http://www.easports.com/nhl/promo/nhl-webcast I've been watching the replay. They've been showing a lot off about the skating explosiveness, top end speeds, and momentum now (not the kind we all dread, but we will dread it in 13). The Momentum references a player getting checked and still being able to get to the puck before the defender, and it looks good, but it will make defense a nightmare. They've made a lot of enhancements to the skating system and I am really excited for it, but man, I cannot imagine how they think defensive players are going to be able to hang in this new system. I think the top tier defensemen are going to get the picture about reading player's speeds and minding their gap, but your plugs and average defenders are going to have a hell of a time now.
I agree that this could be a big nightmare for Dmen and further destroying the position and who is willing to play it. I think this will force most D to be "defensive D" in thinking, always keeping an extra step back and assuming the worse. I am hoping I am wrong and people will ba able to master the movement on the back end and well as those who will do it up front. I think once the attributes are maxed out or people learn how to max endurance and speed/accel the game will be shot. Oct?, Nov?
I dunno. It seems a bit more dynamic than previous years just from looking at it, but I could just be getting duped by the typical EASPORTS pre-release charms. I just think this will increase the stock of at-home defensemen 10 fold.
It's going to force defenseman to be much more disciplined in the neutral zone but from the initial looks forwards aren't going to be able to stop and start on a dime, and cut at full speed. Good defenseman will still be good because they'll recognize how the other forward is skating and what his options are. I'm curious how the controls are going to work for the sprinting, I really hope that the full sprint is with clicking the left stick in and not just pressing the stick all the way up. I'm also curious how deking is going to work with this new system, since the developers didn't touch on that.
They actually said they are still working on the dekes testing how they work at different speeds so I would assume player builds and the ew speed dynamics will play a part in who and how well dekes work. Yes, this is what I was kind of saying but feel any other Dman style will be extinct. In general, I think it will work fine out of the box (as typical) but once attributes are max we will see D getting blown by. I'm not sure if D will be able to skate fast and transition to backwards skating and keep pace like some can do in real life...it look as though this was not even considered or weighed in.
I've always hated how the VS and Offline modes seem to allow incidental contact but anytime you at all touch a player in EASHL/OTP it's a penalty.
Imagine the people that purposefully try to ruin a game now having the ability to hit you when yr breaking out etc. oof.
Cant be any worse then tards standing offsides all the time... otp will always be horrible becuase if losers like them.
Might not be a bad idea to have a league/club ruleset that allows collision with anything and everything and removes the goalie bubble.
Ozzy when does NHL think about the Defense. We have been getting blown bye for sometime now and I do not see this changing. The fact is that Defense man need to play more of a stay at home defense style. Where they do not actually go pass the blue line they hang just above it.
