Hey NHL Gamers,

We hope you are enjoying the NHL 18 Beta as much as we are! If you haven't had the chance yet, you should check out the new NHL 18 trailer, titled NHL Threes Official Gameplay Trailer.

You can check out the new trailer below:

Campaigns, playable mascots, teams other than NHL teams... these all sound like good things for this mode in my opinion, but what do you think? Are you looking forward to getting on the ice with one of the mascots, or are you sticking to the other game modes, and if so, which one(s)? Let us know in the comments below!

Until next time Gamers!

Hey NHL Gamers,

Many of us were hoping for it, most of us were certainly speculating about it - scratch your head no more!

EA SPORTS has confirmed that the NHL 18 Beta is in fact now open for everyone - no beta code necessary. Just jump into the Playstation or Xbox store and you should be able to locate the beta for download. Chances are, you've already been enjoying the beta for a week. In that case, just continue enjoying - no further action necessary!

As you can see from the below image we snagged from their Instagram post, the beta will now end on the 8th of August.

Without further ado, pick up those controllers and see you on the ice!

On behalf of the NHLGamer staff,

Hey NHL Gamers, we hope you are enjoying the NHL 18 Beta to the fullest by now! If not, be sure to check out our Beta Code Giveaway below:

As you probably know, a beta of a game is more than just a demo for the consumers. Sure, it can be used as a marketing tool to get people excited for a game and I believe in the case of the NHL series it doubles as a demo, but it also usually serves a bigger purpose, such as:

• Getting general feedback from the customers before the game release.
• Introducing the beta to a bigger amount of people will certainly bring out some technical issues that hasn't been noted before and it can then be fixed before putting the game on disc (or at the very latest in the form of a day one patch).
• Testing the online server capabilities.
• Collecting data about customer behavior within the game for multiple purposes.

We here at NHLGamer are playing the NHL 18 beta at least as much as the next guy and are very passionate about discussing our findings as well. We created a discussion thread for this purpose and we will also be sharing our key points with EA SPORTS as well (we're also pretty sure they are lurking around the forums this time a year to read about what us gamers have to say ). So please, join us in the discussion and vote on our poll by going to this forum thread:

EA is also looking for direct feedback from all us, in the form of "General discussion and feedback", "Technical issues" and "Bug reporting". You can read more and participate in their official discussion by following this link.

That's all for now folks, I'll let you get back to your beta gaming! 

On behalf of the NHLGamer staff,

Hello NHL Gamers!

Thanks to EA SPORTS and @gzell60 we've managed to secure a hefty amount of codes for the NHL18 Beta on PS4 and XB1. Codes for Playstation 4 are available only for European PSN accounts, codes for Xbox have no restricitions. Before going further, first we'd like to take care of our community members. In order to recieve a code, please visit this thread and use the provided template to complete your request:

A quick reminder - we're streaming the NHL18 Beta almost every evening on our Twitch channel - https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch

OxtreeLAT // NHLGamer.com

Hey NHL gamers,

We hope you are already enjoying the NHL 18 Beta! Our staff is committed to streaming the beta almost non-stop, so why don't you stop by for a chat.

Our first stream is already underway and the first host is @vSilenttio, who is playing with his team SIKA. He is talking to his team in Finnish, so someone please go and tell him "English please".

Other confirmed hosts include @OxtreeLAT, @gzell60 and @Dominointi.

Without further adieu, please jump in:

https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch

On behalf of the NHLGamer staff,

Hey NHL Gamers!

As of this minute, EA SPORTS are sending out codes to select people who signed up for the NHL 18 beta!

Keep an eye on your inbox and make sure to check your spam folder as well. The e-mail also contains a second code you can pass on to a friend in case he was not selected to be part of the beta test.

See you on the ice!

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

A new game calls for new features and one of the announced additions to NHL 18 is that of HUT ROOKIES. In accordance with the direction EA has decided to go - the special focus on the young stars of today in both marketing and developement – these player cards puts the spotlight on the brightest shining youngsters in each of the 31(!) NHL teams. Having taking some liberties with the term ”Rookies”, the players in this set of special cards range from 3+ years pros like Matt Dumba, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alexander Barkov, to players like Patrik Laine, Jimmy Vesey and Zack Werenski who made their debut last year.

Having a set of cards like this, with a chosen player for every team is nothing new in this game mode that everybody loves to hate, but still play anyway. Last year it was called HUT Heroes and revolved around the legends of yesterday. What is different this time around though is the availability of the cards and the ratings they got. While HUT Heroes could only be unlocked through collecting an entire team of cards (players, jerseys, arena etc.), HUT Rookies seems to be dealt out for free when first starting your team. The team you choose as your favorite at the start of the game – the young star of that team will be added to your roster. Anyone thinking about choosing Toronto just to get that shiny special edition Austen Matthews to dangle around your opponents with? Not so fast!

While HUT Heroes pushed the limits on how good a rating could reach (all of the cards boasted at least 93+) – these cards seems to be nerfed down versions of the players in question, since all of the cards have a rating of 85 (with player specific variations on the sub categories). With HUT ROOKIES including players like Draisaitl, Laine and Calvin Pickard – it is not hard to assume that the base cards of said players have different values (reasonable thinking places Draisaitl and Laine with a way higher overall than Calvin Pickard). For anyone familiar with the game mode a 85 overall does not impress – players of that calibre goes for 500-1000 coins on the open market, and usually leaves the line up after less than 50 games. That being said, EA recently announced that they are doing a big overhaul on the ratings system – meaning that 85 overall could have a bigger impact on your lineup than previous years. This would be a thankful change from 17 where the amount of 99 rated cards reached inflation levels making everything below 90 less than useless.

Only time will tell how big of an impact this new feature will have on the HUT gameplay – but we can sure agree that them cards are lookin’ shiney!

Which card will you be snagging up? Let us know in the comments!

Follow this link for a list of all of the players: https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2017/nhl-18-hut-rookies 

Hey NHL Gamers,

during the NHL Awards and the Expansion Draft last night, EA SPORTS dropped the highly anticipated first news for NHL 18! And because we know you guys love polished, exclusive content, here is our full breakdown of everything we know so far.

+++ 1. TRAILER +++

We recommend you take a look at the new official gameplay trailer first, as it will be one of the main sources for the remaining deep dive. Go check it out!

NHLGamer thinks: "Likely one of the best EA SPORTS NHL trailers in recent history. 93 seconds packed with new moves, new game modes and lots of hype. Well done!"

+++ 2. GAMEPLAY FEATURES+++

NHL 18 is all about creativity, that's why EA SPORTS added a lot of new deking mechanics for attackers to the game. Between-the-leg shots, one-handed dekes, back-handed toe-drags, heel drags, puck flips and and the ability to link moves together based on moment-to-moment decisions and reaction time allow you to show your skills like never before.

For defenders, NHL 18 introduces an all-new Defensive Skill Stick with features like poke check targeting, extended pokes and controlled stick sweeps to cover zones and passing lanes to counter attack the best players on the planet.

NHLGamer thinks: "All the new dekes and especially the new Defensive Skill Stick will step up the game to a whole different level. According to a lot of players, NHL 17 already offered the broadest and most advanced gameplay feature set of all EA SPORTS titles so far, and this is an addition that everyone has been asking and waiting for a long time. Thanks for listenting to your fans!"

+++ 3. EA SPORTS NHL THREES +++

EA SPORTS NHL THREES delivers an all-new 3-on-3 hockey experience with bigger hits, faster action and more open-ice to create big plays, beautiful dangles and more goals. It is a mode inspired by fun, pick-up-and-play arcade sports games where you can play any way you want to, online or offline, co-op or competitive.

EA SPORTS NHL THREES also features a complete single-play campaign that allows you to compete against different teams and leagues in a circuit-style tourney. Get ready to unlock objective-based rewards like new teammates, jerseys, logos and other surprises along the way!

No offsides and no icing means anything goes and the fun does not slow down. Penalties even send you straight to center-ice for a penalty shot to score that crucial goal.

In EA SPORTS NHL THREES, you determine the rules. Choose how many periods you play or what goal limit determines the winner. Gotta win by two? Your choice as well!

The new EA SPORTS NHL THREES commentator will deliver more humor and fun to add to the unique energy and excitement of the fast 3-on-3 action.

Brand new arenas, exclusive to the EA SPORTS NHL THREES will deliver more color, more special effects and completely unique on-ice designs that keep the games as fresh and exciting as the gameplay.

EA SPORTS NHL THREES can be played online in Versus and Team Play mode to jump into 3-on-3 hockey on a team with your friends, facing three other players in a full six-player competitive online game.

NHLGamer thinks: "Spectacular! EA SPORTS NHL THREES looks like an extremely well done remake of the original 3 on 3 NHL Arcade which was released on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2009. Featuring a smaller rink, no offsides and no icing, this could turn out to be a go-to game mode for competitive players to fine tune their deking skills. May even be worth a #3on3ECL on it's own?"

