EA has released a survey to inform its decision-making for the future of the EASHL, which may or may not appear in NHL 16. There were quite a few questions to answer (31, to be exact), and they ranged from very general to very specific. Some of them certainly indicate directions that EA may go with the mode, but it's hard to be sure. It's likely that they have some ideas and they want to see how much these ideas really resonate with the core audience before actually implementing them.

The general thrust of the survey was to see what had previously worked about EASHL and what hadn't. There was an emphasis on choice for what people wanted to see, and there were even some rankings for what users felt were the "most important" aspects of the mode.
 

These two questions were where the survey started to get specific, as EA is trying gauge who plays the EASHL and why. Question 10, in particular, shows that the developers are trying to grasp the motivation for users, such as teamwork or winning at all costs or "taking my hockey experience into the game," which seemed to come up in other questions. The concept of either being rewarded for grinding or being rewarded for actually understanding hockey (and, by extension, the game) is something they are driving at here.
 

Here was a direct chance for users to respond to what they liked about the mode and didn't like. Again, this seems to be informing EA's other questions, as they're trying to understand what key pillars motivate people to play with their friends in this league setting. To me, I enjoy the nightly goal of something to shoot for, and each person on the team plays a role. This creates a meaningful social experience that almost transcends the sport. Everyone has their own take, though.
 

These two questions started to get into prioritization territory — that is, it seems that EA is looking for what two or three things to focus on for the mode. By ranking these features, you can emphasize personal triumph or team glory. Just the same, customization can be a focus or just playing in a league structure. It's clear that the developers want to know what motivates users of the EASHL. Is it the carrot-on-a-stick XP grind for yourself, or is it the shared experience of a unique team?
 

This set of questions targets the lone wolf — the player who plays drop-in games and changes clubs. I'm sure it's a never-ending battle for EA to try to wrangle users into teams and have everyone stay committed to a group, but I'm glad to see they're trying to understand the whole spectrum of EASHL players. Recognizing the migration pattern of your online users, within a specific online mode, seems like a forward-thinking thing to do.
 

These three questions start to get fairly interesting, as the top two options indicate a bit of a sea change for EA in regards to the EASHL. The second option seems to be the traditional model of grinding away until you reach the XP cap for your player. The first option starts everyone at the same level, and their actual skill at the game and choice for where they spend the points matters most. On top of this, the first option mentions "specialized player abilities," which would go a long way to distinguishing player types. I'm hopeful that they are going this way, as having player types play more to a specific style would be very cool.

Questions 26 and 27 find out whether customization is a priority for the user and, if so, what type of customization matters most. The concept of more team customization and arena customization is good to see, if unexpected.
 

The final three main questions offer some other possibilities, including the addition of GameFace. This has been a requested feature for a while, so you have to believe that EA is considering it, time permitting. "Gameplay traits, skills and abilities" and "animations" for player customization also sound quite cool (taunts, specific dekes, etc), and these all add to the customization aspect of what EA is getting at.

Team props and custom intros/outros could be a cool thing, and I'm sure some of that will be in there regardless of what people say (like NHL 15's crowd signs and crazy hats). Being able to customize goal horns and arena details, such as architecture or ice textures, is also an interesting possibility, but I see those either being implemented in a very limited way or implemented down the line altogether.

Final Thoughts

There are a few nuggets here that are intriguing to hear from EA, such as individual player abilities, custom animations, extra arena detail, GameFace, as well as a re-evaluation of how various users consume the EASHL offering as it's been. I think a lot of the pie-in-the-sky custom stuff will probably take a year or two to get in, especially with the size of the NHL dev team. Still, it's good to hear it being discussed.