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.