+++ 4. MORE FEATURES +++

The new Creative A.I. will now make use of all the creative deking and passing tools that human players do, which will allow for smarter plays up and down the ice. By using off-the-boards bank passing, lead passing and improved positioning, the AI will be able to create better breakout opportunities. And with the new Defensive Skill Stick, they will be your effective companion in the defensive zone.

EA SPORTS Hockey League will now support full 3-on-3 matches, opening up the ice to get creative, pull off big plays, and showcasing true #skillhockey with all the new moves.

The all-new Hockey Training Camp will help you become successful immediately by giving you the opportunity to watch real-life videos from hockey professionals that teach you the right moves for the right moments. Training sessions and challenges will make you a truly competitive player.

A new Expansion Draft feature added to Franchise Mode allows you to create and draft a 32nd NHL team to shake up the league. Select the best players from across the league, or if you're playing as an existing franchise, protect your current team roster by setting your own Protected Player List. The hometown for your 32nd expansion team can be selected from cities all across North America and even in Europe - from Stockholm to Helsinki to Berlin to St. Petersburg. For the first time ever, you can now design your very own custom mascot in addition to the arena, the jerseys and the franchise logo.

Vegas Golden Knights will be added to the game, including authentic rosters, uniforms, logo and the brand new T-Mobile Arena, seen in the video above.

And if you need a helping hand or just want to show off your roster, you can now invite friends to join you in more modes, including Hockey Ultimate Team, Online Versus and EA SPORTS NHL THREES.

NHLGamer thinks: "We are looking forward to the new Creative A.I., which will hopefully fix one of, if not the greatest weakness in NHL 17. The addition of 3-on-3 games to EA SPORTS Hockey League sounds interesting. We feel like it's another approach to get people more invested to the non-AI games found in full 6 vs. 6 matches so far, and it could potentially increase the user base in the long run. One thing we are not sure about: Aside of the THREES arenas, customization options and commentary - what else will be different compared to 3-on-3 EASHL?"

+++ 5. COVER +++

This year's cover athlete is Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

NHLGamer thinks: "We were expecting a Vegas Golden Knights player to be honest. Nevertheless, Connor McDavid looks hot!"

+++ 6. EDITIONS +++

Just like last year, NHL will come in three different editions: Regular Edition, Young Stars Edition, Young Stars Deluxe Edition.

The Young Stars Deluxe Edition will release on September 12 worldwide (digital only), and include these bonuses:

• 3 days early access
• 40 Gold Plus Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team (2 per week for a total of 20 weeks)
• Connor McDavid Rookie HUT player object
• Connor McDavid adidas HUT jersey
• Connor McDavid EASHL celebration
• 1 Rookie HUT player object of your favourite NHL team
• Returning user bonus: If you owned NHL 15, NHL 16 or NHL 17, you will receive a special jersey for Hockey Ultimate Team resembling your previously owned titles.

The Young Stars Deluxe Edition will be available at 99.99$/99.99€. Preorder via the NHL 16 or NHL 17 main menu to receive a 10% discount (90$/90€)!

The Young Stars Edition will release on September 12 worldwide (digital only), and include these bonuses:

• 3 days early access
• 20 Gold Plus Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team (1 per week for a total of 20 weeks)
• Connor McDavid Rookie HUT player object
• Connor McDavid adidas HUT jersey
• Connor McDavid EASHL celebration
• 1 Rookie HUT player object of your favourite NHL team
• Returning user bonus: If you owned NHL 15, NHL 16 or NHL 17, you will receive a special jersey for Hockey Ultimate Team resembling your previously owned titles.

The Young Stars Edition will be available at 79.99$/89.99€.

The Regular Edition will release on September 15 worldwide (digital and retail), and include these bonuses:

• 5 Gold Plus Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team (1 per week for a total of 5 weeks)
• Returning user bonus: If you owned NHL 15, NHL 16 or NHL 17, you will receive a special jersey for Hockey Ultimate Team resembling your previously owned titles.

The Regular Edition will be available at 59.99$/69.99€.

NHLGamer thinks: "The simultaneous release in the US and in Europe is much appreciated! Unfortunately, if you are from Europe and opting for anything else than the Young Stars Deluxe Edition, you will have to pay a premium. The 10% discount on the fully packed edition on the other hand seems to be aimed at hardcore gamers, and offers good value for its price."

+++ 8. BETA +++

The NHL 18 Beta will take place from July 25th to August 2nd and gives you the opportunity to take an exclusive look at the new gameplay, EA SPORTS Hockey League, EA SPORTS NHL THREES and Online Versus!

To sign up, click here.

NHLGamer thinks: "Everyone was looking forward to the beta, and we are happy EA SPORTS decided to continue it this year as well. We will see you on the ice on July 25th!"

+++ 9. TRAILER BREAKDOWN: YER' WANT SOME GIFS? +++

At NHLGamer, we are always saving the best till last. Here's a collection of some of the new moves, features and other stuff:

How do you like all of today's news? What do you think about #3on3ECL? Tell us in the comments below!

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Hey NHL Gamers!

EA SPORTS just released their first footage of the upcoming NHL 18, expected to launch in September this year:

While the teaser does not reveal a lot, it does hint at a few new things we were able to make out in our teaser trailer breakdown:

1) Dedication to Arcade style gameplay

"When you grow up playing hockey, they teach you a lot of things: Get the puck deep, finish your checks, make the simple play. But then again... where's the fun in that?"

Of course, there is a lot of speculation behind that, but it seems like EA SPORTS are not trying to deliver on a hockey simulation. Instead, they are rather aiming to create an action-packed game that allows for fun gameplay. It's what EA SPORTS games are all about, aren't they?

2) One-handed dekes making a comeback

It looks like one-handed dekes will make a comeback to this year's edition of NHL, after being absent since NHL 15 on PS3 and Xbox 360. We capture the move in the .gif below:

3) New behind-the-back dekes

The teaser trailer hints at even more dekes making their way into NHL 18, this time what seem to be a variation of "behind-the-back" dekes. Mitchell Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs uses one of these moves in the breakaway situation against Ottawa's Craig Anderson. Just like above, we captured it in another .gif:

4) No Frostbite engine?

This is speculation on our part, but it looks like NHL 18 will build on the current NHL 17 engine and not make a move to DICE's Frostbite engine, famously used in Battlefield games for years and also adapted by FIFA 17 and Madden NFL 18. Maybe next year?

Stay tuned for the NHL Awards taking place in Las Vegas on June 21st, where we will get to see the NHL 18 cover athlete, the first official gameplay trailer and more information about features, the actual release date and more!

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Hey NHL Gamers,

as part of Update 3.0, EA SPORTS release a new HUT game mode called "Competitive Seasons". The first season starts today and ends on January 31st. We tried to summarize what this game mode is about and how it works.

The first season is called the "All-Star Season" and will consist of a total of 4 rounds. To appear in the stats and earn points for each round, you are required to play at least 3 games.

Each round allows you to earn rewards such as: Packs, Special Packs and Coins. Upon participating in all of the 4 rounds, you will also be able to earn season rewards, which are of higher value than round rewards.

Rewards will be given out according to your rank in each of the rounds and at the end of the season - for the All-Star Season which is starting today, this is the classification:

Round 1 Rewards (January 19th-21st):

Rank 1: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 10,000 Coins. 

Rank 2: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 5,000 Coins. 

Rank 3: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 2,500 Coins. 

Rank 4-10: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 1,500 Coins. 

Rank 11-20: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 1,000 Coins. 

Rank 21-50: All Star Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 750 Coins. 

Rank 51-100: All Star Pack + 1250 Coins. 

Rank 101-250: Gold Pack + 1000 Coins. 

Rank 251-500: 750 Coins

Rank 501+: 500 Coins

Round 2 Rewards (January 22nd-24th):

Rank 1: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 15,000 Coins. 

Rank 2: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 7,500 Coins. 

Rank 3: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 5,000 Coins. 

Rank 4-10: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 2,500 Coins. 

Rank 11-20: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 1,500 Coins. 

Rank 21-50: All Star Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 1,000 Coins. 

Rank 51-100: All Star Pack + 1,500 Coins. 

Rank 101-250: Gold Pack + 1,250 Coins. 

Rank 251-500: 1000 Coins

Rank 501+: 750 Coins

Round 3 Rewards (January 25th-27th):

Rank 1: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 20,000 Coins. 

Rank 2: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 10,000 Coins. 

Rank 3: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 7,500 Coins. 

Rank 4-10: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 5,000 Coins. 

Rank 11-20: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 2,500 Coins. 

Rank 21-50: All Star Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 1,500 Coins. 

Rank 51-100: All Star Pack + 3,000 Coins. 

Rank 101-250: Gold Pack + 1,500 Coins. 

Rank 251-500: 1250 Coins

Rank 501+: 1000 Coins

Round 4 Rewards (January 28th-30th):

Rank 1: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 25,000 Coins. 

Rank 2: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 15,000 Coins. 

Rank 3: Elite Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 10,000 Coins. 

Rank 4-10: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 7,500 Coins. 

Rank 11-20: Star Talent Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 5,000 Coins. 

Rank 21-50: All Star Pack + Gold Plus Pack + 3,000 Coins. 

