NHL 27 Face Scan Priority List. Tiers.
These are guys that are playing real NHL minutes, have real roles, contributing big stats and should actually look like themselves in the game. Many of them EA has already scanned before at rookie showcase LOCKS Ivan Demidov (MTL) Beckett Sennecke (ANA) missing**** Jack Quinn (BUF) Josh Doan (BUF) Noah Ostlund (BUF) missing Matthew Savoie (EDM) Ryan Leonard (WSH) Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) Zeev Buium (VAN) missing**** Alexander Nikishin (CAR) Artyom Levshunov (CHI) Jackson LaCombe (ANA) Lian Bichsel (DAL) missing Oliver Kapanen (MTL) missing Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) Bobby McMann (SEA) missing Lawson Crouse (UTA) Christian Dvorak (PHI) missing Collin Graf (SJS) missing Goalies Jesper Wallstedt (MIN) missing Lukas Dostal (ANA) missing Dustin Wolf (CGY) Spencer Knight (CHI) missing Logan Thompson (WSH) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) missing Filip Gustavsson (MIN) Porter Martone (PHI) confirmed Confirmed scanned: James Hagens (BOS) confirmed, added next roster update Cole Eiserman (NYI) confirmed if he makes NHL Gavin McKenna confirmed if he makes NHL LIKELY WILL BE ADDED (almost all scanned already at NHLPA rookie showcase) Cole Hutson (WSH) missing Dalibor Dvorsky (STL) missing Axel Sandin-Pellikka (DET) missing Peyton Krebs (BUF) Fraser Minten (BOS) missing**** Gabe Perreault (NYR) Berkly Catton (SEA) missing Sam Dickinson (SJS) Matthew Wood (NSH) Justin Sourdif (WSH) missing Easton Cowan (TOR) missing Gage Goncalves (TBL) Mackie Samoskevich (FLA) Jackson Blake (CAR) Anton Frondell (CHI) missing**** Emmitt Finnie (DET) missing**** Kiefer Sherwood (SJS) Benjamin Kindel (PIT) missing Sam Maliskin(COL) Vasily Podkolzin (EDM) missing** Goalies Jet Greaves (CBJ) missing Daniel Vladar (PHI) missing**** Scott Wedgewood (COL) missing**** FRINGE BUT HIGHLY DESERVING (big miss by EA if left out) many of theses players should have already been added by now Zachary Bolduc (MTL) Oliver Moore (CHI) Zayne Parekh (CGY) Igor Chernyshov (SJS) missing**** Emil Heineman (NYI) Alex Turcotte (LAK) Alex Newhook (MTL) missing**** Will Borgen (NYR) missing Shakir Mukhamadullin (SJS) Marat Khusnutdinov (BOS) Calum Ritchie (NYI) Michael Amadio (OTT) Kailer Yamamoto (UTA) missing Ryhan Poehling (ANA) Logan Stanley (BUF) missing Ryan Greene (CHI) missing Wyatt Kaiser (CHI) missing Sam Rinzel (CHI) missing Parker Kelly (COL) Ben Chiarot (DET) Goalies Joseph Woll (TOR) missing Joel Hofer (STL) missing**** Yaroslav Askarov (SJS) missing**** Joey Daccord (SEA) missing Karel Vejmelka (UTA) missing Anton Forsberg (LAK) missing This is not about adding everyone. Just make the game match what we are actually watching. If a guy is playing top minutes, top lines,starting in net, or putting up significant stats he should not still have a generic face, especially if EA already has a scan or he is a veteran. Curious as to who people think I am missing or who should be moved up or down. Thanks!
