I have noticed that once you get a decent number of points (say legend 1) you really start running out of places to spend them for a lot of these builds. It really comes down to how you configure your boosts. It makes +3s even more important than before because the cap is a hard limit whereas in NHL 12 you could look at the costs of something and see if that +3 bought you more than a +5 somewhere else.

So to that end the entire offensive category outside of the wrist shot attributes are maxed. I debated between  having higher deking vs. the higher hand eye and went with hand eye. I think 84 is just a bit too low to one time a shot. If you are a team that plays catch and then shoot then 84 is probably enough and you can spend that boost on deking or somewhere else. The slapshot is reasonable and there are spares for the wrister even.

Defensively everything is maxed that is important and the rest went into shot blocking.

Athletically this is a pretty strong build with good skating attributes, endurance, and even a moderate amount of balance and strength. The high level skating will allow you to stay with quick forwards and the balance and strength will help you against an aggressive forecheck.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Grinder

I teased this earlier on Twitter but I really do think this may be the One True Build™* for NHL 13. I will list the reasons in a minute but first here is the build:

Grinder, Legend 2
5'10"
180lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the top

Deking: 80
Hand Eye: 82 (+8)
Off Awareness: 75
Passing: 70
Puck Control: 78 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 70
SS Power: 65
WS Accuracy: 76 (+8)
WS Power: 78 (+5)

Aggression: 81
Body Check: 84
Def Awareness: 85
Discipline: 80
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 66
Stick Check: 85

Acceleration: 84 (+8)
Agility: 80 (+8)
Balance: 65
Durability: 65
Endurance: 80
Speed: 84 (+8)
Strength: 65

From memory those checking/aggression numbers seem a bit off compared to what I was getting in game but it is maybe a point or two so it doesn't really matter. Everything else seems in order.

So what makes this the One True Build™? Let's cut right to the chase and look at athletics. Even at Legend 2** you have skating attributes better than any other player type in the game. Specifically acceleration and speed are both two points beyond what you can get out of any other build. Even agility is within two points of every other build and better than some. But back to speed and acceleration. Speed and acceleration are basically everything in this game, they let you get in on the forecheck faster, get back on the backcheck faster, and give you more room and time on offense because you aren't as pressed by people pursuing you from behind. You can actually slow down after building up a gap and get away a decent shot or pass or pull up and set it up in the zone with less worries of being defended.

As you can see on defense it is super solid and you don't need a single boost there unless you play center. For playing center the changes I make are +8 on faceoffs on the stick with just a single +5 wrist shot accuracy. Max stick check, faceoffs, discipline, defensive awareness, and then dump the spares into aggression then checking. Offensively and athletically the build is the same (outside of the lost wrist shot power and accuracy). Notice, you can hit 95 in faceoffs as a center which you can only do as a grinder or a two way forward so it makes a good center build.

Now I am sure you are looking at this offensive setup and saying, "How can you do well with those attributes?" The answer lies in what works offensively for NHL 13. For all intents and purposes you can't score from outside the hashmarks since two tuners ago so you don't need an amazing shot. The passing attribute and passing in general is mostly broken in this version so you don't need great passing. The hand eye is competitive with all other player types. The puck control looks weak but if you can keep the puck away from people you don't really need much. Also, you won't lose the puck from small bumps with this setup even with the base balance and strength. The amount of deking is fine for almost anything. Breakaways are not really a problem for this build especially with the extra speed.

This build is very similar to the dangler in NHL 09. By that I mean the dangler had two extra points of speed that you couldn't get with any other build. Dangler was not the best offensive build but with the extra speed you almost felt like you couldn't play anything else. I think grinder is in the same boat based on the inherent speed and acceleration advantages it has.

* That isn't trademarked I am just having some fun.
** I have already looked at some numbers for Legend 3 and will do a separate post once I hit that level and do some testing but how does 94 speed sound?

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Tough Guy

Was going to do power forward or offensive defenseman next but played this last night and it is fresh in my mind so I am going with Tough Guy today.

A quick note the NHL 13 player creator here is wrong about the point values on offense for the Tough Guy so if you try to recreate this there you won't be able to.

