Presumably, EA has been quietly smithing away on the next version of the NHL series for at least the last year — and possibly longer if you count pre-production and other early research and development. The reality is that the company couldn't release a game for the next-generation console launches, as there just wasn't the install base to provide adequate return on investment. The NHL series, as I've noted before, has been on a very gentle slide in the last couple of years (even though the games have been consistently solid), and this extra year allows the smaller-than-average dev team to figure out what they really want to do with the next evolution in hockey video games.

In speaking to the dev team last year, they certainly intimated that they were well aware of the gripes that fans have had over the last few years, including dated presentation, AI balance, simulation elements and defensive play. Technology was a limiting factor on some of these issues, and I got the sense that the team was just doing their best to scoop up all of the features they could from other EA Sports franchises (Fight Night, FIFA) in order to make the last hurrah for NHL on Xbox 360/Playstation 3 something worthwhile.

Then again, some aspects of the NHL series are likely going to continue on as they are. The developers at EA Sports in Burnaby were pretty adamant about their philosophy for things such as stick-on-stick contact, instigator penalties and the increased emphasis on physicality. They felt that adding something like stick-on-stick collisions would diminish the fun that users would have playing the game, and they claimed that extensive testing had gone into finding this out. The same went for instigator penalties, as they didn't want the infraction being called all the time for fights, especially when it's a very subjective call in the first place. As for the physicality (with NHL 14 featuring more fighting and hits), it's what you might expect — a play to lure the casual or mid-level fans that might be turned off by an otherwise simulation experience.

Still, even if there are some aspects of the NHL series design philosophy that EA Sports does in their own broad style, there are several fairly obvious areas where it would be great to see the devs focus on for NHL 15. I'm personally quite happy with the improved fighting and hitting from NHL 14, and the incremental improvements to the EASHL and GM Connected are positive steps. But if I had to pick three areas that I would like to see as a priority for NHL 15, these would be them.
 

While some folks might roll their eyes at this being the first thing I call out, I think it absolutely has to be one of the initial issues addressed with next-gen hockey. I still remember when NHL 07 came along, as it not only debuted the impressive skill stick, but it had excellent graphics and presentation that really freshened up the look of hockey video games. I think EA has a unique opportunity with NHL 15 to reset the bar again, with added graphical horsepower, cloud servers and faster storage/optical drives.
 

One hopes that this revamped presentation would start with the menus, as NHL has had notoriously cluttered, clunky and crazy menus for years now. I'd be all for the NHL series getting closer to something like what FIFA 14 offered, with clear print, large boxes, fast load times and smart nested features, like the modes you use the most being put up front (Be-A-Pro, online, seasons, etc). With the ability to store more data in memory, it would also be welcome to see rosters, lists and other information (e.g. GM Connected) brought up much faster. Load times into the actual game action should also be improved, but the small size of the dev time may limit some of these options

As for the actual on-ice visual improvements, I would hope — and expect — to see a whole host of upgrades, including buffed 3D crowds, increased arena detail, better lighting and contrast as well as some added quality in the ice reflections. The Ignite engine tech should allows for some greatly enhanced animation and player faces, and I'm excited to see how that looks when paired with the improved physics and skating of the previous years. I look forward to the possibility of extra details being addressed as well, such as proper benches and a full squad of referees and linesman on the ice. For myself and many others, I also hope to see the return of five-man goal celebrations and an improvement to the replay packages (including animations and framerate). While player faces won't be equal to that EA Sports UFC, I would expect a lot more realism and emotion than what was seen in NHL 14.
 

How a player behaves is incredibly important for making the off-line experience work in the NHL series, and this applies to both user-controlled and computer-controlled characters. For both sides of the coin, I sympathize with the devs somewhat, as planning for user input and how that affects the players around you has got to be a challenge. If you're someone who plays a puck possession game, the AI has to behave a certain way; if you hit a lot, they should behave a different way. The hope would be that the new horsepower would allow for some added complexity to the AI, and that players would all seem a bit more distinct from one another.

The issue in the past seems to be that EA doesn't want people to get frustrated (especially in online modes) if they can't score or hit. Rather than have players act as true role players, EA seems to want everybody to kind of be able to do everything, which can get frustrating when smaller players are able to (somewhat) play physical, or when mediocre shooters are able to snipe more than they should. It would be interesting to see the AI and human-controlled players influenced by specific traits, much more so than the current player types. I'd like to see hard divisions between one player's skill and another, where a sniper would almost move differently than a grinder and have very specific skills. As it is, the action remains totally satisfying in NHL 14, but a lot of the players feel similar, give or take a bit of speed and slight variance in their ability to deke.
 

As far as CPU-controlled tactics, I would hope to see some of the nagging issues resolved for the next game, specifically gap control, support on the boards, pass outlets and a correct presence in front of the net. As it is, there are still moments where AI teammates won't provide support when you're under duress, and just the same, they won't get to the front of the net when you're drawing away defenders. Additionally, the responsiveness of opposing defenders needs to be adjusted, as they often passively fall back in the slot and try and block shots rather than pinch for hits or take some risks once in a while. I do find that they will engage you on the boards, but the blue line is far too easy to bypass, and the slot doesn't have enough variance in how the defenders engage you. Above all, I hope to see some additional randomness in how the AI behaves in next year's product, and it would be a welcome sight for players to actually be distinct player types, complete with animations, moves and player stats.
 

While the career mode in NHL 14 was a baby step in the right direction, the idea didn't go far enough for my tastes. It was neat to see some level of agency with what my player could say or do, but then you realized that the consequences for your actions were superficial at best. On top of that, there just weren't enough interesting scenarios to deal with, and the presentation aspects for those events was pretty weak.

Ideally, a future version of this mode would borrow liberally from properties like NBA 2K14, FIFA 14 and Fight Night Champion. Leveraging ideas from these other games would add some much-needed life to the proceedings, with some level of voice acting and visual presentation for press conferences, interviews, as well as outside the arena banter with teammates and management. This could tie into the NHL series' existing framework of working your way up through the minor leagues, and the “events” could be linked to that progress. If the developers wanted to go the way of something like Fight Night Champion, there could even be more of a focused “story mode” that followed the career of a specific player — the aging veteran, the cocky rookie, the backup goalie, etc. This would remove some agency from the career mode, but it would allow the devs to tell a layered story that had more impact and that didn't just seem like a bunch of numbers on a spreadsheet.
 

The added horsepower of the new tech would potentially allow this revamped career mode to be a breezier experience as well, with fast load times in and out of games and quicker skips to your next shift (if that's how you play your Be-A-Pro). The increased storage on the disc would also allow for more potential audio to be recorded, and it might get closer to something like FIFA 14 and its somewhat specific commentary about your team/player's recent exploits.
 

There are many aspects of the next NHL game we could focus on, but I feel these three areas are key to reinventing the next-gen of hockey sports. The presentational aspects provide the sizzle — a reason for people to be excited by the new tech. Improving the AI and how each player behaves will push the gameplay further towards something that resembles the distinct athletes and personalities that play the real sport. Finally, the career mode should be something users want to check out, specifically because of the interesting paths they can go down or the choices they'll have. It shouldn't just be a bolted-on afterthought, which is what it currently feels like. Hopefully we'll know more about the design philosophy of NHL 15 in the coming months.

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