This series has finally died to us...

The disparity has been there for years, and frankly I don't envy the developers trying to appease a worldwide fan base who all have different ideas of what hockey means.

Back in the day, people were upset that smaller guys couldn't hit. Cal Clutterbuck and Nik Kronwall (both notoriously big hitters at the time) are 5'11, you could give them 99 Checking and they couldn't knock a 200 lb guy off the puck in a hundred tries. They revamped the hitting engine. That was probably NHL 14, I distinctly remember "The Boys are Back" in the trailer with a bunch of big hits. They made it so speed mattered and the direction you were facing mattered. I thought it felt all right, but people complained, so they dialed it back, then dialed it back up when people complained, then... you get the picture. A tuner set only lasts until the no-lifers find the exploit, and then it all starts again. 

I'm not saying I disagree. I find the speed and acceleration attributes annoying to begin with. There's nobody with "80 speed" playing in the NHL and nobody with "99 speed" is breaknecking up and and down the ice at top speed for 60 minutes. There's a reason the fastest skater most years is some guy you never heard of like Miles Wood or Darren Helm. Speed matters, but very few professional skaters are creating a zone's worth in separation in 1.5 seconds from a standstill. If every player in the game can be Connor McDavid, who on earth would ever choose to be Pat Maroon? I feel like speed and acceleration need to be tuned on a smaller scale, and like X-factors that create such a huge advantage that they are "must haves" don't really have a place in the game. 

It's hard to be annoying in NHL 26 if you don't have the puck. Defenseman can't be relentless because you'll just get beat backdoor with a blind pass made with 100% accuracy if you don't leave yourself an out. Same deal with a defensive forward build like a TWF (eh) or a Grinder, which has been obliterated and is essentially useless. When I think of a Grinder I think of a guy like Kris Draper. Not a shred of natural talent in his body, just every shift out there being a huge pest to the other team with nothing but pure effort. You could not get rid of that guy, and if you tried he'd just work harder. Other teams hated playing against that line because you didn't have time to think, you'd just get hit or hacked or elbowed in every corner until you just wanted to get off the ice. He was proof that you could overcome skill with effort. That's why they call it grinding. The Grinder in EANHL at this point is just an unthugged enforcer with no niche. You add in the fact that "skill" (intangible) is tied up in numbers and all you have to do is skate towards the net and shoot to get rewarded on offense, it's in a bad spot. 

I like how the Community Manager response here is "politely...skill issue." Like come on man, WoC is broken. Every team plays tiny guys with 97/97 speed/acceleration with wheels and/or edges and truculence. I understand trying to buff checking to counterbalance the speed/agility, but it's so out of whack now. Beefing up your player with additional size/strength against these tiny guys with truculence also makes no difference b/c the checking is so broken a 5'8" 160lb max speed sniper can also just flatten everybody. 

My defender is 6'1", 150lbs. I use All-Star Stick 'em up, Wheels and Elite Edges. There are definitely times I get beat due to going up against speedy players. Most of the time, I'm paying attention to the positioning of the other team so I can put myself in better position to stop them. I fully agree that the focus on speed needs to come down. I'm not a fan of being able to have 97 speed/accel. Hopefully, we'll see that tuned better. Regardless, you significantly raise your chances of defending them by playing more conservative defense. It's also a team effort. In many cases, my teammates have a strong forecheck so they stop the other team's breakout before it happens. If I see one developing though, I'm dropping back to defend it. 

I also have had no problem with the pre-builds. At the end of the day, the attributes don't mean anything unless the player using them has the skill to do so. The chances of someone unskilled suddenly becoming unstoppable is probably not going to happen. So, someone with that skill can most likely take almost any build and still be competitive.

I also agree that you're required to use Wheels and Elite Edges to keep up. I'd love to see this changed so I can use other abilities. The current meta pretty much requires me to use these. This is why it's not breakaway after breakaway for me. I also typically have a good D partner to help out. I know some of you are playing 2s and 3s with AI defenders.

