Role combinations

[tomkmb]

So in my year of following Hockey and playing this game I've changed a lot of my philosophy regarding how I construct my lines and what roles I choose. At first I was just trying to get a superstar for every position on the top 6 and have them attack as much as possible. This didn't go well.

Now I like to make sure there are a few key things on each of my lines and in my D pairings.

I like to have a dedicated scorer, a playmaker (this can be from a D pairing or another line mate) and a two way guy just for solidity. That's my top two lines. If I've got a couple of outstanding guys I'll have something like a Danger and a Perimeter scorer just so we can really go at the opponent.

For my D pairings, I'll tend to have a top offensive defenceman in my first pairing and he will have a more attack focused role, then for the rest of the pairings I'll have a two way and some form of defensive defenceman (undervalued in the game IMO).

There are some roles which I seldom use and some which I have always struggled to get performances out of....mainly the 'Screener' role. Which is a shame because I always do a save with my Blue Jackets and that's Boone Jenner's best role but I just cannot seem to get it to work.

So I'm interested to hear, what are YOUR philosophies when constructing your lines? What pairs do you like to have role-wise on D? top 6? bottom 6?

What are some roles that you feel are underutilised and what are some roles that you've struggled to get production out of?

Perhaps certain tactics will get the best out of certain roles and I'm missing that here as I continue to learn about the nuances of Hockey, either way, I'd love to hear your experiences!

[mschinner]

Originally Posted by tomkmb

So in my year of following Hockey and playing this game I've changed a lot of my philosophy regarding how I construct my lines and what roles I choose. At first I was just trying to get a superstar for every position on the top 6 and have them attack as much as possible. This didn't go well.

Now I like to make sure there are a few key things on each of my lines and in my D pairings.

I like to have a dedicated scorer, a playmaker (this can be from a D pairing or another line mate) and a two way guy just for solidity. That's my top two lines. If I've got a couple of outstanding guys I'll have something like a Danger and a Perimeter scorer just so we can really go at the opponent.

For my D pairings, I'll tend to have a top offensive defenceman in my first pairing and he will have a more attack focused role, then for the rest of the pairings I'll have a two way and some form of defensive defenceman (undervalued in the game IMO).

There are some roles which I seldom use and some which I have always struggled to get performances out of....mainly the 'Screener' role. Which is a shame because I always do a save with my Blue Jackets and that's Boone Jenner's best role but I just cannot seem to get it to work.

So I'm interested to hear, what are YOUR philosophies when constructing your lines? What pairs do you like to have role-wise on D? top 6? bottom 6?

What are some roles that you feel are underutilised and what are some roles that you've struggled to get production out of?

Perhaps certain tactics will get the best out of certain roles and I'm missing that here as I continue to learn about the nuances of Hockey, either way, I'd love to hear your experiences!

One tactic that I keep in mind is if I have a dangler or speedy forward, I will assign one of his linemates to be a backchecker. The dangler is going to be so focused on offense and getting a breakaway that is could hurt the structure of the defense. I think the backchecker may offer some protection.

For d-men, I value ones with high or good stamina. They are going to log the most ice time. I see ones with low stamina get burned later in the game because they cannot recover as quickly on breakaways or odd man rushes. Also, it takes them longer to recover from day to day. I think stamina is one of the undervalued attributes.

[Félicette]

Originally Posted by tomkmb

So in my year of following Hockey and playing this game I've changed a lot of my philosophy regarding how I construct my lines and what roles I choose. At first I was just trying to get a superstar for every position on the top 6 and have them attack as much as possible. This didn't go well.

Now I like to make sure there are a few key things on each of my lines and in my D pairings.

I like to have a dedicated scorer, a playmaker (this can be from a D pairing or another line mate) and a two way guy just for solidity. That's my top two lines. If I've got a couple of outstanding guys I'll have something like a Danger and a Perimeter scorer just so we can really go at the opponent.

For my D pairings, I'll tend to have a top offensive defenceman in my first pairing and he will have a more attack focused role, then for the rest of the pairings I'll have a two way and some form of defensive defenceman (undervalued in the game IMO).

There are some roles which I seldom use and some which I have always struggled to get performances out of....mainly the 'Screener' role. Which is a shame because I always do a save with my Blue Jackets and that's Boone Jenner's best role but I just cannot seem to get it to work.

