I just don't think it's a feature the majority of the community would be wanting. The skating aspect is the most important part of the game I'd say. We don't even know what NHL 25 is bringing to the table in terms of movement either so I'm sure we shall find out more come the 27th and I can't wait to talk about it then. They do have that 1 clip where a defenseman kind of gets shook and aims to recover hard by swinging his stick over to get back into a better defensive position. None of the deke traits matter much until they refine/rebuild dekes in general. Most of the dekes are too much West - East, East- West side to side. They need to have more of angle to them where they would be going to the side and forward past a defender making them harder to hit on great timed dekes.
I'd just rework some of the traits to something like....
Puck on a string - stickhandling speed increased 15-20%
I'd rename Ankle Breaker to Quick Step - Dekes are 15-20% faster in motion and distance traveled.
I think it's BECAUSE the skating is the most important part of the game that it should have more in-depth nuances like what I suggested. I'm not in favor of making it more complicated controls-wise. I think differentiating players based on skating skill is important and I feel like the badges could have more of an impact in that regard rather than "+- a certain percentage of a specific attribute."
I've always been a proponent of adding more granular attributes to the game for this reason. For example: there should be a "backhand" attribute. More granularity provides for more nuance and player differentiation. Look to the NBA2k series for inspiration. While that series has blundered over the last couple of iterations (which sports game hasn't, am I right? =P), the number of attributes each player has is really well done.
Heck, 2k even has "player tendencies" for AI players. I'm not sure why EA Sports hasn't thought to implement this yet considering there are so many modes with AI players. Like, imagine a system where certain wingers (like Ovi or Stamkos) would opt to set up for a one-timer on their off-wing while others would look for cutting opportunities or what have you.
