As Fraser G. of the Vancouver Giants steps out onto the ice for his first Be A Pro game in NHL 16, I’m engulfed by a sense of anticipation. NBC’s presentation package pulls me into the atmosphere as my player does his pre-game warmup while the team mascot gets the crowd energized. If last year’s game provided the base for next-gen hockey, NHL 16 has taken it to the next level. It was a shock to the system when last year’s iteration failed to meet expectations. It wasn’t that the core game was bad – far from it, actually – but the removal of many key features that had become synonymous with the series was considered to be unacceptable by a large portion of the fanbase. Although last year may have been a disappointment on the surface, NHL 15’s new features served as a crucial base for the future, and they’re a key reason as to why NHL 16 has excelled across the board.

 

The other is player classes. The NHL series has long featured a dozen classes for forwards, defensemen, and goalies in their single-player modes, but as a part of online player customization, you can now choose the class you want to play with in NHL 16‘s EASHL. Having a balanced team will be critical to victory, but nothing may be more important than who plays as your net minder. For too long, goalies have been ineffective in EASHL and it was often due to the clunky controls more so than the players themselves. Therefore, NHL 16 has introduced brand-new goalie mechanics. With a click of a trigger, you can drop into a butterfly and make yourself “look big” in net, or flick the right-stick to dive in front of the open goal mouth for that spectacular blocker save at the last second. I messed around with the goalie controls offline as not to embarrass myself too badly with them in an actual EASHL game, and although I still gave up five goals in a Rangers 6-5 win over the computer-controlled Blackhawks, gameplay in the crease is definitely a step up from what we’ve seen in the past.

 

The other noteworthy offline mode is Be a GM, in which players occupy the role of the man at the top. That means budget management, scouting, and player morale are the biggest concerns. The mode focuses on the micro-management aspect of being a sports GM, which may be perfect or overly complex depending on the audience. There are plenty of options at the player's disposal, though, and locker room chemistry in particular requires careful consideration of team captains, cuts/trades, and other roster moves. NHL players can even request meetings, which may have an even larger impact on team morale. The level of depth is impressive, and I can appreciate it from a distance even though it's not my kind of mode.

 

NHL 16 continues to bring the excellent on-ice gameplay we have come to expect in the past few years. As far as upgrades go, they are mostly only noticeable to frequent players, with the exception of NHL’s on-ice trainer. The new trainer will show you prompts around your selected player; these will give recommendations of what would be best to do in the situation at hand. For example, if the opposing team is attacking with three players, it is best to go for a simple poke check instead of sprinting directly at the opponent in hopes of performing a bone-crushing hit. Of course, the trainer can be turned off entirely, but it will act as a great introductory tool for new players. On top of that, it can really help you perfect points of your game that you may not feel confident about. The graphic on screen is not obtrusive, and blends very well with the action on screen, meaning you will hardly notice it unless you need that recommendation of what to do.

 

Not every green indicator on goal meant it was a sure thing, but I at least knew it was going to have a chance while a red indicator meant the goalie was definitely going to make the save. Also, to help improve your game is the returning Coach Feedback feature, although this year it seems to be way more robust than ever before. The level of detail is broken down into overall performance, defense, offense, and team play, which really helps narrow down where your game can improve. Just because you can score a lot of goals doesn't mean that you are a master at defense or a great team player. The tips and tricks for each section really help keep you focused on the whole aspect of the game and not just winning.