Tough Guy, Legend 1

5'10"
180lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the bottom


Deking: 75
Hand Eye: 79 (+8)
Off Awareness: 69
Passing: 70
Puck Control: 73 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 73
SS Power: 70
WS Accuracy: 75 (+8)
WS Power: 73 (+5)

Aggression: 87
Body Check: 87
Def Awareness: 78
Discipline: 75
Faceoffs: 66
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 73
Stick Check: 80

Acceleration: 80 (+8)
Agility: 76 (+8)
Balance: 73
Durability: 67
Endurance: 78
Speed: 80 (+8)
Strength: 80

I know I set this build up somewhat small but I like to be quick. It is definitely more durable than a sniper but I still get destroyed at times despite the 80 strength and 73 balance. You do notice the lower skating attributes to some extent but it isn't as bad as I would have thought.

Defensively you basically have everything maxed even at Legend 1. It does fine getting in lanes and knocking down passes and the pokecheck works well. At this point I see little reason to use any defensive boosts other than for faceoffs as a center.

Offensively this build is amazing at picking up loose pucks. This is probably due to the aggression rating. It has pretty terrible puck control but frequently I would lose the puck then pick it right back up again so it wasn't much of an issue. The shot is okish and since it is hard to score from anywhere but under the hashmarks it mostly doesn't matter. Hand eye is just below where I like it (90) so receiving passes isn't as smooth as it should be but it works out most of the time since the build will just scoop up the bobbled puck and keep going.

For this year this build is pretty viable which is kind of a sad statement on NHL 13 more than anything but it is pretty fun for working the walls and crashing the net.

NHL 13: Open Letter to EA

Dear EA,

I like a lot of what you have done with NHL 13. The new skating is great and small guys can't run over guys twice their size now so those are both good. Despite the fact I really enjoy the cross crease I like the fact you have made it not automatic like every version before. I like the new matchmaking system and the penalty for backing out. I like that playing defense is easier overall and not just because of the crazy goalies (more on that in a bit).

There are some problems though. While making the cross crease less effective is something to strive for making it less effective than a wrist shot from the top of the circles is not. There is almost zero reason to pass the puck to set a guy up for a one timer anymore. There are basically three semi-reliable ways to score against cpu goalies now. Rebounds, cannon toe drags, and breakaways. Not saying other methods don't work ever but honestly those are the high percentage options and what everyone goes to. Make the cross crease 50% effective not 10% (I would even take 30%). It is already far harder to get passes through in the first place with the active sticks (something else I like) so at least reward people who manage to do it.

Another problem is passing. The passing stat seems to do basically nothing this year from what I can tell. I can make the same passes and have my passes screw up the same way with 70 passing as my center running 95. The fact the passing is so wonky combined with the lack of one timers working results in many fewer passes. This is especially true in the offensive zone where you are mostly better off trying to score solo or generate a rebound rather than setup another one timer that either gets picked off or magic goalie stops.

Then there is the fact that cpu goalies and even human goalies tend to let in the worst possible shots despite being in position. You setup five beautiful three player passing plays that should leave the goalie scrambling for cover but he calmly knocks the chance away. Next time down the ice you throw a weak wrister from the goal line and it is in the net. I don't mind some variability in scoring but this amount is unreasonable.

The new pokecheck is amazing but seriously overpowered. It needs to be toned down just a bit. I appreciate it a lot playing defense but it is annoying when trying to score. It also leads to less setup in the offensive zone because most players are worried about losing the puck constantly.

I would harp on penalties here but it seems like the latest tuner has made the officials actually call interference and boarding more often. I do think the incidental contact needs to generate penalties though. A lot of people are abusing it.

I think all of these changes have made the game an overall less skill based game. And if not less skill based definitely less team based. It has turned into who can cheese the most wristers or rebounds rather than skillful passing and setting up chances. It rewards 1 on 1 play rather than teamwork. In general people dislike guys going one on one and dancing and trying the toe drag or deke all the time (you guys have even said you don't like this) but this year that is all that happens because passing is a terrible option most of the time.

