The yearly EA (Electronic Arts) NHL video game is just a month away, and with the start of the 2026-27 NHL season alongside it, ratings for a large number of players were revealed Tuesday, including a handful of Avalanche players.
This year, the biggest news in the game is that Connor McDavid has been revealed as a 99 overall, the first player ever to reach that ranking (though I think it’s a bit late and should have been a 99 overall when he scored 64 goals and 89 assists for 153 points during the 2022-23 season while taking home the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies, but better late than never?)
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While McDavid stands alone at 99, right behind him is Nathan MacKinnon at 97 overall, tied alongside Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov as the only 97 overall in the game.
Most notably, his top stats include his acceleration at 96, only behind McDavid’s 98. His speed is 95, which is behind McDavid at 98, and his passing is 95, with guys like McDavid, Kucherov, Leon Draisaitl, and Sidney Crosby, along with a few others, whose passing stats rank higher than his.
Coming off an impressive season in which he scored a career and league-high 53 goals and took home his first-ever Rocket Richard Trophy, his stats have been boosted to reflect his successful season. Ninety-four slapshot accuracy with a 91 slapshot power, alongside a 92 wristshot power and a 96 wristshot accuracy.
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Alongside MacKinnon is Martin Necas, who has cracked the top 30, coming in as the 28th highest overall player with a 92 overall stat. Coming off a career season that saw him finish with career highs across the stat sheet of 38 goals and 62 assists for 100 points, Necas earns himself the highest overall he’s ever been in the game, and the stats have bumped up dramatically to highlight it.
His offensive stats rival some of MacKinnon’s stats in certain areas. Ninety-five offensive awareness, slapshot power of 92, and a slapshot accuracy of 94. With a wristshot power of 90 and wristshot accuracy of 93. While his skating and puck handling are in the high 80s and low 90s, his physicality and general stats (durability, faceoffs, discipline, and poise) don’t rank as high as MacKinnon’s.
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In addition to those two, they also revealed four other forwards. Those being Nazem Kadri, ranked 173rd with an 86 overall. Brock Nelson has a rank of 192 with an overall of 85. Gabriel Landeskog ranked 248th with an overall of 85, and Artturi Lehkonen ranked 267th with an overall of 84.
The biggest outliers on the team that haven’t had their overall released yet are the goaltenders and the defensemen, who will likely be released at a later date. While it will be interesting to see how they rank Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood for the success they had last season, it’s going to be obvious how high Cale Makar will rank, but just how high among the rest of the forward skaters and matched up with other defensemen.
The full ratings can be found here.
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