Franchise Defensemen (Again)

https://forums.ea.com/users/ea_aljo/35

Hi, I was wondering if you could tell us if the programming on the defensemen has been improved?

It seems like the only way you get even acceptable defensemen advancement is if the guy is a first round pick AND he is rated ELITE.

Worse yet, since it appears that a huge bulk of the overall rating is tied to the skating and most defensemen's speed improves marginally or not at all, the early round defenseman that you drafted with a 75 speed will never be NHL worthy.

Could you also tell me if a defenseman with 85 checking/Def Aw etc. is only as good as a forward with 85 checking /Def  Aw or if there is some kind of consideration that makes defensemen better at defense than forwards with equal skills?

If the game offered a position edit option I would just draft forwards and put them there, since their advancement seems to be light years faster than defensemen and you can at least get some that can skate better than Bambi.