Rank 51-100: All Star Pack + 5,000 Coins. 

Rank 101-250: Gold Pack + 2,000 Coins. 

Rank 251-500: 1500 Coins

Rank 501+: 1250 Coins

Season Rewards:

Rank 1: Ultimate Pack + 50,000 Coins.   

Rank 2: Jumbo Rare Player Pack + 30,000 Coins.   

Rank 3: Jumbo Rare Player Pack + 15,000 Coins. 

Rank 4-10: Rare Player Pack + 10,000 Coins. 

Rank 11-20: Ultra Pack + 7,500 Coins. 

Rank 21-50: 3 Gold Plus Packs + 5,000 Coins.

Rank 51-100: 3 Gold Plus Packs. 

Rank 101-250: 2 Gold Plus Packs. 

Rank 251-500: Gold Plus Pack. 

Rank 501+: Gold Pack.

Participation alone will already net you a neat 3000 coins and a Gold Pack at the end of the season, while the Season Winner will receive rare Elite Talent Packs, Gold Packs, a Ultimate Pack and plenty of coins.

Are you going to jump in? Tell us in the comments below!

UPDATE: NHL 17 Version 1.05 is now live! (Download size: 367 MB on PS4)

Hey NHL Gamers!

Today, EA SPORTS will be applying a couple of updates to NHL 17 in the form of game update 3.0 and tuner update 1.02. Below you can find the official notes, some of the more interesting ones highlighted in cursive.

HOCKEY ULTIMATE TEAM:

Hockey Ultimate Team™ - Competitive Seasons Competitive Seasons is a new game mode which allows players to compete in a “monthly” season format to earn in-game rewards. Each monthly season consists of rounds. Complete three games to earn round points which determine your ranking on the Round Leaderboards. At the end of each round, you will earn a reward as well as Season Points that count towards your season total. Finish as high as you can in each round to accumulate as many season points as possible to earn a larger reward at the end of the season. *NOTE: Rounds and Season durations are subject to change.

GAMEPLAY (Tuner 1.02):

ALL MODES

Player Updates:

• Tuned down puck carrier’s reaction speed to reacquire a puck after losing it.

User Goalie Updates:

• Increased ability to make saves in tight to their body and decreased ability when reaching to reward better puck tracking and cutting off angles.

• Increased ability to make saves on cross grain shots by tuning movement so goalies will stay square even if the user is requesting to move away from the shot direction.

• Increase save success on blocking saves.

• Decreased the impact goalie movement to help promote puck tracking so that good angles and positioning mean the most for a goalie’s ability to make a save.

• Decreased screen effect slightly.

• Increased goalie speed for post-to-post movement.

• Increased AI goalie’s awareness for a possible shot off a faceoff.

• Increased ability to react after a save to increase their chance of getting back in position and making rebound saves.

• Rolled back change from previous patch for the goalie occasionally getting stuck in butterfly as it was causing a worse knock on issue.

EASHL MODE ONLY

EASHL Player Class Updates:

Goalies

• Increased all goalie classes height to 6’2”.

• Increased speed and agility of all goalies and added variance with Standup being the highest and Butterfly being the lowest.

• Increased Hybrid goalie’s recover rating so that he is now faster recovering than the Butterfly goalie.

• Increased rebound control of all classes. Standup goalie’s will still have the lowest rating while Butterfly goalies will have the highest.

• Increased poke check ability for all classes. Hybrid has the best poke check rating of the three classes and Butterfly has the lowest.

• Hybrid goalie now has the best stick side and paddle down rating of the three classes.

• Increased vision for all classes. Butterfly is still the lowest and Standup is still the highest.

• Increased 5-hole rating for both the Hybrid and Butterfly classes to separate them from the Standup goalie.

• Increased rebound control for the AI goalie class.

Players

• Lowered hand-eye ratings for all classes and rebalanced the category to see more realistic deflections and bat-ins across the different player classes.

• Lowered shooting attributes of Grinder, Power Forward and Enforcer Forward.

• Lowered passing attribute for the Grinder.

• Increased balance of the Two Way Forward and Hitting Sniper class.

• Increased the ability for defensive builds to intercept passes but still kept the same variance in abilities relative to each of the classes.

• Increased the minimum rating a player needs to get a saucer lift on a regular pass. Now Playmaker, Jumbo Playmaker and Puck Moving D will be the only players with the advantage.

• Raised discipline of the Two Way Dangler.

• Tuned down puck carrier’s reaction speed to reacquire a puck after losing it.

PRESENTATION:

The following uniforms have been added:

• Added Toronto Maple Leafs Centennial Uniform.

• Added Detroit Red Wings Centennial Uniform.

• Added Chicago Blackhawks Winter Classic Uniform.

• Added St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Uniform.

• Added Philadelphia Flyers Stadium Series Uniform.

• Added Pittsburgh Penguins Stadium Series Uniform.

• Added Frolunda Indians Home and Away Uniforms.

• Added Linkoping HC Home and Away Uniforms.

• Added Baie-Comeau Drakkar 3rd Uniforms.

The following arenas have been updated:

• Pittsburgh Penguins Arena now named PPG Paints Arena.

The following items have been updated:

• Fixed CCM Extreme Flex Pro 3 Blocker.

• Fixed Regina Pats Medallion to correct logo.

• Fixed Buffalo Key Bank Arena scoreboard signage.

• Fixed camera clipping issue in Semi-Pro arena in EASHL.

EASHL:

• Region and Skill-Based Matchmaking restrictions were removed from Private PIN Group Matchmaking. • Anti-griefing logic was removed from Private PIN Group Matchmaking.

FRANCHISE:

• Fixed an issue where player fighting bias was being set to 0 when the league year changed from year 1 to 2.

BE A PRO:

• Fixed an issue where player fighting bias was being set to 0 when the league year changed from year 1 to 2.

Exciting news NHL Gamers,

EA Sports has released, what they describe as Patch 2.0 or Content Update #2 for NHL 17. It includes another impressive list of fixes for this year's title. Especially goalies should be excited, as it seem like quite an extensive amount of the fixes has been put into issues that revolve around goaltending. Be sure to leave your comments about your experiences in the comments for us non-goalies to read!

You will be happy to read that the issue with the ceiling ornaments blocking the view in some camera angles. One of the more surprising additions is the addition of 11 new goal celebrations, which we're sure will bring some more variety into the highlight reels.

For the full list of changes in the patch, please see below:

Quote

GAMEPLAY:
• Added 11 new goal celebrations to the creation zone.
• Fixed an issue where a user goalie would get stuck after getting hit while in butterfly.
• Fixed an issue where after an icing the puck it would sometimes cause human players to sit on the bench for the next play.
• Fixed some issues where a goalie would get stuck in a post lean away from the post.
• Added new post lean saves for more coverage.
• Improved goalie post lean logic so goaltenders to try and make saves that keep them sealed on the post to prevent short side goals.
• Fixed an issue where some signature stances caused the goalie’s glove hand to push back behind their pad when holding the puck idle on their stick.
• Fixed issues with shot animations when in close to the net.
• Updated User goalie save logic to help them move into a save when they are requesting to push/move first.
• Added functionality to allow goalies to rotate more when coming off the post from VH to butterfly to make them more square to the puck.
• Updates to User goalie save logic on wraparounds based on requested motion.
• Updates to User goalie save delay when in good position to make a blocking save.
• Fixed an issue where a goalie would sometimes drop to butterfly when in possession of the puck on a User requested pass attempt.
• Improved the reliability of one timers by adding quicker snapshots for situations where there isn't enough time to take a full slapshot.
• Fixed an issue where precision skating would sometimes conflict with a loose puck deke attempt at a slow speed. Now if you have your stick out a deking position it prioritizes the deke request.
• Updated goalie logic so that goalies will hold their near post on pass attempts near the net to prevent easy short side goals.
• Updated goalie logic for softer shots on net so that they look to pick it up rather than make a save.
• Various crash fixes.
• General stability updates across all modes.


