After announcing its delayed release date back in July, EA finally gave us the NHL 21 official reveal trailer this morning.
On the Cover
Alex Ovechkin, Winger and Captain of the Washington Capitals, is your NHL 21 cover athlete. Ovechkin makes his second appearance as an EA NHL cover athlete. The first? Thirteen years ago, fresh-faced on the cover of NHL 07.
The NHL 21 reveal trailer is a loving tribute to “The Great Eight,” with footage of NHL 21 interspersed with clips from Ovechkin’s career. Ovechkin talks over it all, reminiscing about what it was like coming to the NHL from Russia. “Picture this: you’re one of the greatest prospects to ever come from your country. Picture being thrust into a foreign culture, and can barely speak the language. But you do speak one language that everyone understands.”
NHL 21 Game Modes
The team at EA Vancouver has been working hard on making changes to NHL 21. One big change is an overhaul to Be A Pro mode, NHL 21’s Face of the Franchise-style single player mode. In a press release, NHL 21 Executive Producer Sean Ramjagsingh says the community has pushing for this overhaul. “Our community has been asking for an invigorating Be A Pro experience that puts them in the same spotlight as their favorite NHL stars, like Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin’s gameplay legacy, on and off the ice, is helping us to bring the next generation of EA SPORTS NHL gameplay to life with NHL 21.”
NHL 21’s World of CHEL allows players to compete in ranked ones, threes, drop-ins and clubs to earn unique gear, items, and vanity sets. Franchise mode in NHL 21 is adding the Trade Deadline, which will help affect player’s market value. EA Vancouver promises big changes to Hockey Ultimate Team as well. HUT RUSH is a new version of Ultimate Team with scoring that, according to the press release, “rewards skill and creativity.” HUT RUSH will let players to jump into HUT games quickly, streamlining the Ultimate Team experience.
No Word on the NHL 21 Beta
Sign-ups for the NHL 21 closed beta went up in late July, and closed last week. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting on a date for that beta, as today’s trailer really focused on NHL 21’s cover athlete. NHL 21 drops on October 16, but EA Play members will be able to play it a week early, starting October 9. Last year’s NHL 20 open beta ran late in July, a full month before the game’s September 13 release date. Based on timing for the Madden NFL 21 beta, we may see the NHL 21 technical test in the first few weeks of September.
You can pre-order NHL 21 for the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 now on EA’s website. To find out more news on NHL 21, include when the closed beta is announced, follow Sports Gamers Online on Facebook and on Twitter.
