NHL training camps begin next week, which means another season is right around the corner. As hockey fans know, the season is always preceded by the annual release of the NHL series by EA Sports. Last year’s NHL 25 was a step up. EA Sports has kept the momentum going, as NHL 26 goes top-shelf to deliver a product that’s fun despite its persistent flaws.
What’s Your ICE-Q?
NHL 26 takes steps forward in several areas, with one of the most significant advancements being in gameplay. ICE-Q 2.0 is the primary driver of this. It’s EA’s catchy name for the system in NHL 26 that seeks to capture and emulate individual player tendencies and have players’ video game versions play just like their real-life counterparts. Ideally, we’d see Connor McDavid dominate with speed and great vision, Alex Ovechkin have tremendous offensive awareness and a lethal one-timer, and Quinn Hughes patrol the blue line with an eye toward creating offense.
To get the right data, EA has partnered with NHL Edge to allow player behavior in NHL 26 to be powered by real-life analytics. The information is featured constantly in the game, too. Replays will show off analytic data like shot power, skating speed, and more.
It’s mostly, but not wholly, successful. NHL 26 does a great job of capturing the tendencies of star players. The game isn’t as consistent with role players, although it’s much better than in past years. However, I really noticed the impact in Franchise mode. When I played with the Wild, the team played like the Wild. Playing with the Rangers felt different. So did the Maple Leafs. If the goal was to make teams play like a team and not just a collection of attributes, then mission accomplished.
Become A Star
The most significant changes in NHL 26 are to the Be A Pro mode, and they’ve made an enormous impact. The repetitive nature of the mode and lack of investment in it have made me stop playing it for years. In NHL 26, I love everything about it so far. Except for the part where the game froze up after my first World Juniors game and I had to replay it. However, I’m hoping that’s just a one-off since I haven’t had the issue since.
From the drop of the puck in your career, everything feels like you’re living the life of a player. You don’t choose your position, play style, and X-Factor in a menu screen; instead, it’s done in a press conference where the media is trying to get to know you as a player. The choices you make in interactions with players like Macklin Celebrini can boost your attributes and improve your reputation with teammates, or improve your brand score. Of course, your play on the ice will give you opportunities to improve your player’s skill set too.
NHL 26 provides constant feedback during games. If you keep your form up, the coach will give your line more playing time. That gives you more opportunities to rack up stats. Don’t be a puck hog, though. Your team’s play score is important, so be responsible positionally and make smart plays with and without the puck. Also, it’s not a new feature, but the ability to simulate your next shift is invaluable. I doubt I’d play the mode without it.
If you don’t play well, you could get sent down to your club’s AHL team. That’s new this year, and adds such a nice sense of realism to the experience. Overall, Be A Pro is a blast in NHL 26. You have to be a hockey nut to like it — it’s a massive grind — but it’s a non-Ultimate Team thing that I’m going to enjoy sinking my time into more.
Hoist The Cup
Franchise mode is back as the centerpiece of NHL 26. In my time with the game, I can’t overstate how much I feel the ICE-Q tweaks have made a difference in this mode. A game against the Pens feels different than a game against the Sens, and that hasn’t always been the case in the NHL series. This is maybe the closest the team has come to capturing the identity of each NHL team, and it’s so refreshing.
You can have as much or as little control as you want. If you want to manage every aspect of the rosters and payroll, you can. If you just want to play the games and let the CPU handle everything else, that’s an option too. In addition to winning games, you’ll have to manage team morale. To do this, you can have conversations about a host of things, including asking them to change positions, their play style, or even waive their no-trade clause. To build the on-ice product, you can manage lines, make trades, and even eliminate the salary cap and try to create a super team.
Franchise mode is pretty standard fare in NHL 26. Not much has changed aside from the impacts of AI player tendencies. I’d like to see more attention to the mode in the future, but Be A Pro really needed the live this time around.
World Of CHEL
World of CHEL is back in NHL 26, and it doesn’t appear that much has changed. There are still the standard Ones and Threes modes. Drop-in games are back, allowing you to take your created player into matches alongside other gamers. And of course, there is a store where you can purchase all sorts of cosmetic items with either earned CHEL points or real-world dollars.
The biggest change in World of CHEL is a quality of life one. EASHL clubs now have a transfer window that allows the creator of the NHL 25 club to bring all of the club info forward into NHL 26. As the creator and manager of my friend group’s club for years, this is such a welcome change. If you want to take advantage, you have until mid-November to take advantage of the transfer window.
Build The Ultimate Team
You knew we were getting here eventually. Aside from Be a Pro, Hockey Ultimate Team got the most attention in the development cycle (sigh). Actually, it’s not all that bad. Mostly.
NHL 26 introduces Cup Chase to Ultimate Team, and it’s a pretty welcome addition. Cup Chase is for the players who want to play more single-player games in HUT, and it has a lot of similarities to MLB The Show’s Mini Seasons. Surprisingly, I find Cup Chase to be much more fun than Mini Seasons, though. I think it’s largely due to having to stay under the cap and that the season is 16 games instead of the 28 you play in the baseball version.
Aside from that, it’s Ultimate Team. Most things try to guide you into the store to spend money. Like with any Ultimate Team mode, it’s possible to build a great team with no money spent if you are willing to put a ridiculous amount of time into it. New card series is nice — I really like the addition of captains that give you a boost based on how you construct your team.
It’s 2025. You know what you’re getting with Ultimate Team, and you really like it or you don’t. Cup Chase is a fun new mode, and the menu upgrade is a massive quality-of-life upgrade from past years. Aside from that, it’s essentially the same thing that you’ve grown to love or hate.
The Verdict
NHL 26 is a step in the right direction. It’s not a perfect game, and maybe not even a great one. But I had fun playing it, and I’m betting that a lot of other hockey fans will too. Franchise is going to need some love in the coming years, but the Be a Pro upgrades have changed the game with that mode, and the Ultimate Team tweaks make it inviting to more players. EA isn’t hanging banners yet, but NHL 26 is the hockey equivalent of a dangerous playoff team.
