Hero Rob Blake Review, or "Give me a team with 20 of this card - Yes, in goal too"

What's up guys? Last review of the day, I promise! It's a favorite of mine (in case you couldn't tell by the title), and it's Rob mothaf*ckin' Blake.

About me: I am currently a D1 mainstay, but I have yet to win and finally won a league title!! 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

Rob Blake Review, or “Why I Want a Team Of 20 Rob Blakes (Yes, In Goal too)”(2HH 2SB).

Recommended Position: LD

Pairing: Blake – MOV Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Skating – 9.3/10 Rob Blake is like a refrigerator with a rocket engine strapped to its back. And superglue on his stick. Blake is an absolute tank with fantastic speed to go along with it. With TW, SB, and CG active, he maxes out agility and balance, while clocking in 97 acceleration and 96 speed. He doesn’t have Bure-speed, but at 6’4” and 225 lbs with 99 balance, he doesn’t really need it. He has plenty of speed to burn all but the fastest skaters, and anyone that he can’t outrun is going to have a hell of a time bumping him off the puck. If Blake is the guy who picks up the puck in my d-zone, I’m as likely to just rip up the boards with him through traffic as I am to attempt a breakout pass. His ability to skate directly into people and come through them with the puck is unparalleled among players that I have used this year. There are 2 things that are keeping Blake from a perfect 10/10 in this category. The first is his top speed – if you’re going to max a ratings category from me, you have to basically be perfect in all areas (spoiler alert, see below!). Secondly, and this is my only real gripe about Blake’s skating, is that despite his maxed out agility rating, I feel like his big frame has trouble turning, even compared to other guys his size. You don’t want to let an attacker start to get around Blake, because he just doesn’t turn all that well. It’s fortunate that he’s so strong in a straight line when he has the puck, because he’s not going to be side-stepping defenders all that easily. All things considered, it’s a bit of a minor complaint in the face of his ridiculous strength and speed.

Shooting 9.2/10 Sweet Christ, this guy can shoot. D-D clappers are damn near automatic. With Bombers and 1T active, he boasts a ridiculous 98/99 accuracy/power rating on his slap shots, and it shows. I don’t always think that guys play to their shooting stats, but that is not the case with Blake – I don’t use the term ‘automatic’ lightly, but his 1T clappers are absolutely insane. You probably figured on that though – it’s Rob fucking Blake, right? Well, he has a very pleasant surprise up his sleeve – his wristers are solid. He rocks a 90/93 wrist shot line, but I think he plays above it. I’m not at all afraid to rip them short side over a netminder’s shoulder. His wrister isn’t the greatest in the game, not by a long shot, but if you get him inside the tops of the circles, he’s as deadly as most anyone. One of my favorite ways to utilize Blake is to use his stupid strong skating to charge out of my zone and into the neutral zone – as I get set to enter the offensive zone, everyone I play against expects me to dish to the winger on the boards at the blue line, and they’ll cheat that way with their defender. Then I’ll just lay on the hustle and charge right at the net. If I get inside the circles, I’ll let it fly short side, and he finds twine far more frequently than you would think he has any right to. Similarly, if I can catch a guy committing to stopping the D-D pass, I’ll just walk on in with Blake and let the quick wrister fly.

Puck Skills 9.4/10 A fantastic puck moving defenseman, he caps out hand eye and passing at 99, and runs puck control up to 94 with CG and 1T active. I don’t need to thread needles with him very often, but his breakout passes and D-D passes are as reliable as you could ask for. The 94 puck control is very helpful for when he’s bouncing would-be defenders off of him. He doesn’t deke very well, but hey, nobody’s perfect. He rates out at 88 in deking, but at 6’4”, he doesn’t have much trouble simply reaching around goalies on breakaways and on the rare occasion you find yourself coming out of the corner across the crease with him.

Defenses 10/10 A perfect 10/10. I have never awarded a perfect 10/10 for any player in any category; however, this card is everything I could ever hope for defensively, and then some. With HH and SB active, he maxes out defensive awareness and shot blocking. This is his bread and butter. On a card that is so ridiculously strong in so many categories, the shot blocking still manages to set itself well apart. He seems to always be in the right place to block a shot, and it is damn near impossible to get a shot by him. Again, see “refrigerator with a rocket engine strapped to its back”. He blocks an almost unfathomable amount of shots, and his AI is the best defensive AI that I have seen. He rocks out with a 94 in stick checking, but with his [nearly] 15 foot stick, his poke checks have an insane, deadly reach. You are always aware of when he is on the ice on defense – he makes his presence felt on every shift. He’s a monstrous, physical, shot blocking, turnover-creating force in the defensive zone. A perfect defender.

Physical 9.9/10 Honestly, I might just be a little hesitant to dole out another perfect 10/10, but you could make a very good case for it here. He’s the best hitter I’ve used all year: he hits better than Linden, he hits better than MS Lindros, and he hits better than Chara. He maxes out checking and strength, and clocks in with a 96 aggressiveness rating. Put it all together and add that 6’4” 225 lb frame in the mix, and you have a recipe for laying bodies. You get him anywhere near a puck carrier, and you can knock them off the puck. His AI uses the body very well too (product of that 96 aggro). Again, refrigerators and rockets – are you seeing a pattern here? (they’re up now by threeee!)

Intangibles 9.5/10 Another very strong category for Blake, as he buffs out with B, 1T, and HH to 98 Offensive Awareness and 99 Defensive Awareness, and it shows. I mentioned earlier that he is almost never out of position in the d zone, but the truth is he’s very unlikely to be out of position on offense too. He is always ready to rip the 1T, and I don’t find that he gets caught flatfooted or out of position on opposing breakout plays. Like every single card in this game, he does have an affinity for the “I’m going to skate in the opposite direction from what you want” thing, but otherwise, very solid in his positioning. I don’t find that he takes an abundance of penalties, but he’s liable to hack away at someone from time to time.

Overall Impressions 9.5/10 This is just a beast of a card. He gets it done in all three zones, with absolutely jaw-dropping defense and checking, and a laser beam of a clapper. He has so few flaws, and his strengths overshadow the flaws by such a ridiculous amount that it hardly matters. In the offensive zone, he and OEL just skip the puck back and forth between each other and rip that top cheese. Not much to say here that I haven’t already – Blake is the best defenseman I’ve used all year.

I love this card - how about you? Love it or hate it, I want to know! Questions, comments, concerns? lay 'em on me!