EHM The Blue Line

I know that in real-life hockey it is generally better for a Dman to play on the same side as they shoot. So a right handed Dman plays on the right side and a left handed Dman plays on the left side. In the real world the ability to quickly receive a pass in stride and then make another outlet pass quickly up ice without having to turn your body can mean the difference between a clean breakout and getting hemmed in your own zone because of an aggressive forecheck. Of course their are exceptions. Some guys prefer to play on their off side. That being said, does this make any difference in EHM: EA? Can the game even take those kind of subtle differences into account, especially when I'm only simming the games, not playing them out?

What about natural vs accomplished positions? How much effect does that have on performance?

That's a great question. I am a beginner myself at the game and I tend overall to try and use the player to his strengths. If a skater is a natural RD I play him on that side regardless of his handiness. When it comes to Natural vs accomplished I have heard on the forums if you continue to play a player on a side you can change his status from "Natural to Accomplished" I have yet to test it, but I doubt people are making it up. Best of luck, let me know what you find out!

I'm pretty sure the game takes into account a players rating (1-20) for playing a particular position.

The obvious affect on performance is the player's performance would be worse at something if they were rated as accomplished versus natural, but exactly when and how and how often the positional rating would be looked at in the series of algorithms that make up the gameplay action only Riz/SI knows...

In terms of training a player to play a position, this can be done by having the player train to do so (in the Practice screen); you'll also want to play the player in games at the new position (as part of the process of learning the position)....results will vary of course, depending on what rating the player started with & on other Attributes too, in particular Versatility (a hidden Attribute)

For example...forwards have a rating of 15-20 in positions that they're considered to "play" and typically ratings of 9-14 in forward positions they don't typically play (and I've done no testing/have no "proof" but I suspect you'd want a player in the 12-14 to start with, so that they'll hopefully get to 15-20 after some training); these 1-20 Position ratings are not visible in-game (they're visible with an editor)

a 20 position rating is ''natural'', I think from 15(14)-19 it will be accomplished. (Pretty sure it's 20, at least that's what I remember)
Often most players have one natural position in their career, and whilst they can learn to play other positions, it'll never be their one true position.
So personally I regard anyone with ''accomplished'' as able to play the position at a high level. He might not get everything out of it due to it not being ''his'' position, but he can still perform there.

About D-Men, I never really paid attention to putting them in their natural side. I'll just find defenders that are good for the job, and position is secondary to that. So I'll put an LD on RD, maybe it's hurting my performances, but I haven't really noticed.