So I'm interested to hear, what are YOUR philosophies when constructing your lines? What pairs do you like to have role-wise on D? top 6? bottom 6?

What are some roles that you feel are underutilised and what are some roles that you've struggled to get production out of?

Perhaps certain tactics will get the best out of certain roles and I'm missing that here as I continue to learn about the nuances of Hockey, either way, I'd love to hear your experiences!

I tend to look for the same kind of balance as you for my lines. On my top 6 I want a guy that can pass, a guy that can score and a guy that can skate north/south like a madman to protect the defensive weak links that are my offensive minded players. I love having a dangler going rogue and a two way forward that will backcheck and defend primarly. Counter attacking forward are also really appreciated for the quick transitions.

On my third line I'm looking for those sweet backchecking forwards and some grinders to tire the opposing top players. Physicality and defense are a must, scoring is obviously a nice touch but not the focus. On my fourth line I tend to play my aging versatile vets, mainly focusing on defense but that will depend of my roster.

On defense I try to vary, pairing for example a rushing defenseman with a stay at home D to cover. For my 6 defensemen I would say that usually I have 2 offensive minded players and 4 guys that focus on defense or two way game.

I also struggle with the screeners, I traded for Roope Hintz in my save and didn't really manage to play him well, even with the slot overload tactic. It was a bit better when playing with a point shooter on defense though, tried to barrage the opposing goalie with a big guy in front of him.

[tomkmb]

Originally Posted by mschinner

One tactic that I keep in mind is if I have a dangler or speedy forward, I will assign one of his linemates to be a backchecker. The dangler is going to be so focused on offense and getting a breakaway that is could hurt the structure of the defense. I think the backchecker may offer some protection.

For d-men, I value ones with high or good stamina. They are going to log the most ice time. I see ones with low stamina get burned later in the game because they cannot recover as quickly on breakaways or odd man rushes. Also, it takes them longer to recover from day to day. I think stamina is one of the undervalued attributes.

Oh yeah that Dangler will kill you on defence, always good to have a two way or more defensive player on the line at the same time otherwise you'll give up as many goals as you score. That's a good shout on D men with high stamina, I'd not really paid too much mind to that.

I had actually been thinking about making sure all of my D men are GREAT skaters, not just good but as above average as I can find for their primary skill and then seeing if that makes much difference because I figure the more mobile and agile they are the more ground they can cover and maybe trying to build a high speed team/active D.

Do you pay attention to handedness? Also, Do you know/what do you think is the difference between the roles 'setup man' and 'playmaker'? There's a slight difference in the descriptions but I just can't seem to figure it out.

[tomkmb]

Originally Posted by Félicette

I tend to look for the same kind of balance as you for my lines. On my top 6 I want a guy that can pass, a guy that can score and a guy that can skate north/south like a madman to protect the defensive weak links that are my offensive minded players. I love having a dangler going rogue and a two way forward that will backcheck and defend primarly. Counter attacking forward are also really appreciated for the quick transitions.

On my third line I'm looking for those sweet backchecking forwards and some grinders to tire the opposing top players. Physicality and defense are a must, scoring is obviously a nice touch but not the focus. On my fourth line I tend to play my aging versatile vets, mainly focusing on defense but that will depend of my roster.

On defense I try to vary, pairing for example a rushing defenseman with a stay at home D to cover. For my 6 defensemen I would say that usually I have 2 offensive minded players and 4 guys that focus on defense or two way game.

I also struggle with the screeners, I traded for Roope Hintz in my save and didn't really manage to play him well, even with the slot overload tactic. It was a bit better when playing with a point shooter on defense though, tried to barrage the opposing goalie with a big guy in front of him.

Sounds like we are quite similar in a lot of ways. Do you ever utilise the aggressive forechecker? sometimes I like to have one on my 3rd line to disrupt the enemy D, especially if they are a team with weak puckhandling on the blueline. That's not a bad shout for getting the most out of the screener, I'd been thinking about trying 'crash the net' too for the same reason. Do you ever use the 'Garbage Collector' because in my mind that sounds similar to the screener and really kind of what I want the screener to be doing, hovering around the front of the net and hoovering up any loose pucks.

