NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Defensive Defenseman

Here is a quick Defensive Defenseman build I put together. I have not tried it yet but with the attribute caps there aren't a lot of choices about where to put points this year. I ran this last night for a few games and made a few changes.

Defensive Defenseman
Legend 3

6'0"
195lbs
9" Skates
Regular Flex
Lowest Curve

Deking: 70
Hand Eye: 78 (+5)
Off Awareness: 72 (+5)
Passing: 85 (+5)
Puck Control: 74 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 75 (+5)
SS Power: 87
WS Accuracy: 72
WS Power: 75

Aggression: 82
Body Check: 85
Def Awareness: 87 (+5)
Discipline: 82
Faceoffs: 65
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 65
Stick Check: 87 (+5)

Acceleration: 82 (+8)
Agility: 80 (+5)
Balance: 73
Durability: 65
Endurance: 80
Speed: 80 (+8)
Strength: 80

Pretty much everything useful in every category is maxed on this build. The only real mystery is where to put your boosts so I will discuss my general strategy with boosts. Offensively I like to focus on hand eye, puck control, and one shot. In this case the slap shot. The power is already good so no need to burn more than a +5 on accuracy.

Defensively you can see that basically everything useful is maxed with spare boosts in defensive awareness and stick check. The defensive defensemen I have gone up against and played with all seem to be vacuums when the puck gets around them and you can see from the defensive stats why.

Athletically I always spend 3 +8s on acceleration, agility, and speed. This is a skating game and you need to have the ability to turn and keep up when needed. I do run 9" skates with my defensive builds because I think being able to pivot is one of the most important abilities for a defender. I run a at 5'10" 180lbs because the skating feels smooth but I don't feel tiny. I don't think this build is going to be crushing anyone but if you play positionally sound then you should be able to break up almost any play. I could definitely see going larger for a better poke check range, more reach, and better hitting but you have to be comfortable with the skating dynamics of a larger player. I ran at 6'0" 195lbs last night and it was still relatively maneuverable and could hit people when needed. Still not a giant crushing build but had serious shut down ability.

Edit: I went from just putting together a concept to actually playing the build and made a few changes in this entry. I really like this build and may stick with it on D for a while. We played 3 games 4v4 with human goalies and gave up 2 goals total. Passing felt good and it was great defensively.