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teamunrefined's avatar
teamunrefined
Rising Newcomer
3 months ago

Missing Icons

I was hoping that after several years of requesting the missing icons that deserve to be in the game, the licensing team would finally come through in NHL25. Again, it did not happen. As I finish my exhibition game in NHL22 where I have Marian Gaborik on my RW to snipe a few goals, it really puzzles me that EA licensing team completely ignores getting the rights for Slovak icons such as Gaborik, Demitra, Bondra, Palffy,  Zednik, Šatan, Stumpel, etc.

I think that EA really underestimates how many players would buy the game or spend $$ on packs to get their favourite players on their roster. I’m skipping NHL25. Let’s hope they bring more icons in 26.

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  • EA_Aljo's avatar
    EA_Aljo
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    3 months ago

    Hi there. Chances are excellent this is a licensing issue. While I'm not involved in that aspect of the game, I know that there's more than just offering someone money to use get their rights. If players don't want to be in the game, we can't add them. Hopefully, we'll see these players added in the future. I know our team here tries to get the rights to as many players as possible.

    • teamunrefined's avatar
      teamunrefined
      Rising Newcomer
      3 months ago

      EA_AljoHi, I appreciate the response. Yes, this is a licensing prioritization question. I’m certain that there are not too many instances of alumni NHL players declining being featured in the game. Bobby Orr used to be one of those cases, but even he changed his mind later. Just based on how many 90s-2000s Czech NHL Alumni are featured in the game (14), I suspect not too many Slovak NHL Almuni would turn down EA’s offer. Demitra’s wife likely wouldn’t mind Pavol being featured in game given that she attends STL Blues Alumni events and also attended his introducion to STL Blues HoF in person with both of their kids. Next, Peter Bondra should be in game as one of the leading scorers for Washington with 503 goals. Marian Gaborik was not featured again in the game after retiring yet he runs a pay-per-use podcast about hockey so I doubt he would turn down the offer. Palffy, Visnovsky, Šatan, Stumpel, Zednik, Svehla, Nagy, etc. are all valid candidates for a new round of icons. I’m hopeful NHL26 will surprise all fans of NHL with Slovak roots. 

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