NHL 21

[Gnome17]

I love the people coming in here only to say that they wont buy the game and that it sucks.

Its as if I were to walk into a boxing gym and go "Hello everybody, ive decided not to take up boxing this autumn, its simply seems to violent for me, I wouldnt want to get injured and on top of that I wear glasses and dont like wearing contacts so it wouldnt really work. Also to be frank it just simply doesnt seem that fun. Ok..bye."

 

[nightonthesun]

I love the people coming in here only to say that they wont buy the game and that it sucks.

Its as if I were to walk into a boxing gym and go "Hello everybody, ive decided not to take up boxing this autumn, its simply seems to violent for me, I wouldnt want to get injured and on top of that I wear glasses and dont like wearing contacts so it wouldnt really work. Also to be frank it just simply doesnt seem that fun. Ok..bye."

It's nothing like that at all. We're criticizing it because we love hockey, we love video games, and we would really like to see changes made. This is the first year I won't be buying an EA hockey game on launch day since I was a kid.

 

[Rick C137]

I love the people coming in here only to say that they wont buy the game and that it sucks.

Its as if I were to walk into a boxing gym and go "Hello everybody, ive decided not to take up boxing this autumn, its simply seems to violent for me, I wouldnt want to get injured and on top of that I wear glasses and dont like wearing contacts so it wouldnt really work. Also to be frank it just simply doesnt seem that fun. Ok..bye."

You tried way too hard with the analogy and it doesn’t even make sense. A better analogy would be if your boxing gym was the only one in town and your instructor was teaching you dance moves instead. Would you keep the paying for yearly boxing instructions when all your instructor is wants to teach you is the waltz?... year after year?

 

[jprenkert]

You tried way too hard with the analogy and it doesn’t even make sense. A better analogy would be if your boxing gym was the only one in town and your instructor was teaching you dance moves instead. Would you keep the paying for yearly boxing instructions when all your instructor is wants to teach you is the waltz?... year after year?

Or better yet, is teaching you only right/left hand jabs. No blocking/combos/etc. and wanting you to pay full price, like a place that offers all the other things.

 

[saska sault]

Its like if my boxing coach sold me meth and I got covid from touching the meth bag. I think that's what we are all trying to say here.

 

[Panthaz89]

The AI has only seen minor-incremental improvements for what seems like the last 6 years. The entire world of gaming is improving and yet EA NHL isn't keeping up. It's like all they do every year is a: UI Overhaul, new music, new gimmicky HUT mode, new Deke, and add a minor selling point or two.

Its literally in nearly all the sports games that have beyond broken mechanics....Madden makes even more bare bones changes than adding fancy simple cinematics and NBA still has the annoying problem people don't like to admit when the 3 pointer is laughably broken mechanic when people can sink them easier than layups.

 

[Green Snow Storm]

I love the people coming in here only to say that they wont buy the game and that it sucks.

Its as if I were to walk into a boxing gym and go "Hello everybody, ive decided not to take up boxing this autumn, its simply seems to violent for me, I wouldnt want to get injured and on top of that I wear glasses and dont like wearing contacts so it wouldnt really work. Also to be frank it just simply doesnt seem that fun. Ok..bye."

The fact that you wasted at least a couple minutes to come up with that awful analogy is enough for me.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Its like if my boxing coach sold me meth and I got covid from touching the meth bag. I think that's what we are all trying to say here.

Given that I also live in the Soo, this seems 99.8% plausible.

 

[saska sault]

Given that I also live in the Soo, this seems 99.8% plausible.

I believe the developers of the current NHL games were featured in our local documentary "Steel Town Down".

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I believe the developers of the current NHL games were featured in our local documentary "Steel Town Down".

Nah. There’s too much teeth in the NHL games

 

[hmc1987]

I love the people coming in here only to say that they wont buy the game and that it sucks.

Its as if I were to walk into a boxing gym and go "Hello everybody, ive decided not to take up boxing this autumn, its simply seems to violent for me, I wouldnt want to get injured and on top of that I wear glasses and dont like wearing contacts so it wouldnt really work. Also to be frank it just simply doesnt seem that fun. Ok..bye."

