HLM25 will give you more control over your player development! Introducing trainings, development focus and development trends!
Trainings
The staff of a team can train players to help them improve more quickly in specific aspects of their game. Here are the roles that can train players:
| Role | Training slots |
| Head of Player Development | 3 |
| Head Coach | 2 |
| Assistant Coach | 1 |
The Head of Player Development can train any players within the organization. Other roles can only train players in their respective leagues.
Here are the available types of training:
- Secondary Position: This training allows a player to add a secondary position.
- Player Type: This training allows a player to change their player type.
- Ratings: This training improves one of a player’s attributes by 1 (+1). These training options are only available for players who do not have an exact motivation.
A player’s training can be paused; however, progress will be lost if the player starts another training program.
Training is only available during the season and preseason.
The duration of training is calculated based on several factors:
- Player’s Age: The younger the player, the faster the training.
- Player’s Potential: The higher the potential, the faster the training.
- Difference Between Current Overall and Potential Overall: The greater the difference, the faster the training.
- Attribute Value: Training for a player with a shooting attribute of 90 will take much longer than for an attribute of 60.
- Number of Completed Trainings: The more training sessions completed, the slower the progress.
- Coach’s Attributes: These also affect the training duration.
Here’s an example of training duration for an 18-year-old defenseman with High Top 4 potential and an overall rating of 70:
- Secondary Position: 178 days (6 months).
- Player Type: 267 days (9 months).
- Rating: Between 110 and 135 days (4 months).
Development Focus
The development focus allows you to determine which aspect of their game a player should concentrate on. When a player focuses on a particular aspect, other areas of their game will improve more slowly than usual. There are several types of focus:
- Balanced: All of the player’s attributes will be improved equally.
- Offense: Offensive attributes will be prioritized, so the player’s defensive game will develop more slowly.
- Defense: Defensive attributes will be prioritized, so the player’s offensive game will develop more slowly.
- Shooting: The player focuses on improving their Shooting attribute, with other attributes developing more slowly.
- Passing: The player focuses on improving their Passing attribute, with other attributes developing more slowly.
- Offensive Awareness: The player focuses on improving their Offensive Awareness attribute, with other attributes developing more slowly.
- Defensive Awareness: The player focuses on improving their Defensive Awareness attribute, with other attributes developing more slowly.
- Shot Blocking: The player focuses on improving their Shot Blocking attribute, with other attributes developing more slowly.
Development Trend
The development trend indicates how optimal the development environment is for a player. This trend affects the speed at which a player develops. Here’s an example for each level:
| Icon | Trend | Result |
 | Outstanding | The player will improve much faster than expected this season. |
 | Excelling | The player will improve faster than expected this season. |
 | Normal | The player will improve as expected this season. |
 | Slow | The player will improve less than expected this season. The impact on their long-term development will be minimal. |
 | Very slow | The player will improve much less than expected this season. The impact on their long-term development will be noticeable. |
 | None | The player will not improve this season. The impact on their long-term development will be significant. |
The development environment is influenced by several factors:
- Quality of Competition: The caliber of the league in which the player competes. If a player is in a league that is too strong or too weak for them, it will negatively impact their development trend.
- Number of Games Played: If a player spends half the season on the bench, it will negatively impact their development trend.
- Number of Playoff Games Played: The more playoff games a player participates in, the more positively it affects their development trend.
- Number of Games Missed Due to Injury.
- Player’s Production.
Therefore, it is important to place young players in appropriate leagues to optimize their development.
Other development changes
- Potential drops will happen much later in player development and less frequently.
- Added an individual rating increase (+1, -1) next to the rating on the player profile.
- Goalies will develop until 28 years old (compared to 26 for skaters)