My candid thoughts on NHL 27
Well,weve all had over a month to digest NHL 27 and all of its new features and heres what I have to say....... The New presentation package is ONLY alright but admittedly an improvement nonetheless VERY LITTLE improvement in Creation Modes which is VERY disappointing The game has actually taken a step back in gameplay Its harder to score! The game is like a pinball machine where you cant get any natural flow going. Everytime you turn around theres another of your opponents hitting you and it doesnt take much to knock you down! The defenders always seem to close the gap no matter how faster your player is then them, which is unreal! It used to be the odd man rushes like 2 players against the goalie would ALWAYS result in a goal BUT NOW it very rarely results in a goal.Successful SLAPSHOTS are almost totally gone! The backhand sometimes seems to be the only goal that is successful! I have many fast and quick players and NO matter what they cant seem to evade their defender. My opponent(CPU teams) always seem to complete their passes while my team constantly has incomplete passes which is unrealistic. My team will be lucky to have a 80% passing completion rate while my CPU opponent team routinely has in the 90% completion rate which is also NOT realistic either. In past titles like 20-21-22 and so on my players would be as good as their ratings showed but now,even players with a 90 rating struggle to score. I would so like to talk to the development team about many ideas I have and I have talked about some of those ideas before but its only talk! I want to see my ideas which would greatly improve the realism of this game!Hitting
So is the delay of the Be A Pro player character to hit going to get changed in 2027? I feel like when I try to hit( even when I am in top of a NPC) it’s deliberately delayed so I miss. Yet I can speed by a defensman and somehow they still are able to get just a piece still hit and/or destroy the Be A Pro player for a big hit. So unfair as it has happened for many years. Maybe not the big hits but always not being able to just use speed like regular NHL Players.Issues with the AI "balance"
The in-game AI feels as though its consistently manipulating gameplay in ways that break immersion and fairness, tilting matches in its own favor. Instead of providing a fair challenge, these behaviors create frustration by undermining player skill and consistency. Including various behaviours such as; AI defenders frequently engage in consecutive shoves that escalate into clear cross checks, yet no penalties are ever really called—even when these actions could not be anymore exact on what the rule is for(cross checking and tripping are the seemingly most egregious offenders, countless times a poke has tripped me on or close to a breakaway and no call, let alone a penalty shot like it should be). Defensive AI recover far more quickly from contact than human players unless laid right out, and are seldom slowed down by actions that would impede a user-controlled skater or cause them to stumble in similar situations. AI opponents display abnormal, nearly instant acceleration to cut off problematic movement or passing lanes deemed severe threats, with no reliable warning or visible pattern for when this will occur. The AI abuses movement priority, intentionally maneuvering to block or mirror player movement, often actively bodying into and shadowing the user in ways that feel unnatural and excessively obstructive. Light shoves from opponents reliably knock the player off the puck or stun them, while forceful contact from the player has little impact on the AI under similar circumstances. None of these behaviors “make the game harder” in a skillful way—the AI shifts in responsiveness or aggression with no consistent logic, making its actions not necessarily "unpredictable", but "enough to predictably ignore various methods to strip them of posession The AI’s skating logic is especially problematic: CPU players will suddenly skate full tilt directly into walls, abruptly hard-stop, then accelerate backwards with the same momentum they hit the wall with, especially when the user gains control of a nearby defender. Attempting to mix up defensive or offensive approaches—including feints and direction changes—has very little effect, as the AI matches every movement in perfect unison regardless of pattern or number of changes. The AI’s skating agility while moving backwards seemingly suffers no penalty, letting it perfectly maintain gap control and mimic player actions from optimal distance with no visible disadvantage. Lunging the opportunity a player makes a move or crosses an arbitrary threshold Rather than introducing fair errors or realistic unpredictability, the AI “compensates” for its rare mistakes by inconsistently draining player stamina or otherwise handicapping the user, which feels arbitrary and unnecessarily punishing or frustrating. AI contact often feels as if players are treated like + and - magnets; whether or not “magnetic” attraction results in a successful hit or separation is determined by the AI’s arbitrary decision of what constitutes an acceptable collision. Heavy hits rarely result in lost possession and sometimes several defenders are needed to stop a puck carrier, with possession conveniently transferring to nearby AI attackers afterward. Puck battles in crowded areas seldom feel authentic—instead, entering a scrum typically means unsuccessfully trying to shove opponents out of the way or waiting for a player to locate the puck in his feet and get a stick on it. Predictably, the nearby AI immediately anticipates this and your stick gets lifted immediately. While opponent AI routinely uses logical man-to-man defensive systems, AI teammates on the user’s side routinely fail to provide this same support, especially during HUT Challenges; defenders instead allow attackers to breeze past them repeatedly with little to no attempt at coverage or resistance. A fair and sensible experience would involve AI behaviors that align with realistic hockey dynamics and give an equitable sense competition, without having to erode a level playing field. Physical contact should consistently impact puck possession and player stability regardless of which side initiates it and if minor shoves carry stun/slow effects on them, they should apply both ways, with both AI and human players equally vulnerable to momentum shifts, mistakes, and recoveries. Defensive AI should properly execute man-to-man coverage as an option for both teams that provide support and prevents attackers from repeatedly breaking through uncontested. Player skill and strategic variations—such as feints, positioning, and timing—should meaningfully influence gameplay outcomes, rather than the AI reacting with robotic precision or arbitrary stamina penalties. Overall, success should feel earned through authentic effort and less "luck based" feats, predictable hockey logic that rewards anticipation, smart decision-making, and adaptability, making gameplay challenging but transparent.