PRESENTATION:

The following uniforms have been added:

NHL
• Los Angeles Kings Alternate Uniform
• Philadelphia Flyers Alternate Uniform
• Winnipeg Jets Heritage Classic Uniform

AHL
• Springfield Thunderbirds Home and Away Uniforms
• Tucson Roadrunners Home and Away Uniforms

CHL
• Calgary Hitmen Home and Away Uniforms
• Charlottetown Islanders Home and Away Uniforms
• Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Alternate Uniform
• Drummondville Voltigeurs Home and Away Uniforms
• Everett Silvertips Home and Away Uniforms
• Kingston Frontenacs Alternate Uniform
• Lethbridge Hurricanes Home and Away Uniforms
• Swift Current Broncos Alternate Uniform

Liiga
• Oulun Kärpät Home and Away Uniforms
• Rauman Lukko Home and Away Uniforms
• Tampereen Tappara Home and Away Uniforms
• Tampereen Ilves Home and Away Uniforms

SHL
• Malmo Redhawks Alternate Uniform
• HV71 Home and Away Uniforms
• Farjestad BK Home and Away Uniforms
• Djurgården IF Home and Away Uniforms
• Karlskrona HK Home and Away Uniforms

ECHL
• South Carolina Stingrays Alternate Uniform

The following equipment has been added:
• Bauer Vapor 1X OD1N
• Vaughn V7 XF Pro Carbon
• Brian’s G-NETIK III

EASHL:
• Added new jersey logos to customize for your club.
• Added 11 new goal celebrations for your Pro.
• Added a new Drop-in Feature where a group of users can play a private unranked game through the Drop-in Dressing Room lobby:
• Dressing Room Leaders can enter a 4-6 digit private matchmaking ID to matchup privately against another group using the same ID
• Both groups must be matchmaking at the same time with the exact same ID, which means this is meant for larger coordinated games or practice sessions.
• Added the ability to select and view the Player Summary screen from the disconnect and end of game pause menus.
• Fixed issues where Banners, Entry Props, and Flags were clipping through certain cameras in EASHL stadiums.
• Fixed an issue where after icing the puck while on a 4on4 as their penalty is expiring, users would have their players on the bench on the next play.
• Added a new PS4 Feature called Play Together which is used to quickly get a group of friends playing in a Drop-In Group Matchmaking session:
• Allows the host players to invite up to 6 players directly from the Party screen to a new game session
• Go to [Party] > [Play Together] > [Start Game] to create a new session
• The host will be brought to a Drop-In dressing room and the game will automatically send invites to all players the host selected,
• Allows players to join a new game session through invitation or directly from the Party screen:
• Open the invitation sent from the host and select [Join]
• Or go to [Party] > [Play Together] and select one of the Current Game Sessions to join


HUT:

• Improved the Quick Swap functionality in the Edit Lineup screen for quicker line management and updated animations. Quick Swaps can now be performed without transitioning to a separate screen.
• The Synergy Details screen is now visible in the Collection search results when performing player substitutions to further enhance the team building mechanic.
• The highlight animation has been updated in all HUT screens to improve visibility.
• Added new Jersey items to some of the team collections.

FRANCHISE:

• Fixed an issue where players who have a playable injury and are scratched lose morale.
• Note: if a player is fully healed and is scratched they will lose morale.
• Fixed issue where no captains were being assigned in Franchise Mode.
• Fixed multiple arena capacities.
• Fixed multiple teams merchandise images in the set prices screen.
• Improved overall stability within the mode.

BE A PRO:
• Fixed issue where a User would keep getting the doctor's approval to play popup each time they returned to the bench.
• Fixed issue where no captains were being assigned in Be a Pro.
• Improved overall stability within the mode.





Tuner 1.01 (October 28, 2016):
- Increased User goalie precision movement speed
- Increased goalies ability to control rebounds
- Tuned AI passing decision weights in EASHL so that it decreases the chance they will consider passing near/towards their own net
- Tuned deflection accuracy and added more weight to player ratings in the final result
- Tuned how much impact the re-direct angle on deflections has on puck speed so that more speed is lost the more extreme the deflection.
- Tuned down puck carriers reaction speed to reacquire a puck after losing it and increased the weight on player ratings.

Sources: 

https://forums.ea.com/en/nhl/discussion/81396/nhl-17-patch-tuner-notes-updated-nov-21-2016

https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2016/content-update-2-notes

https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2016/content-update-2

Exciting news NHL Gamers! The release of NHL 17 is less than a week away and some of us are of course already enjoying the 10 hour trial on the Xbox One with EA Access. One might think EA is relaxing at this stage, but we're happy to tell you that there is a major update coming "very soon" - just in time for the release.

@EASportsNHL tweeted earlier today:

Our first #NHL17 update is coming soon! Here's the list of content we are adding: https://t.co/Wy486ek2wZ

— #NHL17 (@EASPORTSNHL) September 8, 2016

The list of improvements is impressive - in fact, it's the longest one I can remember for a patch for an NHL-game. Of course it's very specific and goes into detail about certain team specific textures, but nevertheless EA Sports seems to be working hard to prove that they do in fact care about this title.

There is an overwhelming amount of improvements listed, but one of our favourites is one that our very own community has been asking for and is something that @gzell60 discussed with producer Clement Kwong during our interview at Gamescom a few weeks ago:

• Allow for a human controlled goalies to play as the extra attacker in EASHL games.

There it is! This will certainly make pulling the goalie - both in a delayed penalty situation, and in the last minute - a more valuable asset in the EASHL and the NHL Gamer ECL-leagues. It's time for the goalies to do some shooting practice too. 

Another added feature that I find really interesting and welcome is the ability to adjust the amount of help you get with your passing online:

• Added “Online Pass Assist Percentage” slider to the controls screen.

According to the description, the assist is at 100% by default, but you can turn it completely off. This is comparable with the manual passing you can find in the FIFA-series. It may finally be time to stop yelling "That's not where I aimed my pass!" - ok, maybe I did.

You can find the full and impressive list of updates below. Please let us know which improvements are the most pleasing to your eye in the comments section below!

Quote

SEPT 8 - PATCH 

GAMEPLAY: 

GOALIES 

• Fixes to conditions around goalie interference for more accurate penalty calling. 
• Allow for a human controlled goalies to play as the extra attacker in EASHL games. 
• Added better ability for user goalies to resolve a save attempts on deflections. 
• Add functionality for users to press the cover puck button when controlling the goalie with possession of the puck on his stick or in his glove. 
• Updates to performance when playing from the new goalie Fixed Camera. 
• Updates to human goalie save logic so that goalie won’t go into desperation saves unless they are already moving or really need to stretch out to make the save. This will improve cases where the goalie makes a big auto save on harmless passes and pucks going wide, as well as stop him from being left vulnerable in a sitting position if the first shot didn’t require a desperate save. 
• Added new controlled goalie glove saves when the goalie is in good position. 
• Addressed cases where the goalie was getting stuck between states when a user would take control and switch back to AI control. 
• Fix for goalies in possession of the puck putting a stick through the boards and getting a whistle. 
• Added more save coverage out of butterfly slides done with the right stick. 
• Updated AI goalie logic to handle cases better when the puck is coming in at very sharp angles. 
• Updates to AI goalie logic for tracking shooters as they cut across the net. They are more aware of their shooting capabilities now. 
• Addressed issues with momentum when trying to stack the pads. 
• Updates to human goalie save logic when shots are near their body vs. when they have to reach for them. This should help goalies who are in better position and hinder goalies who stay back in their net. 
• Various fixes to transitions into/out of hug post from various positions/angles. 
• Fixes where the goalie would rotate the wrong way when trying to transition onto the post. 
• Increased cover puck consistency. 
• Added more goalie post goal reactions. 
• Added functionality when going directly from set to butterfly post lean. This removes the limitation of pressing butterfly before pressing hug post. 
• Various goalie animation fixes. 
• Increased responsiveness in precision movement, especially when moving laterally. 

DEFENSE 

• Updates to incidental stick/puck contact with the goalie for more accuracy. 
• Various improvements to incidental stick-on-stick contact for more accuracy. 
• Fixed issues where incidental stick contact wasn’t affecting the puck carrier during some puck pickups/pass receptions. 
• Extended Stick Lift will now modify into board play if the puck carrier goes into board play.  
• Tweaked ease of alignment for getting into net battles and extended stick lifts. 
• Fix various stick to hand blending issues in animations. 
• Ability to perform extended stick lifts all over the ice. They were originally limited to the net battle areas of the ice. 
• Updates to make the transition between stick lift and extended stick lifts more responsive to what the player intends. 
• Updates to how extended stick lifts impact the ability to receive a puck or keep possession of a puck. 
• Updated push check animations to better respect where the defender's stick was before he initiated the push. 
• Updated physical preparedness calculation when the player being hit was in the middle of a pass. They were previously more prepared than they should be. 
• Better defensive coverage on the strong side winger on the breakout. 
• Improved AI defense when they are on the PP with the man advantage. Use the extra man to minimize the PK team’s effort with the puck. 
• Addressed issues where AI defenders would over commit skating forwards out of their zone which would hurt their ability to get a good gap on the rush.  
• AI players won’t auto line change when team has possession in the offensive zone unless they are extremely tired. 
• Updated cases for a defender to drop the puck if they are going to take the puck into their own net. If a defender carries the puck into their own net, it can now be counted as a goal. 

PUCK PICKUPS & RECEPTIONS 

• Improved pickups in cases where the puck is behind a player. 
• Added coverage to skate pickups to help with pucks in the feet or directly behind a player. 
• Animation updates to pickups where sticks weren’t flush to the ice. 
• Updates to conditions and coverage for turning pickups. 
• Updates to pass assist to not lead players as much if it is going to lead to an offside. 
• Updates to how pickups will attempt to resolve if the puck changes trajectory. 

MISC 

• Updated how holding penalties work to get more accurate penalty calls. 
• Ability to manually set Min/Max Pass Speed in Gameplay Sliders. 

PRESENTATION: 

CROWD 

• Improved crowd reaction and behavior when a major milestone has been achieved (ie. 500 goals). 
• Updates to European fan signs. 
• Improved fan distribution, signage and team clothing assignment in World Cup of Hockey mode. 
• General crowd behavior and reaction improvements. 