I've bought many EA NHL's and I understand where they're coming from. If enough of us banded up with them EA would actually change the product. . .so, no, I don't mind them complaining. There are many things that seem like SIMPLE fixes but are non-existent in NHL franchise

 

[hmc1987]

AI seems like a slight upgrade but not enough for me to buy or even want. I am going to specifically state that I do not want this video game at all. I picked up NHL 20 again to continue in my franchise/Dynasty. And get so frustrated with the game play. I have adjusted the sliders and it helped for a bit. Recently it seems that it changed without doing anything. Ill still continue to play this season/playoffs out and maybe the draft, but it gets hard to invest time in. Maybe play for 30-60 min before i get annoyed and turn the game off.

Not to mention the franchise mechanic is broken. In real life a 3rd round (and sometimes later) player can turn out to be special (Mark Stone, Brayden Point, etc.), but in the franchise mode that just about NEVER happens. At least not on players the User team drafts. It's just not realistic and disappointing

 

[Serac]

Not to mention the franchise mechanic is broken. In real life a 3rd round (and sometimes later) player can turn out to be special (Mark Stone, Brayden Point, etc.), but in the franchise mode that just about NEVER happens. At least not on players the User team drafts. It's just not realistic and disappointing

In my franchise mode I was logging, I got a 5th round pick turn into a medium elite guy at 87 overall several years later, so that's not necessarily true. It's rare yes, but it does happen.

 

[n00bxQb]

Not to mention the franchise mechanic is broken. In real life a 3rd round (and sometimes later) player can turn out to be special (Mark Stone, Brayden Point, etc.), but in the franchise mode that just about NEVER happens. At least not on players the User team drafts. It's just not realistic and disappointing

2019-2020 NHL season

# of players by round

Forwards (Top 372 in minutes played):
1st round picks: 171 (46.0%)
2nd round picks: 54 (14.5%)
3rd round picks: 37 (9.9%)
4th round picks: 25 (6.7%)
5th round picks: 19 (5.1%)
6th round picks: 18 (4.8%)
7th round picks: 12 (3.2%)
Undrafted: 36 (9.7%)

Defensemen (Top 186 in minutes played):
1st round picks: 73 (39.2%)
2nd round picks: 36 (19.4%)
3rd round picks: 15 (8.1%)
4th round picks: 16 (8.6%)
5th round picks: 11 (5.9%)
6th round picks: 9 (4.8%)
7th round picks: 6 (3.2%)
Undrafted: 20 (10.8%)

Goaltenders (Top 62 in minutes played):
1st round picks: 10 (16.1%)
2nd round picks: 11 (17.7%)
3rd round picks: 13 (21.0%)
4th round picks: 5 (8.1%)
5th round picks: 5 (8.1%)
6th round picks: 4 (6.5%)
7th round picks: 2 (3.2%)
8th round picks: 1 (1.6%)
9th round picks: 2 (3.2%)
Undrafted: 9 (14.5%)

Breaking it down further to the top 10%

Forwards (min. 34 GP, Top 37 in P/GP):
1st round: 28 (75.7%)
2nd round: 3 (8.1%)
3rd round: 4 (10.8%)
4th round: 0 (0%)
5th round: 0 (0%)
6th round: 1 (2.7%)
7th round: 0 (0%)
Undrafted: 1 (2.7%)

Defensemen (min. 34 GP, Top 19 in TOI/GP):
1st round: 13 (68.4%)
2nd round: 4 (21.1%)
3rd round: 1 (5.3%)
4th round: 0 (0%)
5th round: 0 (0%)
6th round: 0 (0%)
7th round: 0 (0%)
Undrafted: 1 (5.3%)

Goaltenders (min. 34 GP, Top 6 in Sv%):
1st round: 1 (16.7%)
2nd round: 2 (33.3%)
3rd round: 1 (16.7%)
4th round: 0 (0%)
5th round: 1 (16.7%)
6th round: 0 (0%)
7th round: 0 (0%)
8th round: 0 (0%)
9th round: 0 (0%)
Undrafted: 1 (16.7%)

