NHL 26 be a pro wishlist/suggestions
I wanna start by saying I have been playing the NHL video games since NHL 11, and have been an active be a pro player since NHL 17. Through my experiences of playing the game I have come up with changes/additions that will greatly improve the mode. Before getting drafted: As it stands there are only 3 options, the CHL, euro league, or go straight to the NHL. I don’t have a problem with the CHL or euro league being in the game but there should be more options, such as the USHL and College hockey teams, around 10-15 of the top tier programs. And if you decide to choose an option that isn’t getting drafted right away allow the real players who got drafted that year to be in the draft pool too, part of the reason I choose not to do the Chl is because there won’t be michkov or celebrini in my sim. That needs to be addressed immediately. Allow me to start between ages 14-17, which decides the type of grind and start I want. If you start at 14 you have more time to increase rating (but you should also start lower), and build offers from colleges teams, through highschool. College should be 10-15 of the best programs and should consist of around 20 games a season with the option to play up to 4 college seasons, giving more time to increase nhl readiness and overall. Highschool doesn’t need to be realistic teams, just do something as simple as a AI generated 16 team youth league that has a 12 game season or something, in which you can also get scouted for junior league drafts along with college offers.This will allow players time to get their attributes up, but it takes longer. If I start at 17 I get a select few college offers or I could go straight to the draft. Not every prospect should be 70 overall, if I’m getting selected top 5 I should be 75+ and if I’m a 4th round or later I should be below a 70. Make the years before the nhl mean more than draft position. For the draft itself add a cutscene for it, not just a photo of me in full gear of my team. Show me sitting and allow me to choose my reaction to getting drafted and show me walking onto the stage. Attribute upgrade system: Revamp how you upgrade your player, make it like mlb the show where you can earn points through a much simpler way. Increase Immersion and depth once in NHL: Besides the rookie year, once you are in the league there is nothing new. Cutscenes are repetitive, too few cutscenes and interviews, forced interactions with my teammates that are often dumb, my teammate chemistry shouldn’t go down because I’m forced to commit to putting 20+ shots on net. Things like these really make the mode hard to keep playing after 1 season. Increase interviews, after a really great or really poor game allow me to speak to the media, or decline. All which could impact fan rating. Allow me to walk around my locker room and see my player more often. Let me go to practice and do warm up skates before games. Maybe during these you could give fans souvenirs like your stick or pucks which increase or decrease fan likeness if u refuse. Let me feel like I’m in the NHL. Along with that let me be sent down like was an option in previous years in you are under performing. Allow me to become alternate captain as well. If I’m a top player on the team and have a high teammate rating, obviously I should be honored with some form of captaincy but I shouldn’t be able to take the C away from Ovechkin just because I scored 200 in my rookie season. For crying out loud add the ALL STAR GAMES AND WINTER CLASSICS does anything else need to be said, you already track how many all starts we’ve been selected to. Allow me to check in on social media for roster moves, and trades or just what fans have to say. Make an award show as well, let me see my player with the trophy, let me see the Stanley cup parade, eafc already has these. Revamp contract signing: I shouldn’t only see contracts once and be forced to make my decision then. Allow me to negotiate throughout my final year of my contract, you already have the gm’s office in the game, use it. If not this, just allow the offers to build up in the offseason and allow me to stall offers or try to increase the value. I shouldn’t be forced to make a decision right away. Make the money mean something as well, allow me to see my player arrive to the arena in the car I just bought, allow me to see myself in my house or on the vacation I paid for during the offseason. Let me see my player do things. Graphics upgrade: Upgrade player faces. I’m pretty sure the face options in be a pro of have been the same for 5+ years and they all have terrible texture, they look very dull and not like a real face. Teeth also faze through the skin when your player opens their mouth. Hair also needs an upgrade. Add more hairstyles for African Americans and make them with the new gen texture. Of the very few hairstyles that fit black people in the game they all look dry and don’t move, along with majority of the other hairstyles in the game that are stiff and are form nhl’s 5+ years ago. Equipment: This is much smaller but add more equipment options, specifically visors, in the nhl and all hockey leagues today you see a lot more players having curved and different types of visors. The only curved option in the game right now is very big and not like the one used today.NHL 26 Be a Pro wishlist/suggestions
