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SportsGamers, The newest update to the ECL '25: Winter rulebook is now live and can be accessed through the league pages. Generally speaking, the rulebook is a revised and improved version of the rulebook used in ECL '24 Spring. Find the new rulebook here. Here's a snapshot of some of the major adjustments / additions compared to ECL ‘25: Spring:  Added link to ECL Essentials: Guide to the ECL in the Preface 11.7.: Player ability bans have been updated 9.2.1: Timeouts are now allowed again 11.1:  Grudge Match setting is to be turned off   We ask every team and it's members to familiarize themselves with the rulebook before taking the ice for the ECL '25: Winter season. Please refer to the rulebook in case of any issues that may arise throughout the season. If you have any questions, please get in touch with support.

The window for ECL 25 Winter sign-ups is closing soon! Whether you’re aiming for the top or simply excited to join the community and enjoy the team experience, this is your last chance to join Europe’s premier NHL esports league. With registration closing on Wednesday, November 13 at 23:59 CET, ECL '25 Winter offers divisions for every skill level—from Neo to Elite. Whether you’re a competitive player looking for intense matchups or a team player ready to share the thrill of esports hockey with friends, there’s a place for you here. How to Register Visit the registration page and follow the steps to sign up. Each division offers unique opportunities, allowing players of all skill levels to enjoy the game and the community. To sign up, and for a more thorough information package about the league, please see the below article. Free Agents & Teams Looking for Players Don't have a team yet? Team looking for additions to your roster? If you are a free agent looking to be picked up, please head over here. If you are representing a team looking for players, please head over here. Need help? Please contact support.

Patch 1.2.0 is now available for download. Please note that there will be an expected downtime of up to one hour following the patch update. What’s New in This Update This patch brings a range of new additions, headlined by the arrival of official NHL coaches’ likenesses, gameplay enhancements, and much more. In this update, several key fixes address some of the most pressing issues raised by our community. Players will notice improved alignment in the Chop Puck mechanic, allowing for a more reliable and successful execution, whether stationary or in motion. Additionally, issues with Grudge Matches have been resolved, so they will no longer be triggered in Private Matches if set to “No” and can be fully disabled as intended, providing players more control over their gameplay experience. Another significant fix ensures that the sync screen, which previously lingered until the next faceoff after skipping a post-goal group hug, now clears smoothly, contributing to a more seamless flow in-game. These adjustments directly respond to community feedback, enhancing gameplay responsiveness and customization. NHL 25 Coaches Update We’re thrilled to see the introduction all 32 official NHL coaches in EA SPORTS NHL 25, each bringing their authentic coaching styles and strategies from the real NHL. This update applies across various game modes, where each coach will bring their unique tactics and personality to the league. The attributes of each coach reflect their real-world strengths—such as John Tortorella’s physical coaching approach and veteran player development skills. Attributes include Power Play, PK, Teaching, and Influence, adding new depth and differentiation to team play and development. Each coach's actual team history and record will be shown in-game and will be updated based on future teams that they may sign with and results within your franchise mode. Now let’s get into the rest of the updates: Gameplay Fixed an issue with players' sticks colliding with the puck during Stumbles. Fixed an issue when fast-forward to a new shift and getting scored on Fixed an issue where the Skill Based One Timer on Ice Feedback wasn’t appearing for skaters with One T Zone X-Factor Added additional error to passes aimed directly at the goalie while within close range Fixed alignment issues with Chop Puck to help increase the success rate of