[Other]MOV Auston Matthews Review - The most untapped potential of the year? Llamaviews here to discuss.

What's up guys? Got a great review for you today - one of my favorites, and one that I'm looking forward to very, very much for future upgrades - Movember Matthews.

About me: I am currently a D1 mainstay, but I have yet to win and finally won a league title!! – I’m just good enough to consistently miss out on any sort of title packs. Therefore, I’m not bad at this, but I’m certainly not the be-all end-all of advice givers. My team currently runs 1T, CG, B, TW, and SB for team synergies, and WW, S, OJ, and HH for individual synergies.

I like to play a possession oriented attack game that focuses on cycling the puck down low and looking for the slot 1t or the point clapper. I also like to keep skaters fast enough that if I get a step or two on the defense that I have a real chance to score on the rush – you know, like literally everyone else’s playstyle.

That said, my reviews are biased towards my playstyle. Here we go, thanks for reading!

If you want to request a review, my teams are here – let me know, I’ll review any one of them! https://hutdb.net/17/builder/222588

https://hutdb.net/17/builder/157654

I am fully aware that I have spent too much $$$ on this game :)

MOVEMBER Auston Matthews, or “Just Keep Him Around Until TOTY” (1DD, 1FM, 1SB)

Recommended Position: C/RW

Alternate Position: RW/C

(he’s about equally good at either position)

Line: MOV Wheeler - MOV Matthews - MOV Kucherov or

MOV Scheifele - MOV Matthews - LGD Modano or

MOV Scheifele - WC Brad Richards - MOV Matthews

Skating 9.1/10 A pretty strong category for Matthews, he certainly has the wheels to get the job done. A base Acceleration and Speed rating of 92 buffs to 95 with TW on, and that makes him plenty fast as a winger. I find that 92 is satisfactory as well if you’re playing him as a center - he’s a reasonably strong skater with very usable speed. SB buffs the balance out to 93, which falls right in line with everything else about his skating - good, but not great; usable, but not mind-blowing. He has just enough size and balance to hack it as a center for me, which is where I really want to be able to play him, because left-handed wingers are a dime a dozen, but big, strong, possession centers are a little harder to come by. He’s tough to bump off the puck, but he’s no Rob Blake/Brendan Shanahan. The card face rates him out at a 91 skating though, which I wholeheartedly agree with (I swear that I rated him a 9.1/10 before I put together that EA basically did the same…)

Shooting 9.0/10 Another category for Matthews that is very serviceable in all divisions. With B and 1T active, he clocks in with a 93/99 accuracy/power rating on clappers, which translates to plenty of firepower for most situations. When you’re comparing him to truly elite snipers, he might not rip corners on the 1T quite as well as, say, MOV Jagr or Shanny, but in fairness, that’s kind of nitpicky, and as apt to be user error as the card’s accuracy rating. If you set him up right, he’ll tuck with the clapper. His wristers rate in with a 91/92 line, which is a bit of a noticeable step back from the aforementioned Shanahan rocket. I have a little trouble picking corners with him, even compared to guys with similar wrister ratings (MOV Steen, MOV Kucherov - who only has a 93/92 line). I can’t really explain it other than that I’m better with other wristers from similar stat lines. His wrister is by no means bad, but I try to compare players to their cohorts as well as the elites in the game, and to that, he falls a little short. With plenty of room for upgrades at only 89, however, this card will be in for a nice bump if/when he can put up some upgrades.

Puck Skills 9.3/10 Another rock solid category for him, yet once again, he is not a stand out all star when compared to the elite players in the game. 92 base passing buffs out to 97 with CG and 1T, which means that he knows how to thread a needle when need be. 92 base deking and puck control give him the skills to dodge defenders, but he’s not going to dangle his way through an entire team (at least not with me controlling him!). In fairness, with CG buffing his puck control to 94, he isn’t going to drop the puck on a deke. It’s also plenty good enough for him to use his reasonably big frame to push through defenders as a C and still come away with the puck in contested situations. 92 base hand eye is enough for him to get the slick tip ins, but not quite as crazy as someone like MS Lindros, who will literally defy all reason with his deflections. Again, a rock solid performer without being hyper flashy.

Defenses 7.8/10 Not exactly his strong suit here. Pretty much mediocre all around, he comes in with a defensive awareness of only 84, which doesn’t exactly ensure that his AI knows which end is up in the d-zone. I run him as a 3C, and kind of shelter that line from having to take d-zone draws in the first place, so it doesn’t matter too much to me, but he has average stick checking (87), and he’s weak in the faceoff circle for my liking (82). That’s a shame, because I really do prefer him at C, due to his other attributes and due to the fact that big bodied strong possession centers are kind of hard to come by. I actually think he plays above his shot blocking stat, but to be fair, that’s not difficult - he rates in at a paltry 72 base. He probably plays about 10 points above that though, just because he’s a fair size. I don’t have major complaints about his shot blocking, but then, I do what I can to keep him out of my d-zone too.

Physical 8.6/10 I’m kind of torn in this category, because on the one hand, he is big and strong enough, coupled with good puck control, to maintain possession through traffic and contact, but on the other hand, he doesn’t hit all that well. He’s just strong enough to be usable at C (89), but his 82 checking leaves a lot to be desired. Still, at 6’2”, 196 lbs, and with his speed, he can line ‘em up and lay ‘em out if you give him the chance. Don’t expect much out of his AI hits though, he doesn’t have much going on in the aggression department. He’s a fair sight better with the stick check than the body check.

Intangibles 8.5/10 This is an area that I’m waiting on some upgrades for. His offensive and defensive awareness (87 and 84 base, respectively) are both on the low side for me, and even with his offensive awareness buffed out to 93 with B and 1T, he isn’t always facing the right way to rip a shot, and doesn’t always take the best lines to the loose puck in the o-zone. Defensively, he is not a huge liability, but like most players, you’re better off controlling him than letting the AI do its thing.

Overall Impressions 8.9/10 This is a fantastic card that is 3 upgrades shy of being counted among the best cards in the game. At 89 overall, he’s just a little incomplete, in that he is perfectly acceptable in most categories, and just a little weak in defense and checking. If he gets 3 upgrades to 92 overall, his stick checking will come up to 90, his faceoffs to 85, and his hitting to 85 as well, which will put him right up there with very good forwards. 3 upgrades would also vault his offensive stats straight into the elite category for shooting, puck handling, and skating. I’m hanging on to this card, because even if he misses TOTY, he should be in for another upgrade or two with the way he plays. I can’t wait for this card to hit 92 +. For now, however, his job has been taken by MOV Pavelski.

Agree with me? Think I'm full of shit? Questions, comments, concerns? Let's hear 'em!