The New EASHL

Sharpen those skates and grab your buddies because the EA SPORTS Hockey League is back! This fan-favorite online team mode has been reimagined and lets you choose specialized player classes to deliver a balanced competitive experience on the ice. Player skill and your ability to play as a team will now be the determining factor in who wins and loses hockey games.

So what this originally sounded like to me was that EA was moving away from users putting in their own attribute points like in the old online Be A Pro, and going to a more FIFA-like style where everybody picks a type of player and you automatically level based on what you accomplish. However, that does not seem to be the case if we go by what EA Sports GameChangers are saying (such as our own OS user Oohwayy).

Instead, not only are Legend Cards, attribute boosts via equipment and everything else removed, but everything but your player's style and equipment is figured out for you. You perhaps still pick your weight and height, but I would not even assume those are a given since those elements would change how you played in past games -- and they play a major role in FIFA as well.

That sounds great! A common refrain in past years is that people love how NHL plays in the Online Team Play environment the first week or so, but then everyone gets juiced up, or you're dealing with 5-foot-7 players who are speeding around and still drilling you. That whole aspect of OTP can be tiring for sure.

Obviously, there's risks here of backlash from a sect of players (and money maybe being left on the table by EA, so kudos to them on that), but this seems like the right move. If there's one thing you can learn by looking at MOBAs like League of Legends, or Dota 2 or the better free-to-play games out there, it's better to try and keep the playing field balanced and avoid pay-to-win scenarios -- or weird scenarios where you just get better attributes because you play more often. Keeping the stuff you pay for to aesthetic items, and focusing on finding ways to control the game balance adds longevity much more than a quick cash grab at launch (and I'm not even saying there will be aesthetic items you can buy, just pointing out if they want to nickel and dime that's a more accepted area to do such a thing).

In theory, it makes the teamwork aspects and all that matter because if a Sniper player type is actually the one picking corners, and a Grinder player type is the one winning battles along the boards or deflecting shots in front of the net, it makes teams feel different while still tying skill to the individual user and team. 

6 v. 6 Online Team Play

New copy: Play online with up to twelve skaters including user controlled goalies. Using real-world NHL rosters you can compete in ranked drop-in games against players from around the world or invite your friends to a private OTP session before you step into EA SPORTS Hockey League.

So via a patch, NHL 15 on PS4 and Xbox One did get 5-on-5 OTP. However, it still wasn't the same, and we haven't experienced how goalies will control on these new consoles yet in a team play environment. I'm concerned about how hard goalie will be to play when considering physics and how alive the crease is at this point; it could be a fun challenge, or it could just lead to a lot of weird goalie interference penalties and so on. 

Also, it's a nice perk that private sessions exist as always. That should never be overlooked.

Online Couch Co-op

The perfect way to play when you and your friends want to jump on the couch, join forces and play some drop-in hockey online. It’s the best place to practice your team play skills before playing OTP or EASHL.

My feeling about couch co-op is that I never want to see it die, but I recognize I probably will rarely if ever play it. I do know some people love to play online with a buddy next to them though, so this is great for them -- potentially it's the even bigger deal since you're speaking to a smaller sect of your more entrenched user base either way.

On top of that, since we know GM Connected will not be back this season, it's nice to see there's other ways to play with friends being added back to the game.

Be a GM: Player Morale

Being a GM is about more than just getting the best players, it’s about getting the right players to play well together. Each player on your NHL and AHL team has a different personality that you will have to manage. Deal with trade demands, teammate relationships, and much more by calling team meetings or adjusting your roster to directly affect your team’s on-ice performance.

With stuff like this, it always sounds great in theory. I don't know how many people remember MLB Power Pros -- and I'm not saying NHL should strive to be like it -- but why MLB Power Pros even stands out is because it tried to be different. NHL is probably never going to have the deepest franchise mode, but if it can actually hit on something unique, or at least unique to the console space (OOTP and other management sims will already do this stuff and beyond), then it's great for them.

It seems like this mode will have a lot to do with chemistry and morale. If that leads to dynamic situations where guys are reacting in interesting fashions off the ice, and you actually feel differences on the ice, then it's great. If I'm more hesitant to believe in something coming through, it would be noticing huge differences on the ice as NHL still struggles at times to even make the really great players feel much different from much worse players. 

It does sound like Season Mode is back as well, though it's unclear how many teams you can control, and it sounds like editing a pro is not a thing as of now.

Be a Pro: Shape Your Legacy

The way you play dictates the type of player you will become in an all-new Be a Pro progression system. On-ice actions directly influence attributes earned, ensuring that your Pro will reflect the way you play. Sim to your next shift and the ability to work your way up from CHL rookie to an NHL Superstar also make a return in NHL 16.

