Hockey Attributes, Skills, and More!

[Thunder 1,195]

I have been trying to think of something good to write about to get some tpe, and @VattghernCZ recently came up with a good idea; make stuff up and go from there.  I decided to put together a made up discussion of the VHL attributes.  Or did I?  How much of this is real, you’ll have to do some research to determine if its all a fallacy or if only a part of it is.

 

Deking - Let’s thank the Canadians for coming up with this word, a short cut for the word “decoy”.  Deking is an act by an attacking player by doing a fake or feint technique drawing an opponent to adjust his/her position so that the attacker player can skate by the opposing player with the puck.

 

Building up this attribute increases your player’s puck handling skills, which in turn decreases the chance of getting hit and losing control of the puck, as well as a better chance of shot blocking and shot deflections while on defense.  It also increases your defensive skills, which means you’ll play better at defense, block more shots, and retrieving more free pucks.

 

Stick Handling - Stick handling is a conglomerate of techniques that allow a player to control the puck while moving on the ice.  Grip, hand eye coordination, puck feel, soft hands, cradling, dribble, fakes are all part of skills needed to synchronize vision with stick movements to maintain control of the puck under a variety of circumstances.

 

Building up this attribute increases puck handling, which I’ve already discussed in the deking attribute, and skating.  The higher the skating skills, gives the player a less chance of being hit.

 

Passing - Passing is the act of moving the puck from one player to another, preferably your teammate, and usually with the stick.  The different types of passes include the push pass, backhand pass, forehand pass, saucer pass, and long pass.  Passes are weaker than shots and are not intended to score a goal.

 

Building up this attribute increases passing, which in turns gives the player a better chance of making a successful pass.  Sounds like common sense to me.  There’s more, I promise, but it will be at the end of this media spot.

 

Body Checking - Body checking is a legal defense move where a player uses their body to separate an opponent from the puck.  This intentional contact should be above the opponent’s knees and below the opponent’s shoulders.  Body checking incorrectly can result in a penalty.

 

Building up the body checking attribute improves defense, which I discussed in the deking attribute, as well checking.  The higher the checking, the more hits the player will give.

 

Grit - Grit is an attribute describing the player’s attitude and work ethic.  Gritty players are determined to succeed and never give up.  They are able to bounce back from setbacks and to never give up.  With a strong work ethic, gritty players are willing to put in the extra work to get better and are known for a better work ethic, in addition to that gritty players are passionate about the game.  Gritty players see challenges as an opportunity to grow and are willing to battle hard in the corners.  Gritty players are fan favorites.

 

Building up the grit attribute improves checking ability, which I discussed above in the body checking attribute.  It also adds to the fighting skill.  The higher the fighting skill, the more fights the player will be in.  Take note that this skill only increases the chances of getting into fights, not winning the fights.

 

Off the top of my head I can think of some gritty players, such as Vinnie Detroit, Phil The Rock Johnson, James Teekirque, Brian Payne, David Jokinen, Guntis Gavilrovs, Logan Ninefingers, and Catia Goncalves.

 

Face offs - The face off attribute is an important part of hockey as there are usually over 50 face offs a game, and is used to start or restart the game and to determine which team regains control of the puck.

 

Building the face off attribute improves the face off ability, which improves the chances of winning a face off.  Building this attribute also improves strength.  The higher the strength, the less chance of the player getting hit, which also means the less chance of losing the puck.  Keep in mind, the strength ability has only a limited effect on winning a face off, and this is affected by the GM set up in the game.

 

Poke checking - The poke check attribute applies to the player’s ability to use the stick to knock the puck away from an opponent before hitting the player with the body.  Goalies use this technique to poke the puck away from an opponent behind the net.

 

Building the poke check attribute increases the player’s defense and strength skills.  Both of these skills were previously mentioned but I’m going to touch on this a little more.  Starting with defense, the higher this stat, the better defense the player plays, which basically means the player will block more shots and will retrieve more free pucks.  The higher the strength skill indicates the less chance of getting hit and losing the puck.

 

Defensive Coverage - Defensive coverage in hockey describes the strategy a GM uses in a game and determines the play by the defenders.  Defenders need to have a skillset to support their teammate, covering the net, covering the weak side, staying between the puck carrier and the net, creating layers, mirroring positioning, and quick transitions.

 

Building the defensive coverage attribute increases a player’s skills with defense and skating.  Once again, an increase in defense means the player will block more shots and retrieve more free pucks.  Improving skating will make the probability of getting hit and losing the puck less.

 

Offensive Vision - Offensive vision in hockey is the ability to see the ice and the play, and to pick up on cues.  Offensive vision strategy, like defensive coverage, is controlled by the GM in the game.  Offensive vision skills include dynamic acuity, accommodating and convergence, depth perception, and hand-eye coordination.

 

Building the offensive vision attribute increases the player’s passing and scoring skills.  The passing skill is self explanatory.  The higher the skill, the more chance of a successful pass.  Oh wait, the scoring skill is pretty much self explanatory also!  The higher the skill, the more chance of scoring a goal on a normal shot or deflection.