Chop Puck while stationary and skating Fixed an issue when a user disconnects in an online game which results in 2 AI players causing a line change Fixed a rare issue where CPU may not skate onto a loose puck in the defensive zone when in position to obtain it Fixed an issue that blocked goalies from making certain saves while leaving Hug Post into Butterfly Fixed an issue where CPU players with Back At Ya Zone ability were not able to execute a Reverse Hit Fixed a rare issue where a CPU player with the puck skated back into their zone when they should be focused on attacking Fixed an issue with Skill Based One Timers not triggering One Knee down shot animations when successfully timed Fixed an issue where a Goalie Poke check on a loose puck can cause the goalie to get out of position and miss the puck Fixed an issue where a Goalie can overslide their movement when tracking a puck banked off the end boards Fixed a rare animation issue when a skater skates too close to the net and the model looks disjointed Fixed a rare end-of-period crash that could trigger while shooting the puck at the end of a period Updated plays for 1-3-1 power play Updated plays for Passive, Standard, and Aggressive 3-on-3 OT In Zone Strategies Gameplay Tuner Notes: Developer Feedback: Setting up a perfect Skill Based One Timer is a rewarding hockey play and we want players to feel the satisfaction of hammering home the puck. We want to be very mindful of any adjustments that may reduce their effectiveness. This update reduces some of the additional bonuses applied to Skill Based One Timer shots which can impact the Goalies indirectly. Reduced Stamina Drain on Skill Based One Timer saves. Reduced bonus Shot Accuracy applied to perfectly timed Skill Based One Timer shots. Game Modes Added all 32 current NHL Head Coaches in Franchise Mode, Season Mode, Online VS, and Play Now Fixed an issue where a player's Draft Class year value was being reset to Undrafted after saving within Edit Player from the Main Menu Franchise Mode Fixed a crash when editing some generated players within the mode Fixed an issue where gameplay sliders were being reset after playing a game Fixed an issue where players with trade lists could be traded to a team not on their trade list Fixed an issue where the Standings tiebreaker used Regulation + Overtime Wins before Regulation Wins Fixed an issue where the Franchise HUB ticker didn't prioritize showing signings during the offseason Fixed an issue where the draft pick team ownership shown on an incoming trade offer could show incorrectly during the trade deadline mini-game Fixed an issue where the NHL Coach card would show entering the AHL Coach card from the Edit Lines screen Fixed an issue where using sim intervene could show incorrect goalie stats for that game within the box score Improved CPU logic when signing drafted prospects Misc crash and UI fixes Franchise Mode Conversations & Contract Negotiations: Fixed an issue where an empty text string could show when assigning long-term goals to some defenseman Fixed an issue where morale values could sometimes reset when impacted by conversations Fixed an issue where the user could add clauses to a 2-way contract offer within the negotiation after re-entering the conversation Fixed an issue where the previously discussed contract reset to below league minimum when re-entering the negotiation after a player declines an offer Fixed an issue where the player's new interest in an organization was not being calculated immediately at the time of an “organization persuade” succeeding or failing within a contract negotiation Fixed an issue where a player's “organization interest” wouldn't decrease after failing an “organization persuade” Fixed an issue where some playoff series focus options were not causing negative impacts Fixed an issue where the player's contract interest remained high when evaluating low-salary offers Fixed an issue where a contract promise could fail if the player was playing higher in the lineup than promised Added a 5-game buffer from the start of the regular season for contract promises (buffer scales down when using shorter custom league schedules) Improved tuning for contract negotiations, pre-season focus, and offseason development conversations Added additional info widgets within Conversations and the Contract Negotiation flow