Thanks for reading and hope you take some of this into account when planning future tuners and patches.

Sincerely,

Xaroc

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Sniper ... Again

Updating this build now that I have hit Legend 1. Thanks to VexExil from the comments for linking me to the new NHL 13 player creator here. I will be posting all of my builds in that format now. Note that this shows attributes then you have to add in the boosts in parenthesis.

Sniper (LW) Legend 1
5'10"
170lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the top


Deking: 77
Hand Eye: 83 (+8)
Off Awareness: 70
Passing: 71
Puck Control: 80 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 65
SS Power: 65
WS Accuracy: 86 (+8)
WS Power: 86 (+8)

Aggression: 80
Body Check: 72
Def Awareness: 78
Discipline: 80
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 70
Stick Check: 78

Acceleration: 82 (+5)
Agility: 80 (+8)
Balance: 65
Durability: 65
Endurance: 80
Speed: 82 (+8)
Strength: 68

As you can see the biggest changes are even bigger shot, lowered the passing, and lowered the hand eye a touch. Defense still running no boosts and 4 of those categories are maxed. 78 stick check is still plenty. Athletically all of Acceleration/Agility/Speed/Endurance are maxed. With 90 speed you can make a lot happen offensively and still be able to get back to backcheck.

This could have been it's own post but I am going to throw it in here since it pertains to this build.

There was some spirited debate in the comments of the last post about balance and it's importance. I am of the opinion for small fast builds like my sniper balance is mostly worthless. This is mainly because you are going to get crushed no matter what your balance is and any points you put in balance are going to take away from your skating.  If you are building a forward who is going to go to the front of the net a lot or try to hold the puck in a lot of traffic then balance is probably pretty important (need to do more research) but with a sniper build (the way I play it) it is all about quickness, speed, and shot. I would also say that if you want more stability in addition to adding balance and strength make your player larger. It will make you slower but also make you more stable. Some common breakpoints are 6'0" 195 and 6'3" 205 in addition to the height and weight for my sniper build.

I will try to throw up a different build type next. Either Power Forward or Offensive Defenseman. I have both setup and have played them both a bit.

NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Sniper

I should probably call these something else since I can't seem to get them out every week but it sounds catchy so there you have it.

I am doing this from memory so it may not be perfect and there aren't any NHL 13 player builders out there that I know of. These values are the total with boosts and the boosts are in brackets.

Sniper (LW) Superstar 2
5'10"
180lbs
11" skates
Regular Flex
2nd Curve from the top


Deking: 74
Hand Eye: 93 (+8)
Off Awareness: 70
Passing: 75 (+5)
Puck Control: 84 (+5)
SS Accuracy: base
SS Power: base
WS Accuracy: 91 (+8)
WS Power: 91 (+8)

Aggression: 75
Body Check: 65
Def Awareness: 78 (max)
Discipline: 80 (max)
Faceoffs: base
Fighting: base
Shot Blocking: base
Stick Check: 78 (max)

Acceleration: 87 (+5)
Agility: 88 (+8)
Balance: base
Durability: base
Endurance: 80 (max)
Speed: 83 (+5)
Strength: base

This year the sniper is a great build.You need shot power and accuracy to beat cpu goalies this year. The lowest power/accuracy I have beaten a cpu goalie with clean from any distance is 84/84. The next closest was 88/83. With 91 in each you can blow it by the cpu goalie from time to time. It is still not easy to score but this makes it easier. The hand eye is for catching passes and one timers and it has moderate puck control. I am still debating if I want more puck control in exchange for lower hand eye. The passing is passable. I find in this game you can't get passes through players easily so having a really high passing doesn't seem to be worth it. Most of the passes you make are obvious passes to guys who are wide open. That being said I will still probably bump it a bit more (to maybe 80-85) down the road. The way you play this build is catch and shoot or if people let you walk to the top of the circles you can rip wristers on net all day.

Defensively this build is just jam everything into stick check, discipline, and defensive awareness. They max pretty quick. You don't really need any boosts on defense since the stick check even at 78 is deadly. Might want some more defensive awareness since this build doesn't knock down pucks so well but it isn't terrible if you are in good position. Throw everything else in aggressiveness for better puck retrievals.

