Ask hockey fans who the best player in the world today is and the two most common answers you’ll get are Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. EA Sports, in a sense, was asked the same question this year and the conclusion they came to was McDavid is a shade better than Crosby… and every other player currently in the NHL.
McDavid was given the highest player rating for NHL 19 after edging out Crosby by one point, EA Sports announced Tuesday.
McDavid was given an overall rating of 94 compared to Crosby’s 93. Alex Ovechkin, Drew Doughty and Carey Price tied for third with 92 ratings, while the top 10 was rounded out by 91-rated Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos. Goalies Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby were also rated 91 overall.
Within his skill set breakdown, McDavid’s best individual scores were 97s in acceleration, agility and offensive awareness. Fitting grades in those categories given we’ve never seen a skater like McDavid before and he’s led the league in scoring in each of the past two seasons.
“When you watch Connor McDavid, you get the sense you’re witnessing a player like no other,” reads an EA Sports synopsis of McDavid’s character. “With skating rated at 96, McDavid outpaces all competition, combining speed and power to zoom up the ice in spectacular fashion. A passing rating of 95 gives McDavid endless options for setting up other players, and 96 deking keeps him out of the way of defenders looking to stop him at all costs. His shot is great, too, as his slapshot and wrist shot accuracy ratings come in at 93 and 94 respectively. With 256 points through his first three seasons, McDavid is without a doubt the game’s top player.”
Here’s a look at the top 50 player grades.
NHL 19 is set to be released Sept. 14 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
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