If you are anything like me, you spend the summer months outside enjoying the weather, yet you can't help but think about the fall sports that lay ahead. So a day after the NHL 09 demo has been released on the Xbox Live Marketplace, we take a look forward to see what's in store for the two hockey games being released next week.

This past summer was home to one of the busiest and most interesting offseasons in NHL history. The frenetic free agency period followed a tremendous year of hockey that ended with an amazing Cup Finals in June. Now, when NHL 2K9 and NHL 09 hit stores next week, gamers will be in hockey heaven once more as the virtual frozen pond will be ready once again for blades of steel.

Let’s start with the game that won various sports game of the year awards, NHL 09. After spending some quality time with the PS3 and 360 demos this past week, I can already tell this game is going to pick up right where it left off.

Deeper controls lead the way: being able to lift sticks and flip dump pucks are two major additions to the control scheme. These added skills should simultaneously open and close the offensive gameplay. EA is counting on these new skills to give players a new edge in defending cheese online and a staple of real life hockey at the same time.

Fresh off of a critically acclaimed game, EA Sports hopes NHL 09 follows in 08's footsteps.

If you played last year's game online you most likely came across a person who slap passed the puck across the crease for easy cheese goals. The ability to lift the opposing player's stick should combat this cheesy maneuver. The addition of the flip dump means you have a new way of clearing out the heat in your zone, perhaps leading to a much needed line change -- it's also a great way to attack the defense when trying to enter an opponent's zone.

And speaking of online play, NHL 09 brings a new aspect to the table that may even intrigue the "casual" gamer. As you may have heard by now, the new Be a Pro mode allows you to create your player and take him online to play in games with up to 12 total people at once. This should be a rather revolutionary feature, and if implemented correctly this disc will be occupying console drive slots everywhere for a long time come this winter and spring.

Imagine taking that superstar forward you have and plopping him on an online team with a few of your buddies' created players. Learn to work together and try to become the best in the world? I'm in! You are allowed to choose what position to play and you have several styles to choose from when it comes to each position on the ice. So will I be a sniper, a grinder or a playmaker? Perhaps I'll just be a sniper that cherry picks at the opposing blue line waiting for that flip pass or home run outlet to spring me free. Regardless of how you choose to play, I could see this becoming the most exciting thing in any online sports game in, well ever.

If you are a fan of Take-Two’s rendition of hockey then you also have several things to be excited about. The newest edition will feature "top-notch" in-game presentation, something that 2K is known for accomplishing in the football realm. Look for playoff beards on your players that actually change as you get deeper into the postseason, great arena entrances, and a Stanley Cup presentation that you probably won't want skip over if you are lucky enough to survive four rounds of the postseason -- or at least that's the promise.

2K Sports hopes to be competitive this year with EA's hockey title.

2K9’s online leagues should also be mentioned when discussing the most in-depth console sports game online features. Obviously, we won't know how great the leagues are until we are able to dive into them ourselves, but from the details posted online the leagues look intense! Essentially, the front end is a well thought out and clean homepage that features all the stats and standings you can handle. You can also write blogs or upload in-game replays that explain and show off how you embarrassed your latest opponent. A full season's worth of smack talking online against your friends could be the ultimate time killer if the gameplay can keep up with the effort put into the other aspects of the game.

Still, no matter what game you like more, you all should be excited about next week since both games will be hitting store shelves. EA has a game that can appeal to both the die-hard simulation fan and "casual" gamer at the same time: The game can simulate real NHL flow with the right users in control and settings in effect, or can cater to the run and gun style of an arcade game. And the "hardcore" will notice that 2K does things that may get overlooked by some -- face-offs, presentation, and board work -- things that just scream real-life hockey. Regardless, each foundation has been set, and now there's no more tearing down and rebuilding when it comes to these two franchises.

The NHL season will be here in about a month, and all those same faces in new places will be ready to lace ‘em up once more. By then we will be a few weeks into our NHL video games, ready for yet another great year of hockey. What more could a puck head ask for?