I wanna start by saying I have been playing NHL games since nhl11 and I have been an active be a pro player since NHL 17. As someone who’s favorite mode is be a pro I feel there are some much needed changed and improvements that aren’t far fetched that can turn this mode great. More hockey options before the nhl: not everyone wants to play a lot before the nhl but that’s because there is no depth too it, and when you start before the draft and don’t pick your team you don’t get other rookies into the sim. Firstly, put rookies drafted in into the draft pool so they are incorporated into the be a pro world. Secondly, allow me to start at 17/18 headed to the draft or 15/16. If I choose to start at 15/16 let me choose to go to college, with around 10-15 of the top tier teams in college hockey, or the Chl/european league like you have now. Allow me to frequently check my draft stock in a “top prospects list” and give me actions and interviews that allow me to either purposefully drop my stock or boost it based on what I say. Make the years before the nhl more immersive and mean something beyond just the #1 pick. This will also allow players to get their rating up before they get into the nhl. Not everyone wants to be a 70 overall, if I perform well in junior hockey, allow me to get upgrade points, which should be given on a more frequent basis in general similar to how MLB 25 has made their player upgrade system this year. Increase depth and immersion once drafted: Rookie season in Be a pro is decently immersive. You get interviews about different things every now and then and you want to grind to get on the first line. But after you do everything 1 time it gets boring and repetitive. It’s easy to win every trophy as I play on all star and scored 200+ points my first season, giving me nothing to grind for after. There are no trophy cutscenes, interviews die down after rookie season and the same questions are asked again and again. A simple awards presentation and Stanley cup parade would go a long way to making people want to grind more. People want to see their player doing things more often. Allow my player to go to practice, allow me to do the warm up skate before games, maybe even toss pucks to fans to increase my fan rating. Simple things like this make the game more immersive and replay able. Allow me to walk around the locker room before the game. Make the mode immersive, people wanna feel like nhl players, that’s why they play the mode. Make the mode like 2k’s my career ( WHILE YOU ARE IN THE AREANA NOT THE DUMB OUTSIDES CUTSCENES AND QUESTS) Revamp Contract resigning: I shouldn’t only see contract offers one time and have to make a decision right then. Allow me through my final contract season to have ongoing negotiations with the gm, you already have an office for him might as well put it to use. Even if that doesn’t happen allow offers to build up over the offseason with different perks and attribute boosts that make signing with other teams worth it. Grinding for a new contract is the only reason I play after playing my rookie season in be a pro but that gets dry because although you can buy things with your money, you never see them, you never see your player arrive to the rink in his car, you never see your house or apartment or a social media post of your vacation. Besides the small attribute boosts you get there is no point in the money in your contract. Fix the graphics: Please make the faces look better, the graphics on players, coaches and fans look terrible for 2025 standards. Other EA games like madden and EAFC do a way better job at player likeness. Along with that upgrade the hairstyle options even though it is under the helmet a lot of the time why have the hair in the game if it looks terrible. Besides about 6 hairstyles, all of the others are not optimized for current generation, they are all stiff and look like garbage.NHL 26 Be a Pro suggestions
These are a few things this game mode needs in NHL 26, most of these features were in older games like NHL14, and are easily implemented into the current setup. Others are already in games like MLB the Show or CFB 25, and I believe are incredibly realistic expectations for a company like EA to give us in 2025. This order is from most realistic to "wishes". MOST IMPORTANT, fix all the minor bugs that have plagued the mode for 4 years, things like contract bugs (auto signing after ELC), random glitches in the "conversations" that cause the game to crash the save file. Players playing 83 or more games even though they stayed on the same team all season thus throwing stats way off. Have players be sent down to, or start in, the AHL or even the ECHL (if that every gets properly integrated). Allow them to work their way up, whether it is related to overall, or stats or maybe a bit of both. Even better, make it possible to get offered true AHL or even ECHL contracts in addition to the normal NHL 1 or 2-way deals. Make the $ you get paid line up with the type of contract you have, as that would make it take longer to buy & upgrade attributes. If I am a 5th round pick at 70 OVR with 80 skating stats, I have no business being in the NHL. Allow players to select their age they start in the CHL (like in NHL 14), or Europe, this allows them to upgrade their attributes leading up to their years draft. Keep the option to select what NHL team you play for as an 18 year old(although the starting OVR needs raised a bit), as well as the Memorial Cup or Champions League. So you have the OPTION to grind it out from the start, or play casually and start as a higher overall player for your favorite team. Allow players to select an active CHL, ECHL, AHL or NHL player to play their career as, how cool would it be to play as 19 year old Macklin Celebrini, or a CHL Landon Dupont, I think it would be cool for players to play as their ECHL team's favorite player and try and work them up to the National League, imagine taking a guy like Peter Laviolette(the 3rd), a guy born in Wheeling WV who players for the Wheeling Nailers, then grind and work him up to play his first ever NHL game. Allow players to select the type of "prospect" they want to be, similar to how CFB 25 has different levels of recruit. Players should be able to have the option to start as a 15 year old exceptional status phenom in the CHL with Franchise potential and work to be the #1 pick in their draft, or start as a 16 year old bottom 6 glue guy that plays in the CHL as an over-ager who goes undrafted and works his way up through the Coast, to the A then to the National after 8 years of grinding. Even just 3-4 "templates" for different career track's would be nice. Make "player potential" have an impact on expectations and playtime, if I am an 20 year old Elite Potential Center, I should be placed in the lineup differently than a 28 year old Bottom 6 guy with Low potential, even with the same OVR. However the expectations are different, the 18 year old "elite" center would be dropped