CAMERAS 

• Added new introduction cameras for several stadiums. 
• Improved camera tracking when the puck is in the corner. 

ARTWORK: 

ENVIRONMENT 

• Addressed seat color issues during t-shirt promo nights in Arizona. 
• Edited promo puck and promo bobblehead placement in several stadiums to avoid stanchions. 
• Improved New Jersey Devil mascot animations around the boards and glass. 
• Improvements to Carolina PNC Arena lighting in corners of ice surface. 
• Authenticity update for goal light in Scottrade Center. 
• Authenticity update for the scoreboard in Scottrade Center. Smoke now emits when a home goal is scored during playoffs. 
• Lighting improvements for stanchions in several creation zone environments. 
• Improved arena shadows for realism in several creation zone environments. 
• Added circles at top of scoreboard for the Buffalo Sabres First Niagara Center scoreboard. 
• Banners in New Jersey were updated for authenticity. 
• All ECHL stadiums will now have blue goal posts. 

PLAYERS 

• Improvements to hair for several star players. 
• Added new goalie mask art for several teams including Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, NY Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, *. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington. 
• Quality improvements of some of the generic hair styles in creation zone. 

EQUIPMENT 

• Gold stick award art tuning. 
• Authenticity improvement to CCM Extreme Flex Pro line of equipment. 
• Two Bauer skate blades updated for authenticity. 
• Krefeld Pinguine logo updated for authenticity. 
• Authenticity update for Bauer Supreme Totalone NXG blocker, pads, and trapper. 
• Authenticity update for Brian’s G-Netik blocker, and pads. 
• Authenticity update for CCM Extreme Flex 2 blocker. 
• Authenticity update for KOHO Revolution 587 trapper. 
• Authenticity update for Vaughn V4 7600 Blocker. 
• Added CCM Extreme Flex III Pro Goalie Pad set to Creation Zone. 

UNIFORMS 

• Added Bakersfield Condors Alternate uniform. 
• Added Chicago Wolves Alternate uniform. 
• Added Cleveland Monsters Home, Away and Third uniforms. 
• Added Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Home and Away uniforms. 
• Added Hartford Wolf Pack Home, Away and Third uniforms. 
• Added Hershey Bears Alternate uniform. 
• Added Stockton Heat Alternate Uniform. 
• Added German National Team Home, Away and Third uniforms. 
• Updated font type for Acadie-Bathurst Titan Home and Away uniforms. 
• Updated Number Font color for Orlando Solar Bears Home Uniform. 
• Updated Pant color on Czech Republic Home and Away Uniforms. 

AUDIO: 

COMMENTARY 

• Lake Erie Monsters sample changed to Cleveland Monsters. 
• Added speech for 2000, and 3000 point milestones. 
• Many improvements to commentator awareness/accuracy. 

SFX 

• Goal horn volume increased. 
• Update to SFX for fight collisions. 
• Update to SFX for when a puck goes off a goalie helmet.  

CROWD 

• Improved crowd excitement after a goal is scored. 
• Added crowd countdown to final buzzer in important games. 
• Improved crowd reaction and excitement when player achieves personal milestone. 

MUSIC 

• NBC and Wednesday Night Rivalry themes tuned for improved timing. Music now ends when screen fades to black 

ONLINE: 

GENERAL 

• Added a new Camera angle called “Zone” which was formally known as Custom 3 (available everywhere). 

ALL ONLINE MODES 

• Added “Online Pass Assist Percentage” slider to the controls screen. 
  • Defaults to 100% which is the online default, from there the user can move the slider down to have less Pass Assist 

USABILITY: 

• Controller images added to controller settings screens 

EASHL: 

• Room Leader “Captain icon” to remain persistent from Dressing Room to Side Select. 
• Fixed several issues with the “Set for All Positions” option in Edit Pro. 
• Fixed the chat box in the Drop-in and Clubs Dressing Room when specific special characters were being entered. 
• Addressed various camera issues in the small and large community rinks. 
• Added Stock Team Branding in EASHL Edit Team. 
  • Allows a club to use a Stock logo from our title. 
  • Allows a club to use Stock Uniforms from our title as their Home, Away, or Alternate uniforms. 
  • Stock Team Branding does not allow for recoloring of logos or uniforms. 
  • Stock Team Branding has been added to club progression and assigned to the following requirements: 
    • Ability to use Stock Team Branding – Complete 35 games 
    • Ability to use Stock Vintage Uniforms – Reach Club Prestige 1 – Level 13 
    • Ability to use Stock Alternate Uniforms – Reach Club Prestige 1 – Level 30 
• Added High Tilted Visor as player progression unlock. 
  • Unlocked at Player Prestige 1 – Level 7 
• Added Player Summary screen at the end of game. 
  • Shows the profile names of the users in game and their stats. 
  • Used to compare player stats and for Club GMs to scout players. 
  • GMs can invite players to join their club from this screen. 
• Added Ability to enter Edit Player or Edit Team from the Drop-in and Clubs Dressing Rooms 
  • Allows players to customize their player or club between games without having to leave their group experience. 
  • For Drop-in it allows the players to remain in their persistent Dressing Room lobby. 
• Add Rich Presence to the Drop-in Dressing Room. 
  • Allows players to see that their teammates from the previous game are still in the post-game flow. 
  • Allows players to see that their teammates are customizing their player (also available in Club Dressing Room). 
• Human goalies can now pull themselves and become a human controlled extra attacker from the bench. 
• Added milestones to EASHL - Commentary team will announce goal and point milestones in EASHL for the following: 
  • 50 Goals 
  • 100 Goals 
  • 200 Goals 
  • 300 Goals 
  • 400 Goals 
  • 499 Goals 
  • 500 Goals 
  • 999 Goals 
  • 1000 Goals 
  • 2000 Goals 
  • 3000 Goals 
  • 200 Points 
  • 300 Points 
  • 400 Points 
  • 500 Points 
  • 1000 Points 
  • 2000 Points 
  • 3000 Points 

BE A PRO: 

• BAP player can now get injured for multiple games. 
• 2X EXP game situation now shown on BAP shift timer. 
• BAP coaching feedback post game screen added with 5 game summary graph. 
• 3rd and 4th liners now get more ice time when playing quick BAP games. 
• Added message on BAP coaching feedback overlay to remind users more feedback available in pause menu. 
• Tuned some 2X EXP game situations. 
• Improved shift timer line change animation timing to match hint/on-ice visual trainer. 
• Improved logic around when hints/suggested focus are skipped on expert mode. 
• Improved camera in BAP. Updates when starting a shift jumping off the bench, when skating to the bench to line change, updates for tracking when shots are taken, and various other focus updates. 

COACHING FEEDBACK: 

• Tuned logic for when to show certain feedback hints. 
• Saucers passes are no longer considered weak passes. 
• Goalies no longer penalized for careless wandering when going to the bench for delayed penalty/extra attacker. 

FRANCHISE MODE: 

• Promotion Nights can now be scheduled throughout the regular season 
• Added 8 new owner goals: 
  • Improve Top 6 Forward (contender teams only) 
  • Improve Top 4 Defenseman (contender teams only) 
  • Improve Starting Goalies (contender teams only) 
    • These will only occur if the team is currently weak in a given position. 
  • Get “X” sellouts in a season (for all teams) 
  • Win “X” games in a season (for all teams) 
  • Win “X” Home games in a season (for all teams) 
  • Win “X” Road games in a Season (for all teams) 
  • Improve Team Chemistry by “X” (for all teams) 
• Added functionality where a user receives additional funding for completing owner goals. 
• Added functionality for team performance based owner goals to change based on the team’s current status during the season. 
• Added functionality where owner goals for stadium upgrades are processed immediately instead of at the end of construction. 
• Added team status and team record to the trade screen. 
• Added playoff tree view to the stats central tile. 
• Added retirement screen to view the league's retired players. 
• Improved upgrading: 
  • Replaced current upgrading/maintain flow with a new overlay to upgrade and maintain an object. 
  • Added an indicator for what object pertains to an owner goal. 
  • More information is surfaced when an item is not actionable. 
  • Quick link to the operation budget screen to quickly allocate funds. 
• Added Owner Goals section in the Franchise Overview Screen 
• Added 7 new categories for the team information section in the Franchise Overview Screen: 
  • Number of Sellouts this season 
  • Days until Trade Deadline 
  • Days until Rookie Draft 
  • Days until Free Agency 
  • Days until Re-sign phase 
  • Number of injured players 
  • Current Funds Available 
• Added 7 new Relocation options: 
  • Atlanta, GA 
  • Birmingham, AL 
  • Markham, ON 
  • Regina, SK 
  • San Francisco, CA 
  • Miami, FL 
  • Sacramento, CA 
• Added reminder notification to alert the user to set a marketing budget once the season ticket drive has started. 

