A screen grab of EA Sports' NHL title.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

BRANDON, Man. -- Starting this fall, Canadian Hockey League teams will be available in video game form for the first time.

The CHL and Electronic Arts announced a partnership Friday that will see the junior league included in the video game maker's popular NHL series.

Every team, including players, will be part of the game, which will allow gamers to play with teams in a variety of formats, including a MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament. The game is set for release on Sept. 7, and will be available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

"Bringing this up and saying, 'Here are 60 teams that are brand new, and yeah, you don't know many of the players now -- but in three or four years, when they start making NHL rosters ... it's a big deal,"' said Andy Agostini, an associate producer with Electronic Arts.

"And that's something we really like about doing this: It's a big undertaking, but our team is so passionate about hockey, we just wanted to do something like this."

None of the players will be compensated for the use of their images.

"We view this purely as a promotional exercise," CHL vice-president Ron Robison said. "There's really no financial benefit to the Canadian Hockey League, or the teams or the players. We were just delighted to be asked to be a part of it."