EA Sports Hockey League (EASHL)

Let me first say that I in no way am affiliated with EA Sports. I am just a fan of the game who feels getting the word out will only benefit the community. I started playing in the EA Sports Hockey League (EASHL) when NHL 09 dropped in October 08. I played approximately 1200 EASHL games in 09 and currently have close to 300 games played since NHL 10 released on Sep 15, 2009. I play on the PS3 so this article will be geared towards my experience on the PS3.

The EASHL is an online co-op game mode in which you create your own character choosing from different player types (which I will get more into later). You create or join a team/club with your friends. From there you play against other teams where up to 12 people can be on the ice at one time (6 vs 6). You have your own camera angle which gives you a clear view from behind your player and rotates depending on where the puck is.

The EASHL was first introduced in EA's NHL 09. EA's producers and developers were very secretive of their new highly innovative game mode prior to release, not letting the cat out of the bag too early. During their promo's and blogs EA would state that they have a new feature up their sleeves, but would not actually divulge any details. With only a couple weeks left before the scheduled release of NHL 09, EA announced their plans to create the first sports video game simulation league, the EASHL. In comes the gameplay mode that would forever change the way hockey video games are played.

During it's inaugural season, the EASHL was welcomed by sports video game fans with open arms. Producer David Littman stated that 400,000 people have played at least one EASHL game and 100,000 clubs/teams were created during the 09 season.

Overall the EASHL was a huge success but did have it's flaws. Numerous exploits were found that took away from the fun of the game. There were many different "glitch goals" that could be scored at will by those who knew how to succesfully perform them. There was a server glitch that people manipulated to give themselves a win no matter what the score was. Then there was the 99 glitch or "juicing" as members of the community called it. This was a glitch where you could boost all of your attribute points to 99 in every category, therefore having a way superior character compared to the competition. But all that beside it was an extremely fun gaming experience and people continued to play religiously.

With the first EASHL season coming to an end, EA held the playoffs and flew the top team from each console (PS3 and Xbox 360) to their studios in Vancouver, BC. So the stage was set for the first EASHL Final; The Purple Cobras (Xbox 360) vs The NHL Regulators (PS3) in a best of seven series. It started with a coin toss to decide which team got home ice advantage. Home ice advantage was getting to play on your console. The NHL regulators won the coin toss and were pretty confident thinking they could pull out a couple wins early on the PS3 before switching over to the Xbox 360. This was not the case at all as the Purple Cobras took the first two games on the PS3 and continued on to complete the sweep on the Xbox 360. Thus the first ever EASHL Champions were crowned, The Purple Cobras.

EA built on it's success from NHL 09 and continued to improve the EASHL in NHL 10. Currently the EASHL has monthly seasons with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. Also there is a Professional League and a Casual League to suit your gaming level. As of right now there is no word on what the playoff structure will be considering there is a Champion every month. They have added more customizable jerseys as well as multiple dressing rooms for your team/club. This year's game seems to be less exploitable and the community is already getting support from the developer's. There has been 2 tuner patches put out already to divert some of the exploitable goals that have been appearing. Although the EASHL is only young; it has enormous potential to continue to keep fans coming every year.

When you put NHL 10 into your system and turn it on, the first thing you will have to do is create your pro. This character is fully customizable, you are able to change everything from your name and jersey number to the color of your visor and stick tape. What I'm going to focus on here is the different player types. There are 6 Forward types, 2 Defensemen types and 3 Goalie types.

Forwards

Dangler - known for deking the puck, quickness and medium balance
Playmaker - excellent passing and faceoff skills
Sniper - hard and accurate wrist shot
Power Forward - excellent balance, slap shot and checking
Grinder - known for parking in front of the net for rebounds and deflections
Tough Guy - very tough and aggressive with alot of checking power

Defensemen

Offensive Defenseman - good passing and shooting skills
Defensive Defenseman - tough and agressive with powerful checking

Goalies

Stand Up - excellent glove side high and stick side high
Butterfly - excellent glove side low and stick side low
Hybrid - a healthy balance between stand up and butterfly