Hello, ECL Community!
The debate around X-Factors, abilities, and player builds in competitive EASHL continues to be one of the most discussed topics within our community. Over the past month after the NHL 26 release, we’ve followed your conversations closely — in Discord threads, party chats, and private messages — and we want to thank everyone who has contributed to this discussion.
This season, our goal has been twofold:
- To maintain a fair and consistent competitive environment for all divisions, and
- To strengthen alignment with our North American counterparts so that competitive 6v6 hockey moves forward together on both sides of the Atlantic.
We’ve been in regular contact with our North American counterparts to share experiences, discuss balancing, and explore ways to create a more unified competitive environment.
In addition, SportsGamer and other league representatives will take part in an upcoming conversation with EA SPORTS to exchange insights on gameplay balance, abilities, and the overall direction of EASHL. These discussions are part of an ongoing effort to ensure that community feedback from both regions is heard and considered as the game continues to evolve.
We believe that sharing unified feedback and experiences from both regions will help shape the next steps for the entire EASHL ecosystem.
ECL ’26: Winter Restrictions
After extensive discussion and testing, the League Administration has decided to continue restricting several player Abilities and Builds that were found to have a disproportionate impact on gameplay.
The following restrictions apply across all ECL divisions for the ECL ’26: Winter season.
🛑 Banned Abilities
All tiers (Gold, Blue, and Red) of the following abilities are banned:
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Big Rig
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Big Tipper
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Elite Edges
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Hipster
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No Contest
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Pressure+
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Spark Plug
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Truculence
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Unstoppable
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Wheels
These abilities have shown to create unbalanced or unintended gameplay advantages, reducing the importance of player skill and positioning. Specifically, as a category, we have wanted to slow down the gameplay by prohibiting abilities that add significant speed boosts. The bans help ensure that all players compete on an even playing field, where awareness and execution matter most.
⚔️ Position-Based Build Restrictions
To further preserve role balance and gameplay authenticity:
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Forwards cannot use defensive classes:
- Defensive Defender, Enforcer Defender, Offensive Defender, Two-Way Defender, Puck Moving Defender
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Defenders cannot use forward classes:
- Dangler, Enforcer, Grinder, Playmaker, Power Forward, Sniper, Two-Way Forward
Additionally, skaters and goalies cannot use special characters or custom character builds.
🧾 Enforcement
Violations of the above bans will be handled as follows:
- 1st Infraction – Team captain warning + player suspended for 2 games + potential WO loss*
- 2nd Infraction – Second captain warning + full lineup warning + player suspended for 4 games + potential WO loss*
- 3rd Infraction – Captain suspended for 2 games + player suspended for 4 games + 2-point deduction + potential WO loss*
*A Walkover (WO) loss will only apply if the offending team was clearly informed and continued to use banned Abilities or Builds afterward. Clear video evidence is required when reporting violations.
You can view the full ECL '26: Winter - Official Rules here.
Looking Forward
While the overall ability structure remains similar to previous seasons, the addition of position-based build restrictions represents another step toward a stronger global standard.
As always, we’ll continue to monitor gameplay trends and community feedback throughout the Winter season and forward your feedback directly to EA SPORTS.
Thank you once again for your ongoing passion and input — it’s what continues to drive the ECL forward.
Best regards,
League Administration
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