NHL 14 Wishlist

EA’s NHL series celebrates what makes hockey what it is: the competitive spirit. This year, the restructured skating mechanics makes it feel like you’re actually on the ice with speed bursts, enhanced physics, and realistic skating momentum. For the most part, these enhancements paid off, but regardless NHL 13's single-player modes still need work. With NBA 2K, FIFA, and Madden making improvements to their career and franchise experiences, NHL needs to step up. Below are some additions that would give this hockey game a clean sheet of ice. 

Be A Pro Needs To Feel Real

Fans dream of experiencing the glory of being a professional hockey player. For most of us, this will never happen, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to know what it’s like. Part of what makes NBA 2K13 so fun is its My Career mode, where you transition from a freshly-drafted rookie to having your own Nike sneaker. Be A Pro has the potential to go that route (with skates instead of sneakers, of course), but it has seen only minor improvements over the past few years. NHL 13 lets you request trades, but that’s only scratching the surface of its potential.

I want to watch my character grow to fame, but I’ve had a hard time staying motivated in Be A Pro. Incentives that simulate the trials and perks of celebrity would definitely help me stay on board. For instance, letting my Be A Pro character interact with the media through press conferences like NBA 2K13 would be a great start. Throwing social media into the mix and having fans rise or fall depending on my performance, complete with messages full of snark or adoration, would also be an engrossing tweak. Additionally, adding coach and GM meetings, where they discuss roles and performance would add significant depth. Right now, Be A Pro gives you a letter grade based on your performance, though your goals are almost always too inflexible and based on the player type you’ve selected, not the game at hand.

Another implementation could be intense contract discussions – maybe I’m the top scorer and I’m not settling for anything less than $7.5 million, but the GM only wants to offer me $5 million. I’d love the opportunity to offer threats and be swayed by other teams for more money. To riff off this, wouldn’t it be awesome to see fan reaction if I betrayed them and left for another team with more money? I want to be like Marian Hossa every time he plays in Pittsburgh or Detroit.

A big part of a successful team is how well you and your teammates jive. Be A Pro could offer more opportunities for interaction with teammates and have it impact line chemistry. Maybe I didn’t give my teammate enough credit for assisting in my wonderful goal, so he decides he won’t pass me the puck as much. This could even expand into one-on-one interactions in the locker room between periods where I can give teammates pep talks that either inspire or infuriate them depending on their mood. The impact of jealousy is rarely seen in sports game – having this influence line chemistry would create a legitimate behind-the-scenes feel. In addition, requests to change lines when I’ve established myself as a top-tier player would help if I didn’t feel my line was working out.

[Next Up: Being the boss ....]

Fix And Refine Be A GM Mode

Not everybody wants to be a star; some want to be the masterminds behind the Stanley Cup-winning team. Be A GM provides the addiction of finding just the right players for your team, but this mode has always had problems simulating a realistic experience. How awesome would it be if I could hire my team of coaches, scouts, and trainers? If you factored it into your GM budget, it would be another fun financial aspect to juggle.

I also want scouting to be more interactive and realistic. Adding in a research database where I can look up articles on hot prospects or under-the-radar sleepers would be a great start. Right now, even when I scout by positions, I rarely feel like I’m getting a good grip on players or what potential they’ll have on my team, so much so that I often leave it to the AI. Scouting should feel like an investment; interviewing potential first round picks before the draft would add a touch of realism. Currently player growth is also too predictable – I want more fluctuation with picks that pan out even though they’re projected at a lower round. Pekka Rinne is a perpetual Vezina nominee despite being drafted in the 9th round in 2004 – a round that doesn’t even exist anymore.

NHL 13’s sketchy AI GM decisions prove that trading needs to be gutted completely. This year the developers attempted to make trades more streamlined by allowing you to see which players GMs would be interested in trading away and who was untouchable. The problem? The AI didn’t even think twice about a legitimately good deal if it didn’t completely match their trade block. Even more frustrating, the AI couldn’t evaluate surpluses. Often in the NHL, teams find themselves with too many players for a specific position and make trades to get some value from the players. If a team is stacked on goalies, I expect the price to be negotiable. Similarly, if players are underperforming, they’re often traded for players in a similar boat, like the Peter Mueller and Wojtek Wolski trade. I’d like to see more of these exchanges through seasons and more explanation for why the deal was made, perhaps in a news blast like FIFA does.

I also want a beefier contracts negotiation process. Players often go back and forth with GMs many times before landing on a deal. Player happiness needs to factor more into the situation. As an example, in NBA 2K, players who are unhappy won’t even give you the time of day. To have that unpredictability about whether or not players will stick with you puts the pressure on to build your team right.

[Next Up: Player progression, gameplay, and drama ....]

