Originally Posted by n8rockerasu

It's just a tough thing because you can't assume that everyone will want to play that way. EA has to basically force them to play right by making the defense good enough to stop cheap tactics. A lot of this is more in relation to OTP/EASHL, but teams shouldn't be rewarded for having their wingers abandon the defensive zone early and be hanging out at center ice waiting on a breakout pass. The defensemen either need to be smart enough to hold the puck in at all cost or know to drop out of the zone to cover the guy trying to get a cheap breakaway. The AI isn't really going to be tested until people start trying to look for holes.

Another thing I like though in regards to the skating is that it seems like more of a cat and mouse game. I'm hoping that due to the fact that it's going to be easier to get knocked off the puck and harder to shoot accurately at high speeds (allegedly) and the fact that it's going to be easier to overcommit on defense, that should create some slowdown and hesitation on both sides. I saw moments in the demo where a player would skate hard and then coast before making a turn. You never saw stuff like that in 12 because people were always just trying to go as fast as they could. I know even for me, any time I was pressing the left stick, I was also clicking it in. If done right, these small changes should have a big impact on how the game plays.