Athletics I prefer to go with more acceleration and agility for the ability to turn quickly and accelerate quickly. That is just my preferred style. I may try throwing more speed in the mix with the high agility to see if that is better or not maybe sacrificing some acceleration or agility. I am maxing endurance because it is pretty cheap to do it and you want all you can get.

Overall though this is a pretty fun build and the only one I have found to consistently beat goalies, both cpu and human, with. Get to open spots, get the puck, shoot, or move in backing off defenders and rip one top corner. This isn't a great breakaway build due to the low deking but you can always shoot off the rush on breakaways if you want. Enjoy and I will try to keep these going if only to update builds as I get more points and figure out better setups.

NHL 13: Attribute Maximums

As I mentioned in my first impressions there are caps on certain attributes for different player types. EA was kind enough to list them here. I reformatted them into something readable and put them up here for your enjoyment.

A couple of quick thoughts on this:

• Effectively the max on any attribute is 95 (no one will bother with using +1 boosts since it is counter productive).
• For center if you want the highest faceoffs you have to run Two Way Forward or Grinder. Playmaker comes in 3 points behind and I think the rest you can just throw out the window as far as center is concerned.
• Fastest skater looks to be the Grinder on offense and Offensive and Two Way Defender are tied on the backend.
• Max agility is effectively 90 and shared by a few builds. It looks like EA wants you to feel those turns in NHL 13.
• This isn't about the chart per se just an observation but it looks like in general shot power is a lot more important this year than last. I didn't start beating the cpu goalies much at all until I got my shot power up to 84 and higher. I am generally matching power and accuracy this year but I could see going higher power and lower accuracy as well.

NHL 13: First Impressions

This is going to be a pretty quick hit but I just want to go over my first impressions of the game after around 40 games played.

Things I like:

• The new skating engine -- feels good and makes you think about momentum by balancing speed versus turning ability.
• Puck chop -- gives you a quick way to move the puck when someone is bearing down on you during a loose puck pickup.
• Poke check -- easy to take the puck away
• Easier to block passes and shots -- easy to take away passing lanes and stop shots

Things I don't like:

• Extremely hard to score -- this is the hardest it has ever been to score in an NHL game to start and there are multiple reasons
• The goalie are all like Johnathan Quick on crack -- they let in basically nothing aside from rebound put backs.
• The easy of blocking shots and passes -- almost impossible to setup any kind of one timer and even then the goalie gets there 95% of the time.
• Lack of penalties being called -- lots of away from the play interference not being called (this is not in front of the net) and you can board people from behind as much as you want and might get a two minute penalty every once in a long while. I have yet to see a 5 minute major be handed out. I suspect they took it out.
• They put the ability to dive into the goalie and knock the puck loose BACK in -- I am not sure how this happens but they somehow managed to put cheesy behavior back into the game that they had removed last year.
• Might as well take the A button off of your controller on defense -- stick lift is pointless now other than for getting penalties, of course the poke checking being godly makes up for this and more.

Other notes:

• They have added hard caps on attributes per skater type -- for example the max you can get in Discipline on a sniper is 80
• Costs for attributes has changed radically from last year -- poke check jumps up to costing over 100 experience per point for a sniper very quickly

I think as everyone gets more cards and boosts scoring will becomes easier but at this point it is like pulling teeth. I have heard that EA is basically taking the approach that they will make the goalies like gods to start and they tune them back to reality. There was a new tuner set last night and I managed to beat a goalie with a regular shot from the slot so there is hope. Overall it is a pretty solid effort and I am hoping it gets tuned to be better with time.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Defensive Defensemen

This week's build (maybe I should call these builds of the month instead) is a hard hitting defensive defenseman.

A link to the build can be found here.




