CHEL small and fast backhand meta. So disappointed.

SummerOfDekes wrote:

20-second mark. 94 defensive awareness + gold Quick Pick, in the lane, game even starts to give me an interception animation. Puck goes through my player and stick anyway. 

This is in no way a defense of what transpired, just a possible reason.

I think the defensive player was instructed to do a 45-degree cut during the interception frames. This negated the interception.

Not saying this is right, but I believe this is what happened.

And do you know why my back was turned? Because backskating is so slow that if I kept backskating, the defender would have blown right by me, or the puck carrier would've just passed the puck behind my skates. So, I recognized this fact and did a 180 to skate faster and stay in the passing lane. Players do this all the time in real hockey with no problem. Only in this poorly thought out game are you punished for playing smart hockey.

If you want defensemen to constantly backskate, make it so that backskating isn't going to get us completely burned, because that's what happens in this terrible game EA has designed. The game was slowed down, but you know how the game is still played? BEE LINE BEE LINE BEE LINE. Forwards aren't playing a slower, methodical, east-west style of hockey. No, they're still just maxing their speed and hustling in a straight line because IT STILL WORKS! Straight line speed is STILL the meta!

And you know what's funniest of all? If the forwards were in MY position in these clips, they would have received those passes no problem, and if I had complained you would be right here telling me, "well, of course they got the pass! They were in better position!"

Edit: Removed offensive comments. Please be constructive without breaking the rules. -CM

Exactly. Like, watch those clips. If the forwards receiving the pass and I swapped places in those clips, they would receive the pass no problem. And you know what Aljo would say? "Of course they got the pass! They were in better position!"

You could be right. It's entirely possible that I nudged the left stick. And, just to be perfectly clear, I'm not in any way saying this should be a perfectly clean pick every single time. Like, it's hockey and things happen, right? But, a pass that's on the ice, that I'm in the lane for, with a 94 defensive awareness + gold quick pick build, and I can't even break that play up? I can't deflect the puck away?

Just doesn't sit right with me at all.

I get what you're saying. I play the same way. I skate forward more than I back skate when getting back to my zone to defend a rush. I'm not saying there are no issues here. I'm just saying why those passes weren't intercepted.

Ok, so then maybe that's something that the dev team should consider changing? Like, doesn't it seem odd that forwards can receive these passes without issue, but defensemen get punished? Imo, this is a balancing issue that's been in need of addressing for a long time. 

That's certainly a fair statement. I'll pass on the feedback.

Also, pick ups aren't always guaranteed. For example, you have a better chance when gliding vs skating. The player's puck control and hand-eye ratings are also part of it. Again, not saying what happened here is good. Just giving you some context as to what helps with pick ups.

Also, regarding the first clip, that should have been picked up. We're looking into why that didn't happen. Appreciate you sending these over.

I do appreciate that, Aljo. Honestly.

It's also funny you mentioned the thing about gliding vs skating. I was just in a game where I was having to defend a bunch of 2-on-1 type of passes, and one of the passes I actually grabbed was one where I stopped skating. I absolutely see what you're talking about and have actually noticed this in past games.

If I could offer some feedback, however, I would point out that, especially since the meta in the game is still speed, not being able to reliably pick up pucks unless I, as a defender, stop skating, is a really unfair task. Because, if I stop skating, these 95 speed forwards are just going to blow right by me, and it's been my experience that these forwards don't have to glide to pick up pucks, nor do they need to be facing the puck. 

It seems really counterintuitive that in order to defend better, I have to put myself in a worse position.

I also completely agree that there shouldn't be a guarantee of an interception. In real hockey, a guy can be in perfect position and the puck will sometimes just find that perfect bit of daylight and elude the defender. I think that's fair. What my issue with plays like we see in this clips isn't that they happen, it's the rate at which they happen. These kinds of passes simply eluding players with good defensive abilities and good positioning just happen too frequently.

I would like to see a reorganization of how attributes are grouped together to account for better balancing the speed go brr meta. For example, you can have high speed/acc but at the cost of low agility/deke/shot. 

Or maybe balance the skating stats for each build instead of basing on player height and weight. Like a PWF with 90 speed would be equivalent to a PLY with 88 speed.  Again this takes into consideration that high speed for a build comes at a cost of other attributes. NHL 16-20 had a great balance of builds. If we can get back to that with the option of customization that would be great tbh.

Thank you. I definitely appreciate the constructive feedback.

You make some good points. We want to move away from the meta of speed, but speed is also a fundamental part of the sport so obviously, it needs to be an important attribute. Defense also needs to be able to appropriately counter this when proper defense is being played. Meaning, good positioning should be rewarded. As you mentioned, not necessarily every time, but you should have a significantly higher chance of breaking up the play. 

If you have any more clips you want to submit, please do. Those really help.

I know the team is aware of the feedback on speed we've been seeing. We'll have to wait to see what comes out of this.