Franchise Mode needs generated headshots for prospects

I’m a longtime Franchise Mode player and wanted to bring attention to something that I think needs some attention: the lack of headshots for prospects. With more NHL prospects now playing college hockey, a large number of players in Franchise Mode show up as grey silhouette placeholders. For teams that rely on rebuilds and young cores, this means a big part of the roster looks unfinished.

As someone who plays as the Blackhawks, most of my core players in Franchise are prospects or recent draft picks, and seeing so many blank icons takes away from the realism and overall presentation of the mode. Franchise is supposed to feel like you’re building a real organization, and presentation details like this matter more than people think.

Other sports games have already solved this issue. Games like Madden and NBA 2K use generated in-game portraits for players without official photos. These aren’t real headshots, just engine-generated images based on the player model, but they make the experience feel much more polished. EA NHL games use these generated portraits for be a pro career players, making me wonder why it cannot be implemented  into franchise mode as well. Even if licensing prevents using real photos, a generated portrait would be a huge improvement over the current grey silhouette.

It would also help if headshots were updated more often instead of only using photos from the previous season. Madden updates player photos during the season and includes rookies faster, which keeps the game feeling current. Something similar would go a long way here.

I know there may be licensing challenges behind the scenes, but even a non-realistic generated headshot system would make a noticeable difference for Franchise players. This feels like a small presentation change that could have a big impact on how immersive the mode feels long term.