World of CHEL Added Bloomington Bison and Tahoe Knight Monsters logos to Customize Team Fixed the Club Rewards screen being accessible while matchmaking Fixed Special Characters not displayed if equipped during the World of CHEL initial character creation Fixed a rare occurrence where the game would soft-lock when quickly dismissing messages in the World of CHEL Tutorial Fixed a crash occurring when quickly entering and exiting items in the Store several times Fixed an error occurring when entering gameplay after copying and pasting a loadout Fixed incorrect cropping of item images in the Store Fixed an issue where the game would soft-lock when accessing Live Events through banner tiles Fixed Store timers moving when selecting items in the Store Fixed matchmaking not working correctly if a user entered “Free Skate” before attempting to matchmake Fixed “Apply Team Colors” causing the UI to jump to the top of the list in Customize Fixed error message appearing when attempting to access World of CHEL with a socially restricted account Fixed “Invite a Player” action displayed when not part of a club Fixed the “Rotate Player” action missing in some screens in Customize Fixed navigation when selecting jerseys in the Club Dressing Room Fixed navigation widget misplaced when selecting jerseys in the Club Dressing Room Fixed soft lock occurring when users sign out after finding a match and re-attempt to matchmake again Fixed a text issue with the EASHL 3v3 Club Finals Progression screen Fixed an occurrence where the “Finding Opponents” UI would not appear in Ones Eliminator Fixed an occurrence where the Ones Eliminator tile would disappear if trying to enter as a group Fixed an error occurring when losing round 1 of Threes Eliminator and attempting to matchmake again with a new club Fixed Player Progression tab appearing blank in Live Events post-game Fixed background color for Live Event timers Fixed Live Events rewards not showing XP Multiplayer Token reward if the event was completed but the match was lost Fixed an issue where Private Match Grudge Match set to "No" still triggers Grudge Matches Fixed a rare crash in the Store Fixed a rare crash when entering World of CHEL Fixed scoreboard stopping at 0.1 seconds at the end of a match Fixed Grudge Matches still triggering even after they're manually disabled Fixed overlapping of match searching timer with other UI elements when some users were not in a ready state Fixed NHL and AHL colors not appearing in the color selector in Customize Fixed goalie special character intro animation not playing correctly with a left-handed goalie Fixed item preview not working correctly when accessing World of CHEL through the Special Character banner in the Main Menu Fixed player indicators appearing in the wrong positions during Gameplay Presentation Cameras Fixed cameras looking at the wrong bench during hat trick celebration Added more camera variation in the post-game menu replays Grudge Match Fixed grammatical bug that showed "0 wins" as "0 win" Team Shots in the Grudge Match intro have been updated for improved variety, and fixes to handedness bugs Broadcast Fixed bug where goal scorer's celebration ends early when cutting to "Big Game Ending" NIS. Fixed bug where teammates do not properly celebrate after scoring a goal in OT. Fixed issue where the post-goal group hug has a broken player when scoring with an extra attacker on the ice (e.g., pulled goalie). Fixed an issue where the sync screen (wipe) stays up until the next faceoff when a post-goal group hug is skipped. Fixed an issue where the wrong team's coach was being displayed during moments of coach dissatisfaction. Fixed an issue with the Digital Dashers where the scoring player's name wasn't appearing post-goal. General improvement to the smoothness of transition when transitioning from Gameplay to NIS. Fixed a bug in Ones Eliminator where the OT countdown SFX would continually trigger. Replays Fixed an issue that showed a goal replay after stoppages for saves and penalties. Fixed an issue to properly show the right X-Factor ability in post-goal sizzle replays; it was incorrectly showing the "Zone" ability instead of the "Grudge" ability. Menus Fixed an issue that was causing user-customized player portraits to appear rotated in menus. Be A Pro Fixed an issue where conversations with Utah front-office staff