[dave1927p]

Originally Posted by JeffR

I want to eventually, but I think I'd rather handle it by varying the speed at which specific attributes improve, so the stuff that tends to develop later (Defensive Read being the obvious example) does that, and therefore crucial parts of a defenceman's game don't peak until a later age. That way, we can still get a 24-year-old Norris winner like P.K. Subban, who's doing it mainly on the strength of his offensive game, instead of artificially constraining defencemen across-the-board.

As for Goaltenders, the mental side of their game is a larger percentage of their total skill set, so that will tend to mean they tend to peak later. (And I forgot to mention in the development post that Goaltending development has some extra unpredictability built into it, so there should be some late bloomers that benefit from big upturns later in their career.)

goalies definitely take until the age of 26 or so and i'd say defenceman are that same age before they peak. 26 for a goalie is make it or break it.