WOC - Why did you destroy the matchmaking?

Hi Aljo,
thanks for your feedback.

I'll try to give you more info here and what problems we usually have to deal with.
We are a club from Germany that always plays with 5 skaters and an AI goalie. No drop-in goalie. Our player ranks are between silver and gold and we are currently in Div 6. We play regularly in the evenings from 7pm which was the prime time last year.

Problems:
- The opponent team size doesnt match our preferences. We don't want to play against teams with only 2-3 human players. They appear very often due to the lack of a filter.
- The waiting time until an opponent is found has increased significantly. 5 minutes is now the rule
- The ranking of our opponents no longer matches ours at all. Players from platinum level and higher are the rule. We don't shy away from a challenge, but the difference in the ranks is too great.

These are our main problems. We have the feeling that the missing team size and location filter are the main reasons why we can no longer find attractive matches. 
I hope this helps you and you find the right levers to make the MM as perfect as it was last year.

best regards

Hi there. We are aware of the feedback with lopsided RP.

Can you get me a video of what you're experiencing with matchmaking? We've been very focused on 6s so it's possible teams with less are having a harder time finding appropriate matches.

Hey Aljo, I appreciate this reply.  It's the first one I have seen that even notes the change to matchmaking was intended and was intended as an enhancement.  Considering your level of responsiveness in other topics I really found it strange how there was a complete silence the first couple months when every other post on this forum was about matchmaking.  Blink twice if you were/are under a topic moratorium.

As for feedback, I can share my own experiences.  EASHL, usually 4-5 skaters, always AI goalie.  Matchmaking has been very uneven.  Controlling for time of day (usually 8-10pm ET), we usually get matches in a bout 90 seconds.  However there does seem to be 2 or 3 times a night where something breaks and we sit for 6-10 minutes with nothing being found.  We back out of the locker room to try searching again. And maybe it's superstitious coincidence but it seems to help.

We have a hard time matching against opponents our level.   We are solidly in upper gold (21,22k RPs) but we seem usually get games of all 16-18ks or 24k+.

Changes were made with the intent to improve matchmaking. Obviously, this isn't working out as planned. We need to find out why you all are having so much trouble matchmaking. Searching prioritizes team size and goalie so you should be getting equivalent matches. So long as the player pool supports it.

What is happening with your searching? Are you searching only for 6s or are there less of you? Are you using a human goalie? Are you not getting matches? Are you matching with teams of 2 when you have 6? Are your searches taking too long? You're also welcome to get a video of your experience. That could help.

Transparency - a situation in which business and financial activities are done in an open way without secrets, so that people can trust that they are fair and honest.

Have any of us seen exactly what details have been excluded from NHL 25, until we started playing it on our consoles? Nope. Unless you're an EA Sports employee, that information is privileged and not made publicly open to the consumer. 

This game shouldn't be a learning curve, every single year, much less have WHAT WORKED removed for absolutely no reason or reasons. Adding something for ease of use is understandable. Removing something, that's been working, only creates confusion and a lack of trust among other things. 

From this side of the screen, there's been very questionable decisions made, regarding this game, to which absolutely no proof or evidence has been relayed to this community as to why its been done. And despite requests for answers, solutions, etc., they're essentially met with "too bad, your financial purchase of this game means that you'll just have to deal with whatever we decide you'll play." Good game. 

Appreciate hearing this. Thank you!

Aljo, thank you for your fast reply. I really appreciate your work here. Thanks for providing some insights. 

Hey there. Thanks so much for the constructive feedback on this issue. I can't tell you how much it's appreciated. I've sent this over to the team.

As far as this issue goes, we're absolutely aware of the sentiment regarding matchmaking. I don't have any news currently, but as soon as I do, it'll be relayed to the community here. Thank you again.

NHL24 matchmaking was perfect. We stopped playing NHL25 EASHL due to the horrible matchmaking. We wasted hours in the buggy lobby just to find opponents that totally not match our rank and skill level. We decided not to buy NHL next year. Bravo EA. NHL24 match making worked perfectly fine.