Change Player Progression/Regression

Something that always bothered me in EA’s NHL is that a player’s goals, assists, shot blocks, and hits hardly influence anything, especially in terms of player growth. Obviously, some players, like Sidney Crosby, continually improve and show constant skill. Others fizzle out, like Jonathan Cheechoo, or don’t find their game until later in their career, such as Tim Thomas. If my player has a string of fantastic seasons it should influence his rating. Similarly, if my star player pulls a Ryan Getzlaf and has an awful season, it should reflect and he should have to earn back his rating. Also, some attributes should taper off for players with age. A speedy player like Marian Gaborik is bound to slow down; he can’t stay locked into a 90+ speed rating as he’s hitting 40, but maybe his intelligence increases from his years on the ice. We need more fluctuation; it feels like every player is on a set path from the get-go. 

Gameplay Tweaks 

Although NHL 13 put plenty of effort into new skating mechanics, some parts of the experience still fall short of a real hockey match. First off, when I’m battling on the boards, a teammate rarely comes to my aid or in my vicinity for a desirable pass. Half of the time, I lose the puck; AI awareness still needs to be better. Can we also stop with the unrealistic bursts in player power and speed? I understand that as I get closer to the goalie crease the checks will be more aggressive, but it rubs me the wrong way when the CPU suddenly gets massive strength to check me across the ice. When I’m way ahead in a breakaway, they shouldn’t miraculously speed up and catch me. If the situation was reversed, I wouldn’t stand a chance. With NHL tapping into physics, shouldn’t pucks off the stanchions factor into matches? Enough TSN highlights exist to back up that the puck isn’t always predictable.

Let’s not forget how much potential hasn’t been tapped into with checks, right now they’re purely body-to-body, but that’s not always how they happen. Slew footing and skate collision detection – both accidental and on purpose – would bring new hits and falls to the ice. While, we’re on the topic of falls, the physics needs to be better. Players should fall in new and different ways depending on where they’re hit and pushed. Also, why do hits by multiple players never happen simultaneously? 

While we’re at – not many people play as a goalie. Why? Because the controls are too convoluted to be worthwhile. Goalie is a complex position, but the learning curve shouldn’t be so steep in the game that it turns players off from even trying it. 

Bring The Hockey Drama

Part of what makes hockey fun is the drama – the fights that happen on and off the ice. NHL 13 cut back on the natural opportunities for on-ice fights, which bummed me out. I want players to trash talk one another in interviews and incite my players for a showdown. More importantly, if a bad hit happens I want the players on the ice to scrum and the fans to boo the player. Right now, only injuries cause booing, but the potential is there for more fan interaction. Games against rival teams should carry the intensity – I want harder checks and more frequent fights. Similarly, why not add suspensions for bad hits? A virtual Brendan Shanahan coming on screen and giving that special suspension speech would be divine.

[Next Up: New licenses, commentary, and not playing by the rules ....]

Get the KHL and NCAA Licenses

NHL 09 was the last EA title to see the Russian Super League players in the rosters. Since the formation of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), arguably the number two league in the world, Russia has been missing from our hockey games. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard for EA to acquire this license – the KHL loves money. The frustration mounts because some of the former NHLers who have moved to Russia, like Alexander Radulov and Nikolai Zherdev, disappear completely without it. Plus, who wouldn’t want to goon it up by playing as Vityaz Chekhov?

The other major missing license is NCAA Hockey. Though many of the game’s top prospects, like Wisconsin’s Nic Kerdiles, Minnesota’s Nick Bjugstad, and North Dakota’s Rocco Grimaldi, wouldn’t be in the game due to NCAA rules, at least we could get numbered facsimiles. Even without the players, just being able to take Boston College up against Boston University would go a long way for college hockey fans.

Bring in New Commentary

Bill Clement and Gary Thorne are getting a little long in the tooth. After all, if you’re not a Flyers fan you likely haven’t heard Bill Clement anywhere else lately, and Gary Thorne hasn’t called NHL games since the 2005 lockout. I’ve heard “Doggie what a save!” and “A glove save and a beauty!” literally thousands of times over the past few years – the time is ripe for new announcers. Why not take top announcers like Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk and bring some new life to NHL’s commentary? With EA’s commitment to more advanced presentations, what would be better than hearing Eddie O commanding the game to, “Stop it right here!” Just don’t get Pierre McGuire. Please.

Be Able To Play Dirty

I wouldn’t recommend this for the online modes, but I think in single player an option to play a dirtier game should exist. After all, players like Sean Avery have made their careers out of not being afraid to throw an elbow or dive to draw a penalty. Just like real hockey, if you take the risk it might be beneficial, but it might also put the other team on the power play. In season modes, doing this enough could earn you a reputation as a diver or a dirty player, making it more likely for penalties to be called against you. Talk about adding a moral dilemma in the desire to win – would you be tempted?

Some of these ideas might be pipe dreams, but it shows that EA Canada has plenty of places it could go with future games. More importantly, it illustrates that NHL has to start measuring up to other leagues’ games. After all, in the spirit of competition, does it really want to land in last place?

Where would you like to see the series go next?