Community Manager
the first NHL game I played was NHL 97 on pc at my Grandmas high rise in downtown Chicago. Every time I visited her I would just spend all day playing. I vividly remember the intro to that game where they show the puck being made. I was 6 or 7 years old and this was my happy place. Ever since I tried that game I’ve been buying every year. Nhl 03 or 04 I remember playing in my parents basement and discovering some really cool music. I went through some tough times being picked on and issues at home so video games and the nhl series was a great escape and a happy place for me. As I got into my teenage years and adulthood nhl 09 was great for eashl and after class games. Now I buy every series just to play eashl and play after work for a couple/few hours. The best part is when my gf and I move in together she wants to make sure that I can still enjoy my hobbies and passions by playing the game after work while she reads..
ive been a huge Blackhawks fan since I was little and hockey is my favorite sport to watch. To me hockey is relatable to life. Everything can seem to move so fast but once you’re able to control yourself and slow things down it’s quite beautiful.. just living in the moment.
I’ve always played defense in Eashl and I take great passion in my gap control. See y’all on the ice for nhl 24.. and see you irl at a hawks game soon
Ahh, I can still hear Pipe Organ Man blasting Brass Bonanza...
Both my father and grandfather owned a copy of '96 for the Genesis so there was no escaping hockey. I'd play various titles throughout the years - Nagano 98, fan-mades, table hockey, etc., but it wasn't until NHL 2001 and HITZ 2003 where I hit my stride.
My best friend and I would always bet RuneScape gold when competing in 2005 (he'd always beat me until we played our 'septuple or nothing' matches), but we both kind of lost some interest (huge boom for games at this time) until 2009 hit; I was busy with work but my friend was hooked and hyped up NHL for me and our other friend. We sucked super hard the first year but had a blast hitting everyone - slowly we began to hone our craft and by NHL 14 we were a top 100 team (not to mention the 3on3 Arcade that bundled with, so much fun! We tried going a balanced route but everyone knows you gotta just use all big guys and fill 'em in).
We hit a snag with 15 for obvious reasons but we all pooled money for other friends to snag PS4's to continue the carnage in 16 -- I'm the only one with a PS5 atm but we all still play. I became global champ for Ones, one buddy is an absolute unit in HUT (much to my dismay), and the other is a force to behold in all those tournaments you see so we still have fun despite some gripes.
I'm building a new house, one buddy has a big family, and the other moved a few provinces over for work but we still manage to game together which is nice.
Here's to '24 and the dedicated hipcheck button! 👿