referenced another club. Flex Camera Logic Changes in OFFLINE MODES (Franchise, BaP, Play Now) and HUT AUTO Flex celebrations no longer occur for humans or CPU. Flex celebrations can only be activated MANUALLY by human users hitting Y / Triangle immediately after a goal. Hockey Ultimate Team Fixed an issue with Wild Card where salaries were not updated when a player had been upgraded. Fixed the custom horn setting in HUT so that the horn should now be played when you score a goal. Fixed an issue where the player lineup screen disappears from the "Manage Team" menu when switching between "Play Offline" and "Play Online" within Wildcard. Fixed an issue where the Objectives title bar is missing on certain screens. Updates: Added XP path feedback into the objectives screen. Added XP Path info and tab to HUT Champs post-match flow. Added XP Path info and tab to Competitive Seasons post-match flow. Art Players Fixed an issue where an EA SPORTS Logo was being displayed on the Kelowna Rockets Alternate jersey. Fixed Dark Shadow on the Goalie blockers in instant replay. Fixed an issue involving Skater casual jerseys clipping through the body in instant replay. Fixed Hair Style 18. Fixed misplaced Fanatics logo on the Carolina Hurricanes Home Uniform. Fixed mustache facial hair appearing low quality. No more clipping seen with WoC Casual Male Asset Tops, Goalie Pants, and Goalie Jerseys. Wrong logo rotation on default FE uniform pants. Pulsing Identifiers are now present on the socks. Be A Pro Updated logos on the hoodie during the coach conversation for the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and Utah Hockey Club in Be a Pro. Presentation Heckler now faces the right direction, no longer clipping through overlay during EASHL 6v6 penalty NIS. Animations - Intro/Outro - In post-Stanley Cup Final Handshake NIS, Facial smile animation is no longer broken. Scoring with Gold Player now emits GOLD Fireworks, not RED, to communicate the gameplay. Environments Fixed an issue where Faceoff Lightshows for Dallas, Buffalo, Edmonton, and Tampa were faster than intended, reducing overlap with the blue dot. Threes arenas exterior lighting is fixed to allow better blending of visual effects. Fixed an issue in HUT Wild Card 5X5 with power rings displaying only green and black colors. Crowd with Parkas are no longer missing Hair Assets. Textures near the helicopter on The Peak are fixed. User Interface Player name indicators are now in the correct position in Quickplay 3 vs 3 of World of Chel. Stability Fixed an issue where if the game was on for an extended period, a crash would occasionally occur. Updated the following teams’ center ice art: NHL Boston Bruins Carolina Hurricanes Detroit Red Wings Los Angeles Kings Nashville Predators New Jersey Devils St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks Toronto Maple Leafs AHL Henderson Silver Knights ECHL Florida Everblades ICEHL EC iDM Wärmpumpen ID VSV Spusu Vienna Capitals Uniforms The following uniforms have been added or updated in NHL 25: AHL Cleveland Monsters - Away and Third Coachella Valley Firebirds – Third Grand Rapids Griffins – Home and Away Hershey Bears – Home and Away Iowa Wild – Third Laval Rocket – Home and Away San Jose Barracuda – Home, Away, and Third Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – Third ECHL Adirondack Thunder – Home and Away Allen Americans – Home and Away Cincinnati Cyclones – Away Fort Wayne Komets – Home, Away, Third, and Fourth Greenville Swamp Rabbits – Home and Away Idaho Steelheads – Home, Away, and Third Indy Fuel – Home and Away Iowa Heartlanders – Home, Away, and Third Jacksonville Icemen – Home, Away, and Third Kalamazoo Wings – Home, Away, and Third Kansas City Mavericks – Home, Away, and Third Maine Mariners – Third Norfolk Admirals – Home and Away Orlando Solar Bears – Home and Away Rapid City Rush – Home and Away Tulsa Oilers – Third Wheeling Nailers – Home and Third Wichita Thunder – Home and Away Canadian Hockey League Acadie-Bathurst Titan – Third Brampton Steelheads – Home and Away Chicoutimi Sagueneens – Home and Away Erie Otters – Fourth Everett Silvertips – Home and Away Flint Firebirds – Third Kamloops Blazers – Third Kelowna Rockets – Third Moose Jaw Warriors – Third Prince George Cougars – Home, Away, and Third Quebec Remparts – Third Regina Pats – Fourth Saint John Sea Dogs – Third Spokane Chiefs – Third Swift Current Broncos – Fourth Vancouver Giants – Third DEL Adler Mannheim – Home, Away, and Third Augsburger Panther – Home, Away, and Third Bremerhaven Fischtown Pinguins – Home, Away and Third Dusseldorfer EG – Home, Away and Third EHC Red Bull Munchen – Home and Away Eisbaren Berlin – Home, Away and Third ERC Ingolstadt – Home, Away and Third Grizzlys Wolfsburg – Home, Away and Third Iserlohn Roosters – Home, Away and Third Kolner Haie – Home and Away Lowen Frankfurt – Home and Away Nuremberg Ice Tigers – Home and Away Schwenninger Wild Wings – Home, Away, and Third Straubing Tigers – Home and Away ICEHL EC IDM Wärmpumpen VSV – Home and Away EC-KAC – Home and Away EC Red Bull Salzburg – Home and Away HCB Sudtirol Alperia – Home and Away HC Pustertal Wolfe – Home and Away HC TIWAG Innsbruck – Home and Away HK SZ Olimpija – Home and Away Hydro Fehervar AV19 – Home and Away Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey – Home and Away Moser Medical Graz 99ers – Home and Away Pioneers Vorarlburg – Home and Away SPUSU Vienna Capitals – Home and Away Steinbach Black Wings Linz – Home and Away Liiga HPK – Home and Away KalPa Kuopio – Home and Away KooKoo Kouvola – Home and Away Lahden Pelicans – Home and Away Oulun Karpat – Home, Away and Third Porin Assat – Home and Away Rauman Lukko – Home and Away Tampereen Ilves – Home, Away and Third Vaasan Sport – Home and Away National League EHC Biel-Bienne – Home and Away EHC Kloten – Home and Away EV Zug – Home and Away Fribourg-Gotteron – Home and Away Geneve Servette – Home and Away HC Ajoie - Home and Away HC Ambri-Piotta – Home and Away HC Davos – Home and Away HC Lausanne - Home and Away HC Lugano - Home and Away Rapperswil-Jona Lakers - Home and Away SC Bern – Home and Away SCL Tigers – Home and Away ZSC Lions – Home and Away HockeyAllsvenskan AIK – Home and Away BIK Karlskoga – Home and Away IF Bjorkloven – Home and Away IK Oskarshamn – Home and Away Kalmar HC – Home and Away Nybro Vikings IF – Home and Away Ostersunds IK – Home and Away Sodertalje SK – Home and Away Tingsryds AIF – Home and Away VIK Vasteras HK – Home and Away Source: https://www.ea.com/games/nhl/nhl-25/news/nhl-25-patch-notes-3

SportsGamers, It's time to kick off the ECL '25: Winter - Elite & Pro Qualifiers and in this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the structure and schedules for the qualifiers of these two highest levels of play in the European Championship League.   ECL Elite Qualifier: The ECL Elite Qualifier consists of six (6) teams competing for two (2) open ECL Elite spots. The six teams meet in a group stage where every team plays each other twice - meaning each team will play 10 games. The TOP 4 teams go into a final round where #1 of the group stage plays #4 and #2 plays #3. The winners of these two matchups will win the promotion to Elite. The losers of the final round, along with the bottom two teams of the group stage will play in ECL Pro for the ECL '25: Winter season.   ECL Elite Qualifier Schedule Group Stage: 30.10-6.11.2024 Finals (BO7): 7.-10.11.2024 #1 vs #4 & #2 vs #3 Click here to find the standings and schedule The following teams were eligible to register to the Elite Qualifiers:   ECL Pro Qualifier: Stage 1: Four promotions The ECL Pro Qualifier consists of nineteen (19) teams competing for twelve (12) open ECL Pro spots. The group stage consists of four (4) groups of four (4) or five (5) teams where every team plays each other twice - meaning each team will play eight (8) or ten (10) games. The winner of the group stage in each group is directly promoted to ECL Pro. Teams finishing in positions 2-4 will move into Stage 2. Teams finishing 5th in their group will play in ECL Lite for the ECL '25: Winter season. Stage 2: Four promotions Groups 1 and 2 will merge into one group (A), and Groups 3 and 4 will merge into a second group (B). The points earned among the teams who already met in Stage 1 will be added to the standings and the teams will only play the three (3) teams they haven't met before. Once the games have been played and the standings have been tallied up, the top two (2) teams of both groups A & B will be promoted to ECL Pro. The remaining eight (8) teams will move on to Stage 3. Stage 3: Four promotions The remaining eight (8) teams will be seeded based on their performance and meet in one final best-of-7 matchup and the winner of each matchup will be promoted to ECL Pro. #9 vs #16 #10 vs #15 #11 vs #14 #12 vs #13 The losers of the final round will play in ECL Lite for the ECL '25: Winter season.   