12 improvements we want to see in EA Sports’ ‘NHL 18′ – FOXSports.com

Okay, hear me out here. I know a lot of gamers aren’t going to be particularly interested in monitoring their Corsi and other “fancy stats” because, well, it’s a video game. 

Do we really need the incorporation of advanced analytics for maximum enjoyment of a hockey video game? Probably not. But it’s inarguable that there’s a growing emphasis on analytics within the hockey community these days.

Incorporating more evaluation methods beyond just classic stats (points, shots, hits, time of possession, etc.) could be a good way to help introduce analytics to some gamers and educate them on their value to the sport.

You don’t have to shove it down the throat of traditionalists, but making it available to those with interest isn’t a bad idea. MLB The Show has included advanced stats for a few years now and no baseball fans seem to complain about it. 

Again, not everyone is going to be interested in checking out shot charts or possession metrics after a game of Chel, but it’s becoming a big part of hockey and so it should also be part of NHL 18.