HUT: 

• Improved Set completion flow 
  • Collection and Auction House search filters will automatically lock to the appropriate item types when attempting to add items to a set. 
  • New animation added when all of the items to complete a set have been added by the user. 
  • Improved the set completion confirmation message screen. 
• Added a quick link to the Unopened Packs screen from the 2nd and 3rd level of the Sets screen when there are available packs for the player to open. 
  • Users can now easily access their reward packs after completing sets using this new functionality. 
• Added a scroll bar to the Synergy Glossary screen to let players know that there are more Synergy styles available. 

Source: http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/10356843.page?sf48667017=1#35169115

On behalf of the NHL Gamer staff,

Hey NHL Gamers,

NHL 17 is now available for you, if you have an Xbox One and an active EA Access subscription (from 4.99€/$ per month). The EA Access subscription includes an overall of 10 hours of play time (don't forget to quit the game in case you leave for a while!), afterwards you need to buy the full game.

Here is a tutorial of our very own @Kenu, explaining how to download the trial ahead of the official starting date tomorrow. Take a look!

If you have access to the early trial, make sure to post your impressions in the comments below!

Edit: Please note that it seems that if you have pre-purchased and pre-downloaded the game, this trick might not work. We're assuming it will start working for pre-purchase users when the game is officially on EA Access, but it's also possible that you need to troubleshoot with EA. We'll let you know if we get any further info. -@Kenu

On behalf of the NHL Gamer Staff,

Hey NHL Gamers,

if you ever were in doubt about Hockey Ultimate Team being a popular mode - here is some more confirmation. On top of Draft Champions, there will be even more new content: HUT Heroes!

In past iterations, collecting a whole NHL team set earned you a regular gold pack. This time though, you will earn a team specific local legend or all-time great with a 94 OVA value. Below is the complete list, including their positions. Enjoy!

• Anaheim Ducks: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (G)
• Arizona Coyotes: Keith Tkachuk (LW)
• Boston Bruins: Johnny Bucyk (LW)
• Buffalo Sabres: Pat Lafontaine (C)
• Calgary Flames: Mike Vernon (G)
• Carolina Hurricanes: Rod Brind'Amour (C)
• Chicago Blackhawks: Tony Amonte (RW)
• Colorado Avalanche: Adam Foote (RD)
• Columbus Blue Jackets: Rostislav Klesla (LD)
• Dallas Stars: Marty Turco (G)
• Detroit Red Wings: Brendan Shanahan (RW)
• Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Smyth (LW)
• Florida Panthers: Scott Mellanby (RW)
• Los Angeles Kings: Rob Blake (RD)
• Minnesota Wild: Andrew Brunette (LW)
• Montreal Canadiens: Kirk Muller (LW)
• Nashville Predators: Steve Sullivan (LW)
• New Jersey Devils: Ken Daneyko (LD)
• New York Islanders: Bob Nystrom (RW)
• New York Rangers: Adam Graves (LW)
• Philadelphia Flyers: Ron Hextall (G)
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Larry Murphy (RD)
• Ottawa Senators: Wade Redden (LD)
• San Jose Sharks: Doug Wilson (LD)
• St. Louis Blues: Al MacInnis (RD)
• Tampa Bay Lightning: Dave Andreychuk (LW)
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Darryl Sittler (C)
• Vancouver Canucks: Trevor Linden (C)
• Washington Capitals: Olaf Kolzig (G)
• Winnipeg Jets: Dale Hawerchuk (C)

Tell us in the comments: Which hero are you looking forward to unlocking first?

Hey NHL Gamers,

new details about NHL 17's new Draft Champions mode were dropped, in form of a trailer as well as a new Deep Dive blog entry!

This is how it works:

Select your theme

As soon as you enter the mode, you are asked to pick one of four different themes. These themes will be updated throughout the season to keep it a refreshing experience. Each theme consists of a fixed player pool, e.g. a "East coast, best coast" theme will only contain players from the Eastern Conference teams. The game will then create a base roster from low- to mid-tier players fitting into this theme.

Get drafting

Next, you will head into a 12 round draft to add some of the best players to complete your roster. Within each round you need to choose one of four players - and this is where it gets exciting. Do you want to play or more defensive oriented style? Or are you trying to build a strong forechecking lineup? The choice is yours, and it's a tough one.

Draft championship

In the draft championship, your goal is to win 4 games in a row. This can be played offline against the AI, or against other online players - however it is not possible to mix offline and online games within one championship. With each game you win, you earn 'Draft Collectables'.

Draft collectables

Draft collectables can be used to unlock Draft Champions dynamic sets, which allow you to get high-end player items, packs and more. The more games you win, the more Draft collectables you will receive.

What do you think about the new Draft Champions mode in NHL 17? We feel like this is a very welcome addition, as it offers players even more ways to get some of the best players to join their roster.

Hey NHLGamers, today we are bringing you the overall player ratings that the team over at EA Sports has released so far, check it out;

First up is the Top-10 Centers
10. Claude Giroux 91
9. Nicklas Bäckström 91
8. Ryan Getzlaf 91
7. Tyler Seguin 92
6. Evgeni Malkin 93
5. John Tavares 93
4. Anze Kopitar 93
3. Steven Stamkos 94
2. Jonathan Toews 94
1. Sidney Crosby 95

Next we got Top-10 Defensemen
10. Dustin Byfuglien 91
9. P.K. Subban 91
8. Marc-Edouard Vlasic 91
7. Victor Hedman 92
6. Brent Burns 92
5. Erik Karlsson 92
4. Ryan Suter 93
3. Duncan Keith 93
2. Shea Weber 94
1. Drew Doughty 94

Next is Top-10 Goalies
10. Ben Bishop 89
9. Tuuka Rask 89
8. Marc-Andre Fleury 90
7. Corey Crawford 90
6. Pekka Rinne 91
5. Cory Schneider 91
4. Henrik Lundqvist 92
3. Braden Holtby 92
2. Jonathan Quick 93
1. Carey Price 93

Next to last is Top-10 Right Wingers
10. James Neal 88
9. Nikita Kucherov 88
8. Marian Hossa 88
7. Blake Wheeler 89
6. Phil Kessel 89
5. Jakub Voracek 90
4. Corey Perry 91
3. Joe Pavelski 91
2. Vladimir Tarasenko 93
1. Patrick Kane 94

Lastly, we got Top-10 Left Wingers
10. Alexander Steen 88
9. Gabriel Landeskog 88
8. Filip Forsberg 88
7. Daniel Sedin 88
6. Zach Parise 89
5. Max Pacioretty 89
4. Johnny Gaudreau 90
3. Taylor Hall 90
2. Alex Ovechkin 94
1. Jamie Benn 94

That's all we've got for you this time folks, but if you'd like to check out the Top-50 Skaters Overall, regardless of position, check out https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2016/nhl-17-player-ratings-top-50-overall over at EA Sports official website.

As always, feel free to comment! Do you agree with these ratings? Was someone rated way too high/too low? Sound off below!


Later skaters,
 

The_Alpha_Furyan

Hey NHL Gamers,

in anticipation of Gamescom, which officialy starts tomorrow, EA SPORTS released a new trailer for NHL 17 time. This time: Probably one of the best hype trailers to get you pumped for the brand new World Cup of Hockey mode.

Are you looking forward to playing it? Tell us in the comments below!

Hey NHL Gamers,

lots of new details about NHL 17's rebranded GM mode, now called "Franchise Mode", dropped in form of an interesting blog write-up - which we have summarized below - and a new trailer:

Owner's personality:

• Spending: The higher your owner's spending rating is, the higher your overall budget for players, marketing, upgrades etc. will be
• Importance of success: This category determines whether your management is focused on profit or actual league success, and influences your financial decisions
• Patience: Low patience ratings require you to lead the franchise to quick success, thereby influencing your personell decisions
• Owner goals: These are known from earlier NHL games, and are now split up into three categories: Primary, secondary and stretch goals

Below you can take a look at one of the team's internal tools, which shows several triggers that influence your owner's happiness:

Arena and facilities:

• Set prices: Tickets, concessions, merchandise and parking are your main source of revenue, therefore it is important to find that 'sweet spot' for optimised sales
• Upgrade and maintain: Concessions, team stores, parking lots and club seats can be improved to a maximum of 5 levels, while each new level unlocks new items - these new items also have a maintenance level, which means you are responsible for keeping everything in shape
• Arena customization: Customization features will also be available in Franchise Mode, however they are tied to your progress (similar to EASHL)
• Team ranking and sales: You are able to compare yourself to the other teams within the league, to see how you stack up against them in terms of revenue

Dynamic attendance:

If you are watching real life NHL games at times, you might have noticed that there are certain differences when it comes to attendance. Have you ever seen a Florida Panthers game? Yes?

Good news: This will be reflected in the new Franchise Mode as well. There are a couple of factors which influence crowd attendance:

• Time of the season (pre-season games will have lower attendance than playoff games)
• Quality of opponent
• Pricing
• Performance
• Fan base loyalty and many more

Relocation:

If you feel like you have done everything to improve your situation, but the fans are still visiting your home games sparely, it's time for a relocation! There are 19 cities to choose from (including Las Vegas and Quebec City), and after your management negotiations were successful, you are fully able to build the new franchise including uniforms and arena customziation.