I know people hate to be called out on skill. I'm most definitely not saying this is entirely a skill issue. Speed is too high. Truculence is ridiculous. I'd love to see changes be made. However, skill still plays a part. Teams aren't losing solely due to pre-builds and OP abilities. Have you tried running the same builds to see if you start getting more wins?  You also have to consider team chemistry. People put so much reliance on individual abilities when this is a team sport. If you're not supporting each other, your opponents are going to find it a lot easier to breakout, intercept passes, anticipate your moves, etc. So, yes, skill definitely plays a role because no matter how strong your abilities are, without knowing how to use them and if a team isn't working together well, you're not going to be as successful.

Can you elaborate on how you're aiming your poke checks? There seems to be a big change to the simple poke (hitting R1). Previously, it would aim to the puck's location on the frame the poke check was initiated. Meaning, if the puck carrier moved the puck at the next frame, by the time the poke check arrives at the puck - it's position has moved - resulting in a miss. More often than not, however, most players don't have the twitch skill to react in time, so poke checks were largely successful.

I'm most often using DSS and trying to cut off their passing lane. I can often get in close enough to get a poke in so I wait for that opportunity and take it. In the case I'm just making a quick poke without using DSS, I'm just waiting for a clean path to the puck. Mostly, from the front. I'm still able to poke from the sides. I'm just waiting for the right moment. And it's not that I never miss. I'm not saying every poke is successful. I miss plenty of them, but I also connect on them a lot better than when the game first launched. I captured some clips last night, but for some reason they aren't showing up. Hopefully, they will and I can show it. 

Nothing changed with the auto-aim of pokes. It's still aimed at the location of the puck on the frame the poke was triggered.

It appears to me, since the X-Factor revamp, the poke check ability seemingly has a randomized error state where the poke checks will simply avoid the puck altogether and miss wildly despite the puck carrier not moving the puck via stick handling at all. This is the major change that I think is contributing to the poke check 'issue' people are describing. 

I'm using Stick 'em up. That most likely is helping my pokes. I switched to this from Quick Pick. But, I'm also noticing I'm better at them in HUT. My team is pretty low rated as well so I don't think it has to do with inflated abilities. It is against the computer though and they can be pretty easy to separate from the puck. 

Pokes are pretty basic. Like we both said, pokes go to where the puck is. It's not a random fail. There's a lot going on with various XFs and ability scores though. And, pokes are being investigated. It's also possible the puck is being picked up too easily. I know that's being looked into as well. That makes it also seem like pokes aren't working. I'm just making more of an effort to get a really solid poke so there's more separation. Again, Stick 'em up may have something to do with that.

Personally, I've found the same as you: Poke checks require better gap coverage and they will no longer work in close like they used to. once you make this adjustment, you seem to be able to get better success. Your 'aim' comment makes me think there's something else that's been added to the mechanic that maybe hasn't been properly communicated to the player-base. 

My aim comment was more about using DSS. I use it a lot. Probably almost as much as a regular poke.

I think the expectation of players to have the same skill level and dominance that they did in previous years runs contrary to the same expectations of a new game every year. They clamour for 'new' gameplay elements, and then rage about not being copletely adept at them on day 1. 

Agreed. If we truly copied and pasted the game, you should still have the same level of dominance. Every year we see this. Complaints about struggling when they were previously in D1. Each year, changes are made and we all need to adapt. My club has had the same issue in the past. The first couple of weeks are rough, then we find our groove.

I completely agree. As a defenseman, I rely on truculence, stick 'em up, and quick pick. There's no need for wheels—you just have to be patient and read the game well. I'm effective with my poke checks, but having an X-factor is definitely crucial. You don't always have to poke the puck off the opponent's stick. Sometimes, simply blocking their stick with yours dislodges the puck automatically. What I would like to see in the game is better reaction time for D to intercept passes in front of the net. I often find myself laughing when I'm covering the same spot as the opponent—I'm really close to them, yet my player refuses to even move the stick to attempt an interception and puck is going through me. Reaction time should be better at least for DD.