Only 20 players can dress for a game and there are 31 teams, so 620 NHL regulars and considering the top 10% at each position (top 62) to be elite. So about 10.5% of NHL regulars are 3rd rounders and about 9.7% of the elite players are 3rd rounders. Over the last 16 drafts (to account for 18- to 35-year-olds, which make up the vast majority of the league), that's 483 3rd round picks, of which 65 are NHL regulars (13.5% or approximately 4 per draft) and 6 are elite (1.2% or approximately 1 per 2.6 drafts).

6th round picks like Mark Stone are extremely rare in real life. 3rd rounders like Point aren't as rare but still very uncommon.

 

[hmc1987]

2019-2020 NHL season

# of players by round

Forwards (Top 372 in minutes played):
1st round picks: 171 (46.0%)
2nd round picks: 54 (14.5%)
3rd round picks: 37 (9.9%)
4th round picks: 25 (6.7%)
5th round picks: 19 (5.1%)
6th round picks: 18 (4.8%)
7th round picks: 12 (3.2%)
Undrafted: 36 (9.7%)

Defensemen (Top 186 in minutes played):
1st round picks: 73 (39.2%)
2nd round picks: 36 (19.4%)
3rd round picks: 15 (8.1%)
4th round picks: 16 (8.6%)
5th round picks: 11 (5.9%)
6th round picks: 9 (4.8%)
7th round picks: 6 (3.2%)
Undrafted: 20 (10.8%)

Goaltenders (Top 62 in minutes played):
1st round picks: 10 (16.1%)
2nd round picks: 11 (17.7%)
3rd round picks: 13 (21.0%)
4th round picks: 5 (8.1%)
5th round picks: 5 (8.1%)
6th round picks: 4 (6.5%)
7th round picks: 2 (3.2%)
8th round picks: 1 (1.6%)
9th round picks: 2 (3.2%)
Undrafted: 9 (14.5%)

Breaking it down further to the top 10%

Forwards (min. 34 GP, Top 37 in P/GP):
1st round: 28 (75.7%)
2nd round: 3 (8.1%)
3rd round: 4 (10.8%)
4th round: 0 (0%)
5th round: 0 (0%)
6th round: 1 (2.7%)
7th round: 0 (0%)
Undrafted: 1 (2.7%)

Defensemen (min. 34 GP, Top 19 in TOI/GP):
1st round: 13 (68.4%)
2nd round: 4 (21.1%)
3rd round: 1 (5.3%)
4th round: 0 (0%)
5th round: 0 (0%)
6th round: 0 (0%)
7th round: 0 (0%)
Undrafted: 1 (5.3%)

Goaltenders (min. 34 GP, Top 6 in Sv%):
1st round: 1 (16.7%)
2nd round: 2 (33.3%)
3rd round: 1 (16.7%)
4th round: 0 (0%)
5th round: 1 (16.7%)
6th round: 0 (0%)
7th round: 0 (0%)
8th round: 0 (0%)
9th round: 0 (0%)
Undrafted: 1 (16.7%)

Only 20 players can dress for a game and there are 31 teams, so 620 NHL regulars and considering the top 10% at each position (top 62) to be elite. So about 10.5% of NHL regulars are 3rd rounders and about 9.7% of the elite players are 3rd rounders. Over the last 16 drafts (to account for 18- to 35-year-olds, which make up the vast majority of the league), that's 483 3rd round picks, of which 65 are NHL regulars (13.5% or approximately 4 per draft) and 6 are elite (1.2% or approximately 1 per 2.6 drafts).

6th round picks like Mark Stone are extremely rare in real life. 3rd rounders like Point aren't as rare but still very uncommon.