Budgets:

Your budget can be split up between 4 categories: Player salaries, arena operations, promotions and advertising. Depending on your owner's mood, you could either become the leagues 'big spender' with lots of financial possibilities, or one of the more financially limited managers who is expected to cut player salaries while keeping up good performance.

Promotions:

Another way of increasing home game attendance and boosting revenue are promotions, which can be applied to all of your home games (e.g. puck or bobble head giveaways). Right timing is key to selling out games which might otherwise only have lots of empty seats.

Season ticket drive:

Ahead of each season, you are responsible to tie your fans to the franchise by selling as many season tickets as possible. When settings prices, it is essential to meet your customer's expectations - otherwise you need to rely on day tickets which are far more likely to not get sold after bad team performances.

How do you like the new changes to the revamped Be a GM mode? Tell us in the comments below!

UPDATE 2: It looks like the issue where you were not able to choose any game modes is now resolved!

UPDATE: EA just confirmed that the beta will be running until Monday, August 8, 10 AM PST which equals 19:00 CEST / 20:00 EEST.

Hey NHL Gamers,

there are some more good news to share with you: B-Bunny_, who is a long time mod at EA's forums, just confirmed via Reddit that the NHL 17 beta will be extended throughout the weekend!

This is what he had to say:

While the beta is currently closed (you can still open the application but not choose any of the game modes), it seems like it will be reopened and continue to be available until Sunday.

We will update this post as soon as it is officially confirmed.

On behalf of the NHL Gamer staff,

Hey NHL Gamers,

We hope you are enjoying the NHL 17 Beta so far! Over the course of the last days we have been giving out dozens of codes for both PS4 and Xbox One. So many, in fact, that we hadn't had the time to jump into the game as much as we wanted to!

We are very thankful for all the nice responses we received for getting you into the game, and we will of course continue to bring you lots of exciting stuff.

The concept behind releasing a beta is of course to iron out any game breaking flaws, annoying bugs and get the community's thoughts on how we like the new features that are new to the franchise. This is accomplished by exposing the beta to as many of us hockey fans as possible.

What we at NHLGamer.com want to do now is to get as much feedback from the community as possible and put together a list of the feedback to submit to the EA Sports NHL team in Vancouver.

In this case, we don't want anyone to feel stuck behind a language barrier, so feel free to send in your feedback in English, Finnish, French, German or Swedish and we'll go ahead to translate all of your input and compile a list of all relevant issues and improvement ideas.

Please use the comments below to voice your opinion and we will make sure you are being heard!

Exciting news NHL Gamers! We've got plenty of NHL 17 beta codes to give away to you guys and gals!

We'd love for you to follow us on our social media channels:

https://www.facebook.com/NHLGamer/

https://twitter.com/NHLGamerCOM

http://twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

We will be live streaming on Twitch (feed below) and sharing codes on all of these platforms for the next couple of hours. Please join in and take part in the fun!

We've been sharing some codes on Facebook before and here's a few to get things going again:

PS4:

- HNA8-88NG-PK2F

- PDBC-CLN4-D45H

- N4MK-KHNR-TJCT

- 7T5C-4TNH-FMDQ

-73HR-G3ND-Q4TR
 

Xbox One:

VXJ6G-CF73R-6V6VG-947DD-PQFMZ

43HJT-KF4Y7-2JHQJ-H37Q6-KRHYZ

4HTHM-PYXJY-X4JJR-QRT96-HJ6GZ

JG6Y6-7GDWX-22TF9-9YYP9-GMGVZ

HM3WQ-T4KWK-9XCHG-J6D42-636TZ

Please let us know in the comments when you've used a code!

Watch live video from NHLGamerTwitch on www.twitch.tv

Hope to see you on the ice!

Exciting news NHL Gamers! The NHL 17 Beta codes have (at least partially) been sent out now and players around the world are downloading the beta as we speak! If you haven't received your code yet - despite applying for it - don't worry. It seems that those that are subscribing to the NHL Insider newsletter got it first. The rest will probably get it on Thursday the 28th, as announced earlier.

We are currently waiting for the beta to download, but according to the information in the email, the modes featured in the beta are "Online Versus, EA SPORTS Hockey League, Creation Zone, and Hockey Ultimate Team™".

Below is an image of what the email looks like for a PS4 user that gets a beta code.

Good news - they are supplying you with two codes for your friends as well! If you didn't sign up on time for the beta (you could do it here, but it says it's closed for now), you should get in touch with your buddies and ask them if they can share a code with you.

The beta size on the Xbox One is 17,93 GB and it's roughly the same on PS4.

So let's all lace up those skates - I'll see you on the ice!

Hey NHL Gamers,

The NHL 17 news keep coming out faster than you can say tic-tac-toe and today we're being served with an interesting piece on the new and improved Hockey Ultimate Team! You can view the trailer below:

I think we can all agree that the trailer is cool, but so is the batch of information released alongside it. Loaded with new features, such as HUT Synergy, Dynamic Sets, Trading Posts and other cool improvements, the improved HUT seems like a very welcoming experience for both new and experienced players. Based on the footage we have so far, the new menus and the appearance of the cards themselves are a very welcomed improvement - superficial or not, it looks amazing!

Hey NHLGamers, today we're bringing you a boatload of additional news on EASHL for NHL 17 through EA's own Gameplay Series.

Tip of the hat to @vSilenttio for bringing this to our attention!

Here are the main talking points (in EA:s own words);
 

EASHL Team Editor
Use the all-new team customization tool in Creation Zone to make your team into a brand by editing your team’s uniform, pants, socks, shoulder patches and logos to build your unique EASHL team identity. With thousands of different possible combinations, this is your chance to make your team stand out from the rest of the hockey world.

EASHL Arena Progression
As you play games in EASHL you will level up your club to earn more arena customization options. When you first create your team, you’ll have access to two brand new community rinks which are only available in EASHL. From there you can unlock larger arenas as well as customize options like scoreboards, goal songs, LED stanchions, horns and more. As your team gains more experience and unlocks more customizable options, your team arena can evolve from a low-tech community rink to the latest NHL-caliber arena. 

*You will be able to use the Create Team/Create Arena feature outside of EASHL and that will not need you to unlock said content.

EASHL Arena Types
Small Community Rink: A practice-sized rink without bleachers or seats. This rink is truly grass-roots and does not allow for any customization.

Large Community Rink: This rink can hold a small set of hometown fans and allows for a moderate amount of customization, such as branding your team logo at center ice and having goal horns and songs play after goals.

Junior Arena: Large enough to seat several thousand fans and allows for a significant amount of customization such as entry props and LED stanchion effects.

Semi-Pro Stadium: Here is when you start to feel like a professional hockey team. A semi-pro stadium allows for a larger capacity crowd and even more customization options.

Pro Stadium: There are 10 different pro stadiums to unlock and these allow for the biggest crowds and the most amount of customization options such as scoreboards and signature effects.

Player Classes
Returning to EA SPORTS Hockey League in NHL 17 is the ability to choose specialized player classes, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. A good team should have a mix of these player classes, with each contributing to a team's success in different ways. This class system helps deliver a balanced competitive experience on the ice, where player skill and your ability to play as a team now determines who wins and loses hockey games.

We will be using the NHL 17 Beta to tune both earlier and new player classes, so make sure to give feedback during the beta.

Forward Player Classes
Sniper Forward
Power Forward
Playmaker Forward
Grinder Forward
Enforcer Forward
Two Way Forward
Dangler
Hitting Sniper *NEW
Jumbo Playmaker *NEW
Two Way Dangler *NEW

Defensive Player Classes
Offensive Defenseman
Defensive Defenseman
Two Way Defenseman
Enforcer Defenseman
Puck Moving Defenseman *NEW

Goalie Classes
Butterfly Goalie
Stand-Up Goalie
Hybrid Goalie

Anti-Griefing Improvements
To make our EASHL online experience as fun and accessible as possible, we’ve listened to community feedback from our social channels and forums and will be implementing the following anti-grieving features for NHL 17.

Goalies Quitting - In EASHL Club games, any game started with two (2) human goalies requires those goalies to finish the game otherwise their team is given a loss. For Drop-in games, any team that has their goalie leave is then replaced with a backup goalie who is smaller and has a lower skill rating to level the playing field.

Improving Team Play - For drop-in games, our Coach Feedback System will keep tabs on your team play grade for skaters and goalies. If you aren't being a good team player and are intentionally creating a poor playing environment for other players the coach may boot you from the game. Examples of creating a poor playing environment are: going intentionally offside, continuously icing the puck, removing goalies from the net, etc.

Reduced Number of Pauses - We have reduced pauses to one (1) per team regardless of mode or the number of players on the team. Each team will have one (1) 30 second pause. This will not consume your regular timeout that refreshes your lines. We have also surfaced the visual settings option in the limited pause menu so you don’t have to use your full pause to make those last-minute camera adjustments. We recommend you make those settings changes in the EASHL HUB so they are active for every EASHL game you play.

