EHM The Blue Line

Hey there fellow vGMs,

Anyone else not using defensive defenseman anymore in EHM EA? I just can't get them to have good ratings. I'm now drafting and signing offensive defenseman only. Even when a DD has decent points he seems to still have low average ratings. Without them I still can have the best defensive record of the NHL, still can have a good PK record, so I ask... why bother with a dd? Please discuss.

Regards

I rarely use defensive type d-men since my play style is more of a puck possession/move the puck quickly up the ice. I remember defensive players were rarely useful in EHM 2007 as well, especially defensive forwards. They tend to have subpar ratings as the game is based on offense and points. Not sure about EHM now though, I am still playing through my first season.

Defensive players, def or forward have always lower rating even if they're playing well defensively. That's something EHM should improve, they should rate your players by their roles.
I like using def defensemen combine with offensive. You have to look at their stats to see that they're performing well, like hits, blocked shot, takeaway, even faceoff for def forw. Sometimes you're best faceoff's center will be the most def with low rating.

I think the game values defense better now than EHM 07, although the ratings can still be low, mainly because points raise the rating so effectively. I for one am using defensive D, and usually my top line(s) are well above 7 average.

I don't know, I can't use drafted defensive D-men at least. They can have really good attributes for stuff like checking and positioning. But they all seem to be terrible in anticipation (horrible hockey sense, according to my scouts) and that just doesn't work well at all...at least for me and my system. So yeah, better to use offensive D-men, I think too. Once in a while there is a offensive guy that actually have good-great defensive stats as well and that guy will instantly be a franchise player on my team.

Never gone too deep into a game but does 'hockey-sense' improve with time? Just thinking you mentioned drafted talent. Perhaps it improves over time with ice time?

saberhagen83 wrote:I don't know, I can't use drafted defensive D-men at least. They can have really good attributes for stuff like checking and positioning. But they all seem to be terrible in anticipation (horrible hockey sense, according to my scouts) and that just doesn't work well at all...at least for me and my system. So yeah, better to use offensive D-men, I think too. Once in a while there is a offensive guy that actually have good-great defensive stats as well and that guy will instantly be a franchise player on my team.

There are those in the mix too, but I've taken a habit of avoiding the poor hockey sense defensive D, and only go for the ones who have at least adequate anticipation. Low anticipation is an automatic "no thank you" for me.

marksbros6 wrote:Never gone too deep into a game but does 'hockey-sense' improve with time? Just thinking you mentioned drafted talent. Perhaps it improves over time with ice time?

I'm hoping it does but I am unsure. I'm currently entering my 7th season so the '16 draft class has started to reach their potential I would say, but it's a bit early to say for the other years yet.

14 out of 66 defensemen drafted in 2016 have 60+ in anticipation in 2021, 2 are designated (in game, not in editor or anything) as Stay-at-home the rest either offensive or skilled. I at least think hockey sense is tied into anticipation (no exlusivly though), cause they usually have better if that attribute is higher. 60 or higher usually has them at B or B+ from what I have seen, 70+ and they start to move into A's. 50-ish and they are in C's.

From 2017 and forward, there are hardly even a handfull of defensemen with 60+ currently per year, mostly offensive. Will have to see if they get better with time.

mpronger wrote:Hey there fellow vGMs,

Anyone else not using defensive defenseman anymore in EHM EA? I just can't get them to have good ratings. I'm now drafting and signing offensive defenseman only. Even when a DD has decent points he seems to still have low average ratings. Without them I still can have the best defensive record of the NHL, still can have a good PK record, so I ask... why bother with a dd? Please discuss.

Regards

I like to keep a couple of defensive defensemen on my teams. I like to have a physical presence on the blueline and defensive defensemen are usually pretty good for that. I don't expect the world from them but they're handy on the PK, they hit, they block shots, and the giveaway/takeaway ratio is usually pretty good as long as you set them to make safe passes.

I definitely use defensive defensemen. The game doesn't really give them great game ratings unless they have a really good game (the game ratings still seem to be driven more by points) with a whole lot of hits and blocks and such. These players are still effective in doing their job for your team though.