Also love maybe a big power forward on the 3rd line, in my CBJ save Sean Keraly is doing great for me, my whole 3rd line actually performed insane their xWin and WAR were the highest of any of my lines, so a good defensive/physical third line can really make a difference to a team.

Do you pay much attention to handedness of players? Especially on the blue line? I'm not sure how much difference it makes but I know in Football Manager I like a centre back who is Left footed and one who is right footed just so they can open out the play on each side.

Also, Do you know/what do you think is the difference between the roles 'setup man' and 'playmaker'? There's a slight difference in the descriptions but I just can't seem to figure it out.

[Félicette]

Originally Posted by tomkmb

Sounds like we are quite similar in a lot of ways. Do you ever utilise the aggressive forechecker? sometimes I like to have one on my 3rd line to disrupt the enemy D, especially if they are a team with weak puckhandling on the blueline. That's not a bad shout for getting the most out of the screener, I'd been thinking about trying 'crash the net' too for the same reason. Do you ever use the 'Garbage Collector' because in my mind that sounds similar to the screener and really kind of what I want the screener to be doing, hovering around the front of the net and hoovering up any loose pucks.

Also love maybe a big power forward on the 3rd line, in my CBJ save Sean Keraly is doing great for me, my whole 3rd line actually performed insane their xWin and WAR were the highest of any of my lines, so a good defensive/physical third line can really make a difference to a team.

Do you pay much attention to handedness of players? Especially on the blue line? I'm not sure how much difference it makes but I know in Football Manager I like a centre back who is Left footed and one who is right footed just so they can open out the play on each side.

Also, Do you know/what do you think is the difference between the roles 'setup man' and 'playmaker'? There's a slight difference in the descriptions but I just can't seem to figure it out.

Yeah I like the aggressive forecheckers, I find those type of players pretty useful on a third or fourth line. I make sure to tweak their individual tactics to put a lot of pressure and aggressiveness and they tend to work pretty well to disrupt opposing players.

I never had the occasion to use a garbage collector. My understanding is that they tend to crash the net for rebounds, but not necessarily screen the opposing goalie (like in front of him) like a screener would do. Now that I'm thinking about it, it would be cool to try to have screener center and a garbage collector winger on the same line to see how it pans out, especially with crash the net or slot overload as a line tactic.

I'm curious about what (if any) individual tactics you demand from a power forward. I usually ask them for more aggressiveness and pressure, but I'm not quite sure I'm using this role the right way. I'm never sure if I want them to be more offensive or defensive minded.

Yeah I value handedness a lot in my roster construction. I mean, ideally. At least for the offensive minded players, I usually want them to play on their right side. However after a lot of injuries and some tweakings to save our season, I noticed that playing a defensive minded defenseman on his wrong side can lead to pretty good results too. I usually ask those players to play at a slow tempo anyway, in order to avoid stupid mistakes, and had great performances from lefty players playing RD. Basically if I want offense I want players to stay in their lane, if they are defensive minded I'm really less selective.

I think a read from a dev a long time ago that the difference between a playmaker and a setup man is that a playmaker plays center and and a setup man plays on the wing. I did happen to find some rare oddity where a center was rated better as a setup man than a playmaker though (and vice versa), but overall I think that's the only difference.

[mschinner]

Originally Posted by tomkmb

Oh yeah that Dangler will kill you on defence, always good to have a two way or more defensive player on the line at the same time otherwise you'll give up as many goals as you score. That's a good shout on D men with high stamina, I'd not really paid too much mind to that.

I had actually been thinking about making sure all of my D men are GREAT skaters, not just good but as above average as I can find for their primary skill and then seeing if that makes much difference because I figure the more mobile and agile they are the more ground they can cover and maybe trying to build a high speed team/active D.

Do you pay attention to handedness? Also, Do you know/what do you think is the difference between the roles 'setup man' and 'playmaker'? There's a slight difference in the descriptions but I just can't seem to figure it out.

Yes, I like to target better skating d-men, too. I think speed and skating helps quite a bit on puck retrievals and 50/50 pucks. You may be able to compensate for a lack of speed if a d-man has great awareness. They may not be fast, but they can read the play at a high level.

Not sure about 'setup man' and 'playmaker'. I have wondered the same thing.