Defensive Defenseman
Legend 3
6'2"
210lbs
11inch skates
Regular flex
Lowest curve

Deking: 50
Hand Eye: 70 (+5)
Off Awareness: 40
Passing: 80 (+5)
Puck Control: 79 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 72 (+8)
SS Power: 77
WS Accuracy: 50
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 98
Body Check: 90
Def Awareness: 99
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 50
Fighting: 60
Shot Blocking: 85
Stick Check: 94 (+5)

Acceleration: 77 (+8)
Agility: 77 (+8)
Balance: 76
Durability: 60
Endurance: 85
Speed: 80 (+5)
Strength: 81 (+5)

Offensively this build lacks punch. You really want to get the puck off of your stick and to the forwards as soon as possible. The passing is mediocre but good enough for passes mainly straight up the ice. The puck control is also somewhat suspect so you don't want to hold it longer than you have to. With the slapper you have the limited ability to one time it but you mainly want to try and get it low and on net to cause the goalie problems.

Defensively is where this build comes into its own. It has maxed attributes in almost every category that matters. This build excels at taking away the puck and cutting off passes through the center of the ice in the offensive zone. If you are in the right position this build will stop almost anything from going through you.The hitting isn't maxed but the aggression is nearly and that is what makes this build work. The intimidation factor lets you pick up pucks in the defensive zone that other builds shy away from. If you can get a couple of hits in on players (and a lot of times even when you don't) they will lose puck battles to you just because you have your aggression so high.

Athletically this build is very average. Balanced skating attributes let you pivot comfortably but you really need to concentrate on being in proper position because the lack of overall speed can be a liability. You have some endurance to be able to recover quickly but you want to again focus on position.

This isn't a flashy build and I personally prefer offensive defenseman or two way defenseman but with the right D partner and team you can do well with this setup.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Power Forward

This week I am featuring a power forward build. This is a muscle your way to the net and setup in front type of build.

A link to this build can be found here.

Power Forward
Legend 3
6'0"
195lbs
11" blades


Deking: 90 (+5)
Hand Eye: 83
Off Awareness: 80
Passing: 90 (+5)
Puck Control: 94 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 60
SS Power: 75
WS Accuracy: 77 (+8)
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 89
Body Check: 55
Def Awareness: 48
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 60
Fighting: 60
Shot Blocking: 60
Stick Check: 87 (+8)

Acceleration: 87 (+8)
Agility: 67
Balance: 60
Durability: 60
Endurance: 90 (+5)
Speed: 87 (+8)
Strength: 84

First off let me tell you I am not terribly fond of the power forward as a build this year. Last year when strength and endurance were king it was *the* build. This year with more focus on speed it kind of loses its luster. That being said it is very good at a couple of things. The first being picking up loose pucks and the second being shooting well while being tied up in front.

The offensive setup is good, better than a grinder. It has a decent wrister, passing, puck control, and deking. Hand eye and offensive awareness are average but not amazing. You are frequently going to be headed to the front of the net with this build. Cause screens and look for tips and setups off the post.

Defensively you will notice the criminally low defensive awareness mixed with a very high aggression. This oddly doesn't hurt you much defensively. You will knock pucks down and pick up loose pucks in the corner because of that aggressiveness. The stick check is good so use it.  Body checking is low but you don't really need it to hit people plus that aggressiveness will make every hit count.

The athletics for this build are similar to my latest playmaker build but more strength for shot power, hitting, and the ability to take hits. You should be about as quick as you can for a power forward. If you find yourself not moving quick enough or turning well enough dump a couple of points out of acceleration and speed and put agility up or lower your height and weight (to say 5'10" 170lbs) and bump up to 13" skates. Given this is a power forward you are probably best going with that first route if you need changes.

Enjoy the power forward and hit me up on Twitter if you have a request.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Offensive Defenseman

This week I am featuring a smooth skating offensive defenseman build. Suitable for anything from 3v3 to 6v6.

A link to this build can be found here.

Offensive Defenseman
Legend 3
6'1"
195lbs

11" blades

Regular Stick Flex

Lowest Curve

Deking: 72
Hand Eye: 90 (+5)
Off Awareness: 95
Passing: 90 (+5)
Puck Control: 94 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 88 (+5)
SS Power: 80
WS Accuracy: 66
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 57
Body Check: 50
Def Awareness: 94 (+5)
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 50
Fighting: 40
Shot Blocking: 65
Stick Check: 94 (+5)

Acceleration: 85 (+8)
Agility: 85 (+8)
Balance: 60
Durability: 60
Endurance: 92
Speed: 85 (+8)
Strength: 52

As expected the offensive side of the puck is the strong suit for the offensive defenseman. This build excels at making crisp breakout passes and has a nice accurate slapper that you can score with from the high slot. The high hand eye also helps out defensively adding the ability to pick pucks out of mid-air.

