

In my roster, 75 becomes the “replacement-level” base, with 80 indicating a low-end top six forward, top-four defenceman, and starting goaltender.

For a few reasons (I’ve always suspect one of which is a little unspoken pressure from the league and NHLPA), EA has for several years inflated player ratings, condensing almost every NHLer between 80 and 94 overall with not much difference between players at the top and bottom of the lineup. The NHL ratings follow a scheme that works a bit differently than the ones commonly used in these games. The roster is designed to maximize the game’s offline modes, particularly Franchise and Play Now, providing more accurate player ratings, types, X-factors, and potential based on TopDownHockey and AllThreeZones analytics and EliteProspects’ scouting staff. I still enjoy playing with the trainer turned on - in fact, I can't imagine playing without it anymore, especially for passing assistance.The official Elite Prospects NHL 23 custom roster, available on Xbox One, is now live on the game’s Roster Sharing platform. I also wished it cycled through some controls a second time instead of just assuming I'll remember a certain button combination indefinitely. I still found this feature to level off at a certain point, leaving me wanting more from it. It's a graphical overlay that guides you through the various controls at your disposal and aims to encourage you to try out different maneuvers too.

The on-ice trainer that debuted last year is back and deeper. For the most part, I'm finding the AI is more aware of team aspects of the game, which really helps me personally because I like playing NHL games the way hockey is supposed to be played - and less like a video-game version of the sport, if that makes sense. I'm not noticing nearly as many passes to unmanned points or cycles to empty corners of the ice. Player positioning has also received a solid refinement too. Players don't stall while getting the puck to their stick as much as they used to, and it definitely speeds up the overall pace of the game. The most immediately noticeable improvement I was able to sniff out was puck pick-ups.
