NHL 13: Build of the Week -- Two Way Forward Center

For this week I am going to share a build I have been playing when I play center. It is the versatile two way forward.

2 Way Forward
Legend 3

5'10"
180lbs
11" Skates
Regular Flex
Second Lowest Curve

Deking: 83
Hand Eye: 84 (+5)
Off Awareness: 82
Passing: 82 (+5)
Puck Control: 82 (+5)
SS Accuracy: 65
SS Power: 65
WS Accuracy: 76 (+5)
WS Power: 70

Aggression: 80
Body Check: 73
Def Awareness: 85
Discipline: 87
Faceoffs: 87 (+8)
Fighting: 65
Shot Blocking: 73
Stick Check: 85

Acceleration: 82 (+8)
Agility: 80 (+8)
Balance: 74
Durability: 65
Endurance: 85
Speed: 82 (+8)
Strength: 75

As you can see offensively it is not bad, lying somewhere between a grinder and a playmaker in that regard. It has mid level everything but a slightly higher hand eye (I like this for being able to grab passes and shoot one timers). The shot is lower end but not bad for going against human goalies and can even work in a pinch against cpu netminders if you are smart with your shot placement and timing. I will say for full disclosure we play 90% of our games 4v4 and up using a human goalie nearly all the time.

Defensively you can see the double boost in faceoffs which I think is pretty key for a center. The only other build that can get to 95 faceoffs is grinder and while my love for the grinder is well known I think this build offers more offensively. The two way forward, the way I play it, is more of a positional defender than a hitter. Body check costs a ton and I prefer to ramp up aggression instead to help pickup loose pucks. The stick check is strong even with no boosts and this build excels at intercepting passes due to the high defensive awareness.

Athletically you can see my typical max boost and max attribute setup for speed, acceleration, and agility. The higher than average endurance on this build is very useful. Even with no boosts you will rarely run out of energy even late in a period.