Right, and unless you have a top 1st pick in EA NHL 20 the player will, at best, be a bottom 6/bottom pair contributor. It's just not an accurate algorithm. Which is odd because I thought it was a GOOD system in NHL 18 XD XD XD

 

[hmc1987]

In my franchise mode I was logging, I got a 5th round pick turn into a medium elite guy at 87 overall several years later, so that's not necessarily true. It's rare yes, but it does happen.

I play nothing but franchise. Have probably played near 100 franchises. This has never happened to me. Ever. The times when I have an "elite 2nd/3rd round" player I've traded for them.

 

[nightonthesun]

Franchise mode, at least in 20, does have late-round gems at an appropriate rate in my experience. But -- I never got one myself and the scouts are completely useless in identifying them. I finally said F it and save scummed.

While that is nice, there are so many other ways in which Franchise Mode could benefit from an overhaul. It is absolutely primitive next to FIFA's, for instance ... whose fans are clamoring for an overhaul themselves.

 

[Serac]

I play nothing but franchise. Have probably played near 100 franchises. This has never happened to me. Ever. The times when I have an "elite 2nd/3rd round" player I've traded for them.

How far into the seasons do you go? The odds definitely get higher when you get further and further into a franchise as the game creates new players, some of which can be insane. That being said, the odds are still low for proper late round studs like my guy turned out to be.
Though that being said, I've definitely seen 2nd round picks at the very least become good. Mainly goalies it seems.

 

[CutOnDime97]

Sold my XB1 (also have a PC) so don't think I pick this up anytime soon... And don't see myself picking up the Series X or PS5 just for this underwhelming game. Good year to skip and see if they can do something decent for next gen.

 

[n00bxQb]

Right, and unless you have a top 1st pick in EA NHL 20 the player will, at best, be a bottom 6/bottom pair contributor. It's just not an accurate algorithm. Which is odd because I thought it was a GOOD system in NHL 18 XD XD XD

I’ve snagged a few generated players in the 3rd and 4th rounds who ended up in the mid-to-high 80s (usually elite medium or elite low) in NHL 20.

Actually my most recent season had a 5th rounder from Detroit win the Calder and he’s now an 89 OVR

 

[hmc1987]

I’ve snagged a few generated players in the 3rd and 4th rounds who ended up in the mid-to-high 80s (usually elite medium or elite low) in NHL 20.

Actually my most recent season had a 5th rounder from Detroit win the Calder and he’s now an 89 OVR

What season are you in?

So it IS rare for a 4th+ rounder to be ELITE, but it's not uncommon for a 2nd and 3rd rounders to be decent 84's in real life. It seems to be a lot less likely in EA NHL. Do you find that to be the case?

I swear older versions of the game seemed to have gotten that better although I could be remembering poorly.

Another thing that annoys me is the "talent curve". Like every draft produces these "uber elite" players and within 5 seasons every team is a 90+ in offense, defense, goaltending...that's not reality ! XD

 

[Cor]

We are just over a week away from the EA Access release, and there's been no further information/spotlight on the new Be-A-Pro or Franchise Modes.

I get the feeling we might be disappointed by the be-a-pro mode if they are spotlighting this HUT Rush BS over it.

 

[jprenkert]

We are just over a week away from the EA Access release, and there's been no further information/spotlight on the new Be-A-Pro or Franchise Modes.

I get the feeling we might be disappointed by the be-a-pro mode if they are spotlighting this HUT Rush BS over it.

Probably just the same cut scene you saw in the preview with said teams logo and jersey replaced with whatever team he/you goes to. Guessing a cut scene for when your drafted, first NHL game. But all the same and just change the jersey type thing. going to skip the series till I get a new system in like 4-5 years.

 

[filip85]

Any new leagues or national teams ?

 

[Dangles78]

We are just over a week away from the EA Access release, and there's been no further information/spotlight on the new Be-A-Pro or Franchise Modes.

I get the feeling we might be disappointed by the be-a-pro mode if they are spotlighting this HUT Rush BS over it.

Their "release road map" says that information regarding BaP and Franchise Mode will be released in early October. AKA they want to get as many pre-orders in before they disappoint their consumers on the two modes that people actually care about.