down a line if they cant produce at a high level (even better send me back to juniors after 8-9 games to develop) whereas the 28 year old bottom 6 would stay right where they are producing 20-30 points per season and killing PK's This one is wishful thinking but Allow players to get contract offers from Euro Teams, If I am a 24 year old fringe player and my contract is up it would be cool to get the option to choose a 1 year 2-way contract saying I would be an AHL middle 6 guy/NHL fringe, or a 2 year deal from a team like Skellefteå AIK as a 1st line forward, knowing I will get more playing time and able to upgrade faster, then I can either choose to tear it up in Europe or try and make a comeback to the NHL. it would give a ton of replay value to the mode that is currently lacking. the sad part is, a lot of these features were removed, and are still in other sports games. hopefully EA will actually take some of the feedback myself and thousands of others have provided on this mode and implement something.NHL 26 Wishlist
Customization Features: - ability to create jerseys with words on it, and select the font/style (like the rangers jerseys) as of now, we only have the ability to do logos - custom logos, similar to MLB the show, where people can submit there own ideas - custom goalie helmets (use the same tools for the custom logos) - more presentation items for stadiums, especially the on-ice graphics Be a Pro: - online be a pro, where you start on your junior team with your buddies, and all of you are on the same line, to where you leave each other in the draft, and reunite throughout the seasons/playoffs - ALL STAR GAMES AND WINTER CLASSICS does anything else need to be said - ability to start in youth hockey (or high school), this doesn't need to be realistic teams, just do something as simple as a AI generated 16 team youth league that has a 12 game season or something, to where you get scouted to other junior leagues - with that, other junior leagues, add the USHL, NAHL, BCHL, NCAA and more for more junior realism - more interactiveness (I'll touch on more later) Franchise Mode: - custom trophy/trophy name - I don't play franchise mode as much, so people down below can give there thoughts World Of CHEL: - Make it open world, similar to NBA 2k MyCourt - have the ability to create leagues within WOC (similar to what EA does for F1 24 online seasons) Presentation: - Make it feel like we're on TV... simple as that. sign a deal with ESPN or something to make it feel like the real thing - redo the whole presentation basically, from the commentating to the scorebug, it needs a redo. ESPN+ scorebug would be perfect for the NHL franchise - fix the goal celebration animations, the awkward camera angle we have now is not it. make it where like if someone goes and slams against the boards, theres a camera on the other side. just make it have emotion Gameplay: - FIX THE GOALIES, goalies now are bugged through the roof, and have awkward animations we don't see in real life. And goalies in NHL 25 are dependent on the specific height and stance. Goalies like Dustin Wolf who are great in real like, when playing with them in CHEL it feels impossible to make a save - Hitting needs a revamp as always LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MOREBe A Pro Issue
When I start a Be A Pro career, I get all the way until the first game and I click "start" and nothing happens. The game freezes, but the players still love around. But I can't click A to play. I can't click B to go back. I can't change the jerseys. I can't do anything and I just have to unplug the console pretty much and then I'm screwed. I've tried to uninstall and that didn't work either.
NHL 26 early wishlist (let’s make NHL great again)
First off I will say nhl 25 is actual a huge step up im liking it so far , but it’s missing some details to feel complete.. full presentation needs to return and add more to what we had in the past games In edit player menu have the ability to change the color of sticks and gloves (nhl 2k had this) and now players have been customizing their own as well. Customizable tape job (adjust length on shaft and blade and not have it preset) And add the ability to edit goalie masks. hitting and collisions need to be tweaked to more realism. Franchise: be able to control more than one team able to scout and sign players from other leagues(I.E europe) Real coaches or at least customizable coaches A customizable GM character, have conversations be shown like it is in fifa where your Gm Meets the player. office similarly to dynasty mode in nhl 2004 On the hub where we get details of what went on in other games we can see highlights (either by clip or a screen shot) with description such as ‘stamkos nets a hat trick in last nights win’ and a small clip or screen shot showing stamkos scoring his 3rd goal. Be a pro: change up the whole be a pro game mode make it more like life the life. ability to use NhL players to continue their career or an nhl legend Street clothes for off days and make it interactive. If I buy a condo or a house i want to actualy see my self living in it. Same with the car we get, be able to drive around (a small map) and not just be a attribute boost. Pond hockey pick up games you can walk to or drive to when you leave your ‘house’ Call it a ‘hall of fame room’ similar to skybox 2k had in nhl2k5 where you had the Stanley cup and other interactive stuff and unlockables. Be able to decide to start from being drafted at 18 or create a 30 year old forward who just signed with an nhl team etc.. more interactive with teammates and coaches and GM list of teams you want to be traded to etc.. extras add winter classic and all star game (skills + game) both as a play now mode and also in franchise and be a pro. player retiring playing their last game get a ovation from crowd. Announce the player will retire 1 game before their last skate with the cup (playoff mode, season mode , franchise and be a pro) Tweak the fighting engine and allow more than one fight happening at once. this is a lot of an ask, but if we can get half of these implemented we are definitely heading Into greatness with NhL games.