Defensively the numbers look really good from a non-physical standpoint. Maximums in stick check and defensive awareness give you the ability to take the puck away. With the checking the way it is this year you can still lay a forward out from time to time as well. I will point out though that even with 99 stick check and defensive awareness the offensive defenseman is not as good at picking off passes/taking way the puck as a two way or defensive defenseman. Each build has hidden strengths and defense is not one of them for a defender in this mold.

Athletically you can see everything is balanced between acceleration, speed, agility, and endurance. This, along with the 11" skates allows you to change direction smoothly and keep a close gap with just about any forward. This is the strength of the build defensively. You aren't going to overpower players or pick off as many passes like the defensive defenseman does but you will be able to stay right on forwards and with some clever stick lifting and poke checking take the puck from them or possibly even deny them the puck in the first place. In addition these athletics allow you to jump into the play to create odd man rushes but still be able to get back as long as you are smart about picking your spots.

That is all for this week. I have a request for a power forward build and I will try to accommodate that next week. Feel free to comment or hit me up on Twitter if you have questions.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Playmaker Center Addendum

I talked about my playmaker center build in my last post. After running this setup for a while I decided to swap back to having some agility and set my athletics up like this:


Acceleration: 85 (+8)
Agility: 79
Balance: 55
Durability: 60
Endurance: 95
Speed: 85 (+8)
Strength: 50

It is still very quick but feels smoother than the other setup. 79 agility still isn't a ton but I think you can get away with it and the 13 inch skates if you have a smaller player. If you decide to go larger with this setup 6' 200lbs and up I would definitely go with 11 inch skates. Larger players seem to have less inherent agility.

NHL 12: Build of the Week -- Playmaker Center

Sorry for the long layoff but I thought I would try to get back into doing this. This week I am featuring a super fast playmaking center that excels in 6v6 matchups.

A link to this build can be found here.

Playmaker
Legend 3
5'10"
180lbs

13" blades

Regular Stick Flex

Second Lowest Curve

Deking: 94 (+5)
Hand Eye: 99
Off Awareness: 99
Passing: 90 (+5)
Puck Control: 94 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 60
SS Power: 50
WS Accuracy: 90
WS Power: 72

Aggression: 41
Body Check: 40
Def Awareness: 77 (+5)
Discipline: 99
Faceoffs: 91 (+8)
Fighting: 40
Shot Blocking: 60
Stick Check: 87 (+8)

Acceleration: 86 (+8)
Agility: 65
Balance: 55
Durability: 60
Endurance: 98
Speed: 87 (+8)
Strength: 50

This is a build I like to use to play 6v6 but it works pretty well in most situations. Offensively it has a decent shot you can hit the net with. I had been messing around with a 99 accuracy/76 power shot  that is nasty against cpu goalies but against humans you really don't need it quite that high. The first 5 stats are stacked (I prefer the 95 passing over 99 ) so you will have good overall offensive ability with this setup.

Defensively the 95 stick check is plenty for me. and the 82 defensive awareness is not bad considering the 99 in faceoffs that the center is burdened with. I may try to find a way to get that even higher since defensive awareness makes you skate faster on the backcheck.

The athletics really reflect my new views on what is an optimal setup. Acceleration and speed are everything. Agility (provided you are 5'10" and shorter) doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The high endurance allows you to spam hustle when needed and keeps you going at high speeds without tiring. They have changed hustle enough that it can't be used as an effective replacement for acceleration it really doesn't kick in immediately. Seems far more useful to just get that extra burst once you are near or at full speed.

Anyway, hopefully I get back into the habit of doing these. As always feel free to comment.

Edit: Added a quick addendum to this post here talking about a different athletics setup.