It’s quite impressive how deep EA went with this feature, as you can adjust the price of individual food items at the concession, launch promotional nights, upgrade stadium facilities, meddle with ticket prices, and even relocate a franchise. NHL 17 has expanded this and gone into full-on owner territory, pulling from the likes of NBA 2K and Madden, to provide full control of a franchise. “The “Be A GM” mode has been a staple of the NHL series for years, and last year it was improved via the addition of a morale system which let you monitor your players and meet with them if things started to go awry. Also, the green-screen intros have kind of lost their appeal after the initial professional broadcast sizzle.

On the other hand, the commentary by Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Ray Ferraro doesn’t seem to have much additional variety. I still love seeing the mascots dance around and fans getting pumped up after a goal, and the arena-specific items and effects keep that authentic feel. The presentation that was revamped two years ago still looks sharp, and it maintains the NHL series’ distinct look among modern sports games, even if there are no noticeable improvements over last year. Hockey seems very well suited for this type of instruction, and it just makes sense to start novice players with the basics and then occasionally remind them of an advanced technique. The return of “semi-pro” difficulty helps serve as a bridge for casual players, too. It’s nice to see specific zones that your player should be covering, and the projected bank path for saucer passes off the boards is a good touch. This has been enhanced for NHL 17, with added direction from coaches between periods and more on-ice visual aids. A universally welcome feature from NHL 16 was the on-ice trainer, which helped guide newer players through some of the nuances of the controls.

There’s a lot of complexity to all of these interactions, but NHL 17 eases you into them and teaches you to make the most of a situation.

Nhl 17 most current rosters