This makes a lot of sense as well, but I will not spend too many words on it as the same feelings I have about franchise mode apply here. Everybody is generally a greedy player in single-player versions of these modes, try to make that greed play out in interesting ways.

Hockey Ultimate Team: Single Player Seasons

The most played mode in the NHL series gets even better. Improved player management and the introduction of HUT Single Player Seasons gives you another way to hone your skills before jumping online with HUT Online Seasons or challenging your friends with the Play a Friend feature.

All I heard was a bunch of noise and then "play a friend" is back. Look, even if NHL 16 is just a redemption tour where the motto is "We Realize NHL 16 Should Have Been NHL 15" I'm okay with that if you keep bringing the right stuff back and make enough tidy improvements on top of the old stuff.

Visual On-Ice Training

Whether you’re new to the NHL series and looking for pointers or are a grizzled veteran trying to perfect your game, this new training tool will help sharpen your offensive and defensive skills no matter your talent level. Visual aids project shooting targets, passing lanes, open teammates, and more.

I'll hold back and not be an elitest here. I know EA is more and more focused on trying to onboard new users, and it is important in the sports genre where the barrier to entry is very high much of the time. 

Precision Skating

Utilize a new skating tool that allows you to make refined movements with your skater in any situation. On defense quickly jump into passing lanes and intercept the puck, or walk the blueline on the power play and open yourself up for that one-timer in the offensive zone.

I think if you follow the NHL series long enough, you sort of get used to realizing you will hear about skating stuff year after year. But to be fair, we should hear about it every year as it's kind of the whole point of the game. 

And the specific things called out here do sound good. I play a ton of my games as a defenseman in EASHL, and the two biggest pains are making the right reads and not being able to step into lanes, and struggling to get yourself into the right space on the blue line for power plays. 

With the blue-line element, in the past I would turn off auto-back skate and try to tread the blue line while getting into space. But it was still awkward to get lined up and actually get lots of power on one-timers and so on. If this refinement leads to more fluid motions in the offensive and defensive zone then dynamite.

Seamless Puck Pickups

The ability to quickly control a pass or corral a loose puck can be the difference between generating a scoring chance and getting leveled. New puck pickups result in smoother transitions when receiving the puck no matter what your position, giving you more time and control to make your next move.

This sounds like a fancy way to say "we tried to remove warping pucks from the game." It would be great if the puck and player are dynamic enough that a pass behind you means a slower pickup. This would then put more attention on crisp passing and the risk and reward of home-run passes. 

Distinct Team Arena Atmosphere

Best in class arena authenticity gets even better with the inclusion of authentic arena effects and props including team specific celebrations, mascots, chants, and even signature props like the Lighthouse at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota.

This sounds like a good idea for the franchise. I think the real NHL has a leg up on most of the major professional sports leagues in terms of uniqueness of environments. It's partly because the NHL is more structured than those leagues in terms of having varying elements like power plays, but it's also because you get more of a feel for a crowd when watching a hockey game because of how it's shown on camera. 

That being said, the uniqueness of the music in these arenas is also very important, and obviously we will not get as much of that signature music as we want. 

Story Driven Commentary

Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Ray Ferraro are back and now call the game with even more emotion. Hear Doc’s voice rise and fall with the action on the ice and get analysis from Eddie & Ray on the peaks and valleys of a NHL season. An expanded NBC SPORTS broadcast package and new pre-game intros brings the drama to life in more ways than ever before.

With a new commentary team being added last year, things obviously were a little light in the content department. Doc did mostly come through as a little too relaxed except on a goal call here or there, so it sounds like they're trying to better grab his emotion and add some stories on top. I would not expect anything amazing, but it should be solid, which is where NHL was before they changed commentary teams. 

Superstar Authenticity

Enhanced facial features and new equipment details synonymous with the league’s top players adds another layer of player authenticity. Use these new equipment elements to customize your own created character giving them a unique look, from custom stick tape, colored skate laces, tinted visors, and more.

This has almost everything to do with player equipment it seems. I've seen folks who have played the game talked about things like Ovechkin's yellow laces being a thing now, and all of it being able to be customized for your own individual player as well. 

Playoff Beards

One of the oldest and most iconic traditions in hockey has arrived. With accurate representations of beard patterns, length, thickness, and growth rates for individual players, the road to the Stanley Cup just got hairier.

Sports video games are weird. Only in a sports game will the idea of a playoff beard growing during a Stanley Cup run be touted. It's a good thing though.

I do wonder how many EASHL players we'll see go with the African-American, blond-haired, blond-beard look though. I will set the over at 70 percent and start taking bets for all those who want to get in on the action.