Re: Skating Speed (EASHL)

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@kdsmaclean wrote:
@EA_AljoRight but that's where this discussion is getting confusing. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm always referring to all else being equal. Otherwise every factor can be said to impact speed because everything is a tradeoff.

This is the clip I was referring to. Take notice of green and the player who starts out maybe one stride length ahead. At a certain point, THAT player starts sprinting and by the time the puck is in the D zone, that player is maybe 4 stride lengths ahead.

It looks to me like both are in sprint animation and both are going in essentially straight lines.

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxFJcPoX7hpdAFL6uP_i_qqDIX1K8tw90F?feature=shared

Now maybe there's an easy explanation and that's fine. I'm still curious whether height/weight and skating style matter, all else being equal.

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You say, "all else equal", but ARE all things equal? Do you know what the builds of the two players in question were? Do you know what their stamina levels were at when they started skating back to your team's zone?

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@kdsmaclean wrote:
@EA_Aljo Right but that's where this discussion is getting confusing. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm always referring to all else being equal. Otherwise every factor can be said to impact speed because everything is a tradeoff.

This is the clip I was referring to. Take notice of green and the player who starts out maybe one stride length ahead. At a certain point, THAT player starts sprinting and by the time the puck is in the D zone, that player is maybe 4 stride lengths ahead.

It looks to me like both are in sprint animation and both are going in essentially straight lines.

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxFJcPoX7hpdAFL6uP_i_qqDIX1K8tw90F?feature=shared

Now maybe there's an easy explanation and that's fine. I'm still curious whether height/weight and skating style matter, all else being equal.

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The trailing player is skating in a straight line. The carrier makes a few turns. They also have a slight penalty for carrying the puck. You don't hustle when you're turning so that will kick in.

@PlayoffError 

The green player starts hustling right away and is skating in a straight line. The player in white slightly turns, then enters hustle. As you mentioned, we need to know the builds as well and energy needs to be considered.

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@kdsmaclean wrote:
@SummerOfDekesMy question is broader than that specific clip. Regardless of that clip, **all else equal**, do those things matter. This is why I didn't want to post the clip to begin with, because people would get focused on the details rather than the theory. I'm not claiming that everything is equal in the clip.

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Then I've already answered your question in my first reply. Yes, those other stats matter. Who wins a race in this game, depending on the situation, is a mixture of max speed, quickness (agility/acceleration), stamina, and ping.

As for whether skating style matters or not, yes and no. No, skating style won't make your player model move faster. However, you skating style can do things like change where your player holds the puck when hustling.

For example, there's one skate style that has your player hold the puck far to one side as opposed to right in front of him or moving the puck side to side. This can make it harder for the puck to be knocked loose by a player coming from the opposite side. I believe you can also edit the skate style to where the puck carrier holds the puck farther in front of him, thus making it harder for a backchecking player to poke the puck away from behind.

There's definitely something happening in the OP's clip.

When the players enter the neutral zone, the separation between them is a couple of strides:

It seems that the instant the white player crosses the blue line, the separation doubles

Of course, this could just be a fatigue thing (green hustled their energy down to yellow/red/zero) but the timing of the separation (immediately after entering the O-Zone) would easily lead one to believe there's something else at work.

If you look at more than just the clip, in the play before, the green player is seen hustling at full speed up the ice where as the other player in white (orange icon) has a few moments where he can be seen not in a hustle animation. You can also see his stamina in the green at one point showing that he is above that threshold. This in combination with the play after leads me to believe that the green player is drained on stamina while the other player in white has at least some left in the tank. When any player reaches either 75% or 66% stamina (can't remember which but I think its yellow bar), their max speed starts to diminish. At what rate I am unsure of and there is, to my knowledge, no place where this information is mentioned. 

Apologies for the late response. I have confirmed that skating styles make no difference with speed. The videos that were posted are speculation and are not factual. Also, regardless of body size/weight, speed is the same. Meaning, 90 speed is the same regardless of size and weight.

@KidShowtime1867I'd be lying if I didn't admit that, for YEARS with this franchise, it seemed like defensive players got somewhat of a speed boost in their zone. I've had many experiences with high-speed forwards being caught from behind after having what looked like a breakaway. 1v1 modes, in particular. 

It could just be in my head, though. I've never tested it.

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@NeonSkyline21 wrote:

@KidShowtime1867I'd be lying if I didn't admit that, for YEARS with this franchise, it seemed like defensive players got somewhat of a speed boost in their zone. I've had many experiences with high-speed forwards being caught from behind after having what looked like a breakaway. 1v1 modes, in particular. 

It could just be in my head, though. I've never tested it.

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Defenders don't get a speed boost in either zone.

A percieved speed boost could be because of a few reasons.

1. In my experience, forwards are CONSTANTLY hustling. They treat every chance at getting the puck like they're about to score the OT Game 7 winner in the Cup Final. On the flip side, defenders almost never need to hustle unless we're chasing down a forward on a breakaway.

2. Stickhandling and shielding the puck at all slows you down tremendously. If a forward started to deke around on a breakaway, he'd probably get caught by the defender at some point. 

3. Up until a patch this year, I believe you skated faster without the puck. I could be incorrect, though. 

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@SummerOfDekes wrote:

A percieved speed boost could be because of a few reasons.

1. In my experience, forwards are CONSTANTLY hustling. They treat every chance at getting the puck like they're about to score the OT Game 7 winner in the Cup Final. On the flip side, defenders almost never need to hustle unless we're chasing down a forward on a breakaway.

2. Stickhandling and shielding the puck at all slows you down tremendously. If a forward started to deke around on a breakaway, he'd probably get caught by the defender at some point. 

3. Up until a patch this year, I believe you skated faster without the puck. I could be incorrect, though. 

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4. Generally speaking, defenseman have higher endurance than forwards of comparable quality.

@NeonSkyline21@SummerOfDekesNail on the head for 1 and 2. Lack of energy means your max speed stat takes a hit so a dman who is always in the green will likely catch up to a winger in yellow or red even. Also regarding 3. You will always skate faster without the puck. There is a 3% skater speed penalty when skating with puck. Wheels xfactor will halve or remove this penalty entirely.

I find that statement odd coming from you - after all it was you who said -“Game developers for EA NHL are former players on the staff- also you asked me if - “I could tie my own skates and tape my own blade?”

This and all else you say will live on as true wisdom in the gaming world ..