There are two truths you should know — or probably already do know — before you watch the clip below (pilfered from the NHL’s YouTube page).
1. No NHL player is ever truly happy with his EA Sports’ rating in the latest NHL video game (with the possible exception of Sidney Crosby).
2. Hockey players are an exceedingly humble bunch (with the possible exception of Alex Ovechkin).
So as you watch stars Crosby, Ovechkin, Patrice Bergeron, T.J. Oshie and Travis Zajac guess their rating (out of 100) in NHL 15, be prepared for some modest estimates — in most cases — and secret wishing that they’re much higher.
So how does the video game maker come up with the rankings anyway?
The producers of the title maintain a year-round relationship with a professional scout, who works with the CHL, AHL and NHL. They instruct him which categories to adjudicate, and he rates all the players in all categories.
“We drop [the ratings] into the game and work with him throughout the year as we do roster updates,” producer Sean Ramjagsingh says. “We can update rankings on the fly to reflect which players are hot and which ones are slumping.”
Here are the game’s top 50 rated players as we head into the 2014-15 season.
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