Reduced Grace Period Before the Game Counts – Once the puck drops the game is officially on! Any teams that quit as this point earns a loss, while the team still playing earns the win.

General EASHL Improvements

Drop-In Games
Improved Matchmaking - New to NHL 17, select the general position you would like to play before starting your matchmaking search. This will help bring players together and allow them to play their desired position. Matchmaking will also factor in your Competitive Gaming Rating to help find the best balance of skill and experience for both teams.

Group Matchmaking - Introducing the new Drop-in Dressing Room that now allows you to invite up to five (5) other friends to join your team for a cooperative yet competitive experience against other drop-in players.

Persistent Game Sessions - Players from the same team will stay in a Dressing Room after the end of each EASHL Drop-In game, to help improve consistency and chemistry between players.

Online Connection
Connection Quality Bar - Connection quality bar will now be highlighted in the pre-game matchup screen.

Real Time Connection Quality - A real-time connection graph will now be highlighted in the pause menu and will show your connection quality from the last two minutes of game time.

Game Server Selection - We will automatically find which game server is best for your entire team based on their ping times to each game server.

Club Invitations
Club GMs can now invite players to join their club by manually entering their friend’s profile names or by selecting a profile name in different in-game locations such as leaderboards or the Drop-in Dressing Room. Club GMs can effectively use Drop-in to scout players and recruit them to join their team.

Viewing Club Rosters
You can now select to view another club’s roster from within our Leaderboards screens and Recent Games screens.

Source: https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2016/nhl-17-gameplay-series-eashl


// NHLGamer Staff

Fellow NHLGamers,

You can tell EA is ramping up the PR-machine for the Beta release of NHL 17 because today we have a new trailer for you!
 

A few things to take away from this EASHL-related trailer

- The customization options seem limitless! Everything from jerseys to arenas to goal songs to scoring lamps... the list goes on. This is a sorely needed re-introduction to the EASHL community.

- Customization options are earned. As your team wins and levels up, you gets access to more and more different features.

- Perhaps the biggest reveal from this trailer; four new player classes! Let's take a look at them.

• Dangler - Already introduced in the later stages of NHL 16 but to those who left the game around spring, this will be a "new" class. Suited for players who performs with small, fast, shifty players. Probably modeled after Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames.
• Jumbo Playmaker - This one is for the playmakers out there who haven't been happy with the size and strength of the regular playmaker class. The regular class will still be in the game but this jumbo class (quite obviously modeled after San Jose Sharks "Jumbo" Joe Thornton) will be able to take a hit and still make a play.
• Hitting Sniper - Basically Alex Ovechkin. Enough said.
• Two-Way Dangler - This one is interesting because it seems to be a defensive class in style but with very good puck skills. Very likely inspired by previous NHLer Pavel Datsyuk (We miss you, Dats!).

Anyway, that's that! Let us know what you think of this new EASHL-focused trailer in the comment section below!



Later skaters //

The_Alpha_Furyan

Fellow NHLGamers,

Today we're bringing you the new trailer for NHL 17, titled "Control The Ice". Narrated by NHL series producer Sean Ramjagsingh, this trailer takes a closer look at what NHL 17 will bring in terms of net battles, puck pickups, goalie movement and celebrations. Enjoy:
 

A few things to take away from this:

- Net battles have the potential to make us defenders competitive in front of the net again. I can tell you it's been quite frustrating as an offensive defenseman trying to wrestle big powerforwards in front of the net in NHL 16. Giving the defender the option to ever so slightly lift the forwards stick could go a long way towards evening out the odds. This could of course also give the forwards some new looks, being able to spin off tie-ups to go for deflections etc.

- Goalie animations are again a focus for the team at EA. This time, it looks like they've tried to make sure you have different options as a goalie, either by relying on positioning and "being in the way" of the shot or by relying on athletic moves and timing. Either way, goalies do look good in this trailer.

- Better puck dynamics for smoother pickups and better pass reception.

- Improved "hit targeting".

- Improved pivoting, accelation and agility for skating.

- New celebrations so you can be even more of a turd towards your opponents - always welcome, right?  

Let us know what you think of the new trailer in the comment section below!



Later skaters //

The_Alpha_Furyan

Hey NHL Gamers,

we wanted to share another update on "Ask NHL" answers with you, as they are revealing quite a lot of interesting details about the upcoming NHL 17. Without further ado, here is our compact summary:

General

• Original arenas will only be included for NHL teams (example: Orlando Solar Bears are playing in the Amway Center, FL which will not be reflected in the game)
• Create Team / Create Arena tools will allow you to use all customizations right from the start, unlocks are only needed for your EASHL team
• Arena customization allows you to tweak base architectural design (board trim colour, seat pattern layouts, colour schemes, railing colours, goal light types, center ice logo design, center line styles, stanchion styles, goal spotlight effects, scoreboard types, special effects during intros/goals, goal songs, powerplay songs and much more), in-arena presentation of music, special effects and lighting
• Commentary was extended with new player names, as well as team / city names
• Just like last year, the NHL 17 beta will be your only chance to get your hands on the game early, as a demo is not planned
• Player, team and arena customization will be included in the NHL 17 beta
• If you registered for the NHL 17 beta, you will receive your code once the beta is live - watch the social media channels for more information
• "Classic" teams were considered, but are hard to license due to the fact that there is not a single union for retired players
• Music in the menus as well as in-game was updated, more details will follow at a later date
• Unique playoff atmospheres (like the Winnipeg Whiteout) will now also show up during season play
• NHL 17 player ratings will be revelead closer to launch
• Shared rosters like in the Madden series will not be a part of NHL 17
• Custom goalie masks cannot be created
• The new ECHL will be available in Play Now, Season Mode, HUT and Online VS (not part of Franchise Mode or Be a Pro)

Gameplay

• New during-the-game animations were only added for goalies - skater animations will stay the same.
• Camera relative controls for goalies will not make it into NHL 17, instead they tweaked the controls differently which will be tested during the beta
• A new camera for goalies will be available at launch (see screenshot below)
• On top of the new blocking mechanic (instead of reactionary saves), goalie precision movements have been updated so you can adjust your speed by pushing the left stick differently
• Goalies can now also quit out of animations (e.g. if you want to drop down to butterfly before fully standing up)
• Sticks will still be able to go through the boards as EA were not able to adjust this without limiting player movements - however they made improvements so poke checks are able to connect in these situations
• Stick-on-stick and stick-to-body collisions were improved to better determine if the puck should come free, but it still does not run full physics reactions due to the limitations a player currently has when moving his stick around
• Sliders for offline modes were overhauled and allow you to customize your game experience even deeper (e.g. for hitting, you can tweak impact relative speed, checking/balance ratings of the players involved, relative size of the players, stumble thresholds and how much incidental contact affects players)
• Pauses for all online game modes have been reduced to 1 per team, which remains 30 seconds long
• New powerplay formations (like 1-3-1) were not added to the game
• Offensive and defensive AI were tweaked to better stick to their opponents, recognize a threat from passing options and be more intelligent when moving the puck around

Game Modes

• HUT: "Unowned items" view in the collection makes it easy to see which players you are missing, and allows you to search for them in the auction house immediately
• HUT: Details about returning user rewards will be revelead at a later point
• HUT: Coaches are the same as in NHL 16, though this time they do not contribute to your stats but your Synergy
• HUT: Preorder packs can be sold in the auction house
• HUT: Auction house functionality will remain the same as in NHL 16
• Draft Champions: Can be played offline or online (head to head, play a friend will not be available), hinted to be equal to FUT Draft which was introduced to FIFA 16 for the first time
• Draft Champions: To start off, you pick one of 4 available themes (e.g. European heritage, Canadian heritage) which will determine your starting roster - the player pools will be updated with new content on a weekly basis (TOTW, special items...)
• Draft Champions: Winning games allows you to unlock content for HUT, such as packs and unique players
• EASHL: Height & weight remain locked and can only be changed by selecting a different player build
• EASHL: Any game started with two human goalies needs to be finished with two - having your goalie drop out will end the game with a loss
• EASHL: Third jerseys can be used, but need to be unlocked first
• EASHL Drop-in: Dropped goalies will be replaced with much smaller and weaker bot goalies
• EASHL Drop-in: The coach may boot you from the game when intentionally going for offsides or in case you stay idle for too long

Use the comments below to tell us what you think about these changes!

- gzell60

Hey NHL Gamers,

today, EA Sports announced NHL 17's release dates throughout the US and Europe. While North American players will be able to start on the 13th of September this year, European players will need to wait until September 15th.

This is not your first chance to play the game though, as registrations for the Public Beta (July 28th - August 4th) have just opened up. So make sure to sign up to get into some early action across 3 game modes:

• EA Sports Hockey League
• Hockey Ultimate Team
• Online VS

To sign up for the beta, follow this link!

Hey NHL Gamers,

after the Vision trailer which was released a couple of weeks ago, EA Sports now provided us some more footage of the upcoming title NHL 17. As always, Gameplay trailers do not show raw gameplay but rather give us an impression of some of the new features.

Did the trailer get you pumped for NHL 17?