 

Speed - Speed in hockey refers to how fast a player skates on the ice.  The average player skates between 10 and 25 KM/hr.  While elite players can achieve a speed of 40 KM/hr.  Because there isn’t much more to describe speed, I will give some examples of VHL player’s speed.  Starting with Rip Wheeler, the Vancouver Wolves wingman converting to defender, who somehow reaches a top speed of 8 KM/hr, when sober.  And then there is the Moscow Menace winger, David Rashford, who hits a top speed of 39 KM/hr.

 

Building the speed attribute increases the skating skill.  The higher the skating skill, the less chance of getting hit and losing the puck.

 

Slap Shot - The slap shot in hockey is a powerful, quick shot that is one of the hardest shots for a goalie to stop.  It is more than just a test of strength.  It is also a technical maneuver that depends on the player’s size, position on the ice, and the stick they are using.

 

Building the slap shot attribute increases the scoring and strength skills.  As described already, an increased scoring skill improves the chance of scoring on normal shots or deflections.  increasing the strength skill lowers the chances of getting hit, which lowers the chance of losing the puck.  And, depending on the GM, the increased strength skill improves the chance of winning a face off, to a lesser degree.

 

Wrist Shot - The wrist shot in hockey is the shot that uses the arm muscles to propel the puck forward from the concave side of the blade.  It is a fundamental skill that is used in all levels of play.  Only the elite; players like Wann Kerr, Owen Lazaro, Logan Ninefingers, Riley Martin, Catia Goncalves, Jimmy Jaks, and Daryl Dixon, have perfected the wrist shot in the VHL.

 

Building the wrist shot attribute increases the scoring skill and the penalty shot skill.  Once again, the increased scoring skill improves the chance of scoring a goal from a normal shot or deflection.  And, obviously, increasing the penalty shot skill improves the chances of scoring from a penalty shot.

 

Leadership - Leadership in hockey means the player puts the team first.  They do not focus on individual goals or their own stats, but they focus on team goals.  They focus on winning games and winning trophies, and making their teammates better.

 

Building the leadership attribute increases the player’s morale as well, and the higher the leader’s morale is, the higher the team morale will be.

 

Fighting - Fighting in hockey is a way for players to police the game, allowing players to protect their teammates and themselves, settle disputes, and deter opponents from foul play.  Referees allow two players to go at it because fighting is still within the rules.  Fighting is regarded as an entrenched, acceptable, and integral part of the game.  At the end of a fight, each team tap their sticks to applaud their player’s altercation, regardless of the outcome.  For example, although every fight Logan Ninefingers is involved in, he gets his ass handed to him, his teammates will tap the boards in appreciation for Ninefingers trying to spark the team to victory.

 

Building the fighting attribute does one thing.  It increases the chances of the player to be involved in a fight.

 

Poise - Poise is the ability to remain calm and in control of the game, especially when handling the puck and making plays.  Having poise with the puck is all about gaining and maintaining possession while being patient and creative under pressure.  Players with poise can slow the game down to manipulate it and control the game at a higher level.

 

Building the poise attribute increases leadership in the player as well as an increase in discipline.  An increased leadership, improves the player’s morale which also improves the team morale.  The increase in a player’s discipline will effect the likelihood the player gets penalized.

 

As you can see from above, all the attributes affect your player’s skills which determines their performance.  There are five skills in particular that are considered “part of the decision making formula.”  These skills are:  skating, passing, scoring, puck handling, and defense.  When the player has the puck, they need to decide to shoot, pass, or skate, and these five skills are used to determine the propensity for the player to do one of those three things.  The player’s skills are compared between each others for this formula.

 

Skating, and to a lesser degree puck handling, will determine if a player decides to skate with the puck.  Passing, and to a lesser degree defense, will determine if the player decides to pass the puck.  Scoring will determine if the player decides to shoot the puck.  When STHS uses this formula, it doesn’t matter if the skill is at a 50 or a 99; the chances are the same in the decision making process, depending on the five skills.  With that being said, how you want your player to respond is up to you.  You apply the TPE to your attributes as you see fit, or as your GM suggests, to enhance the skills that your player wants to be.

 

If you are new to the VHL, or have not seen this information before, I encourage you to look in the VHL handbook, section 7.2 “Where are rating used in STHS.”  You may find it interesting.  Now, obviously there are a whole lot of factors that determine the outcomes of the games, which is by far the most important part of the game.  Winning championships is the ultimate goal, and we all hope that the Vancouver Wolves win the championship next season.

 

I’m pretty sure there are VHLers who have figured STHS out and know the best builds for players to get the most out of the player.  The beauty of STHS is that there are so many factors that play a part in the game that we cannot determine the ultimate outcome of every game.  There is one thing that can be said though, it is the VHL curse.  The Victory Cup winner will never be the Continental Cup winner!!

 

2095 words

 

To claim 4 weeks

[VattghernCZ 1,049]

I have noooooo idea how the hell did an origin story of my manager alter ego inspire this, but I'm happy to help out anyway lol

[Thunder 1,195]

Claim 2/4

[Thunder 1,195]

Claim 3/4

[Thunder 1,195]

Claim 4/4