In BAP form scores are useless.
So I have found the it doesn't matter what your playstyle is for your player the only way to keep your form score up is to score goals and win. I play games where I'm graded a B+ because I didn't score. Form score drops. And why does simulating destroy your form score? Doesn't matter your overall. You don't play your games, your form score is toast. The no sim penalty setting doesn't work for crap either.
Bring NHL to PC already!
How is it possible that EA has FC, Madden and basically every other major sports franchise on PC, but NHL is still missing? PC players have been asking for NHL for years. We already have cross-play, modern anti-cheat technology exists, and PCs today are more than capable of running the game. I don't want to buy an Xbox or PlayStation just to play one EA Sports game. I want to buy NHL on PC, play it natively, and use my own hardware. Please stop giving PC players the same excuse every year and actually bring NHL to PC. There is clearly demand for it. We want NHL on PC.Idea
Hey, my just rlly desperate atp. I don't know why it's so appealing to me but for the past 3 NHL's I've been trying to get mascots to fight not knowing it's not a feature and it's not possible. I wanted to suggest they add it as a feature to NHL 26 and 27. It gives more appeal to younger fans, and it's a fun tweak that I think people will really like. It's a little silly but it sounds cool to me for some reason. And it would benefit the younger fanbase a lot. It's a goofy request but I've been trying for so long. Another thing is editing mascots. You should be able to edit mascots in threes circuit like you can edit players in franchise mode. Just a couple suggestions for threes. Thank yaCPU Strategies and Poor Logic
I’m going to throw this in here since I’m still playing ‘26. I’ve noticed a lot of good discussion regarding cpu teammates being too aggressive offensively on the pk while being too passive on the pp. Essentially, the strategy is reversed. Well, I’d like to add that this applies to the strategy late in games as well, even five on five. We’ll be up by a couple and my forward linemates are super aggressive. That’s not the bad part because I’ll play as F3 and make sure I stay back. What is frustrating is when we’re down by a goal or two and I’m the only guy forechecking. I’ll separate the man from the puck but I don’t have a teammate anywhere around to pick it up and help. They invariably pull back to the blue line and watch. That’s honestly one of the most frustrating aspects and I have a feeling that ‘27 hasn’t addressed this. In addition, when the goalie is pulled, your defense will back in and back in and let the opponent get within ten feet of the net for an empty netter. Stuff like this is why I’m on blood pressure meds. Lol. Yes, I’m old.
Big BAP problems
There seems to be few big issues with BAP this year. When I play as a goalie, my team (Stars) can't score more than max 2 goals a game. Skaters make weak shots, if they even are able to make the shot. Slap shots which they take in stupid situations especially take for ever and the puck is usually picked by opponent. If they can make some weak shot they are hitting the posts in a rate that is ridiculous. Defence makes so many own goals (both ends) that it just kills immersion. After 80% of rebounds they try either move the puck to a goalie who is still recovering from the save. Sometimes they just shoot the puck against goalie and if the puck is free on the crease the own defender is the biggest threat. After one season as a goalie I've yet to see any saved situation by my defenders but dozens of own goals. Pass interceptions by opponents are ridiculous when I play as a skater. It doesn't matter if opponents are facing the puck or not, they will intercept every puck without even seeing the pass. They never miss. They must have some kind of bat radar? Whereas BAP player development was maybe a bit slow grind in previous games, now it is too fast. After one season, I'm already OVR 94 goalie... Sure I took the starter position at the latter half, won Stanley cup and received Conn Smythe but still. Ceiling is coming on very quickly. P.S. Last update 1.2.0 Improved many things. Form Score improvements and play time adjustments in lower lines was great improvement. NHL Goalie Jerseys got a bit better. They a still pretty hideous but a LOT better than they were. So thank you for those EA. Now try to balance the game play in BAP Skater and BAP Golie and I will be a happy camper since the core BAP game (I never play any other mode so I wouldn't know their problems) is a big improvement from last year.
Full Pay to Win
You guys really made a broken overpowered build that has both perks and stats which are unobtainable for free builds and the ONLY WAY to get the build is to PAY MONEY TO EA. DISGUSTING. Ive been a top player each year and I wont be purchasing next year if this structure remains. Game is just being soullessly destroyed.