NHL 24 - Size or Speed?

Size or speed? This is a question that garners quite the debate in the Chel community. This debate will heighten in NHL 24, particularly with the gameplay innovations. In this article, we review some pros and cons of size and speed and determine which may be advantageous in NHL 24. 

Size has been a critical focus for many over the years. Think of players like Alex Ovechkin, Victor Hedman, and Leon Draisaitl. Those who preferred size over speed did so because of the additional strength many of these players possess, making it more difficult to knock them off the puck. On offense, this gives users extra confidence in holding on to the puck in the corners and attacking the net head-on. On defense, bigger bodies cover more areas on the ice, giving them more range to cover passing lanes, clog the gaps, and dish bone-crushing hits. 

On the flip side, bigger players tend to be slower. In the context of NHL 24 and the sustained pressure system, users on defense are encouraged to retrieve the puck from their opponent before Full Pressure is active. Not doing so zaps their energy and nerfs their attributes, making them even slower, sluggish, and ill-equipped. However, as noted earlier, closing gaps and dishing bigger hits helps overcome concerns regarding their speed to some extent. 

Speedy players are typically smaller, so they cover fewer areas of the ice, cannot dish big hits, and cannot knock opponents off the puck as easily. On offense, smaller, speedy players are easy to bump. However, they have traditionally been highly effective in counter-rush opportunities, dismantling opposing defensemen, and finding grade-A scoring chances. On defense, players like the NHL 24 Cover Athlete, Cale Makar, are particularly useful against speedy forwards, nullifying them of chances that might have initially seemed obvious to occur. For example, everyone who has played with Cale Makar on their team knows his ability to get back on defense, track down, and quickly knock forwards off the puck during rush opportunities.

So, the question remains: speed or size? The answer is not straightforward because it depends. One strategy people might use is to have big defensemen, a big center, and fast wingers. The idea is to get the best of both worlds. Combining the two could allow players to excel in all areas of the ice and provide additional strategy frameworks to work from in-game. Other methods might be to prioritize big defensemen but include a couple of speedy ones to get some benefits there, such as the ability to skate up with the puck and generate scoring chances quickly and any of the defensive advantages noted earlier. 

NHL 24 will be available worldwide on Oct. 6, 2023, on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, and Xbox One, with three days of early access, dual-entitlement, and more if fans pre-order the X-Factor Edition. Fans can pre-order the game now to get on the ice and experience these game-changing gameplay improvements early. For more information on EA SPORTS NHL 24, visit https://www.ea.com/games/nhl/nhl-24.

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