ECL Pro Qualifier Schedule Pro Qualifiers | Stage 1: 30.10-5.11.2024 Pro Qualifiers | Stage 2: 6.-10.11.2024 Pro Final Round (BO7): 11.-14.11.2024 Click here to find the standings and schedule The following teams have secured their place in the ECL Pro Qualifiers:   ECL Lite Qualifier: The Lite Qualifiers are set to kick off later this week as well. We will have an update with all the information during Thursday. ECL Lite Qualifier Schedule Lite Qualifiers: 1.-10.11.2024 We aim to have the matchups and schedule available for you soon, so games can be started as early as possible.     Frequently asked questions Do I need a license to play in the qualifiers? Yes. A player license is required (backup rules apply), but a team is not required to have a team license to enter the qualifiers.   What does "Wildcard team" mean? A Wildcard team is a newly created team consisting of experienced community members with such experience and skill that could warrant playing at a higher level than the one the current team would otherwise be assigned to. Alternatively, a team that has strengthened significantly over the offseason can also be considered a Wildcard team.   Big Tipper is banned as an ability, what do we do if the Grudge Match feature gets activated despite both teams selecting NO? The League Administration has decided to ban both Gold and Silver Big Tipper (both Gold and Silver) from the ECL ’25: Winter season for all divisions. However, due to a bug in NHL 25 that we hope to be patched soon, the Grudge Match feature may activate even when playing private club games and having selected to not have grudge matches appear. Due to this bug, a player may get special abilities that can boost all kinds of areas of their game.  Teams can try to search again and see if the game starts without the grudge match, but it is our understanding that it is hard to avoid. As we have no control over the grudge match feature at the moment, the League Administration cannot and will not handle disputes over the grudge match abilities, until the feature is patched. 

  After further deliberation and in light of the unanimous motion to ban the Big Tipper ability, the League Administration has decided to ban both Gold and Silver Big Tipper (both Gold and Silver) from the ECL ’25: Winter season for all divisions. This change will take effect from the Pre-Season starting immediately, and will also apply to the ECL Qualifiers. It’s been inspiring to see how the community discussion around abilities has gained momentum, with many well-reasoned perspectives and innovative ideas on the table. We’re especially intrigued by the proposals to either ban all abilities or allow each ability and/or player class only once per team. While both options could offer fresh layers to gameplay and enhance the broadcast experience, we recognize these are complex changes that shouldn’t be made hastily. Therefore, we’ll be following how the season progresses and reserve the right to revisit these discussions later. While there will always be strong opinions and a push for fast action, we want to make sure that we give these ideas enough time for the community to think about and have conversations. Thus, we urge you to be active and weigh in with your constructive thoughts. Player Ability Bans - ECL '25 Season Discussion We appreciate your continued contributions to this evolving conversation.

Hey Gamers, I'm sure many of you are aware already, but we want to make sure nobody misses the fact that tomorrow, Saturday, October 19th, is the last chance to purchase the ECL '25 licenses at the Early Bird pricing. This is the final reminder for those who have not had a chance to purchase the Early Bird Licenses yet. Grab your Early Bird ECL '25: Winter Team license and ECL '25 Player License (Winter + Spring) at special pricing until midnight. After that, regular pricing applies, so get yours now!   More information: If you're wondering "What is the ECL?", read this article. If you want to sign up for the ECL, read this article. If you're looking for information about the new ECL season and the NHL 25 competitive year, read this article.