Golden Knights snubbed in EA Sports NHL 19 ratings
One of the major keys to the success of the Golden Knights magical inaugural season was the team’s performances being consistently greater than the sum of its parts.
A quick glance at the player ratings on the new NHL 19 game confirms the designers of the popular EA Sports title agree with that assertion.
No Knight is among the 50 players with the highest overall ratings in the video game.
Not Marc-Andre Fleury. Not William Karlsson. Not even the departed James Neal.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid was given a 94, making him the highest-rated player in the league. Sidney Crosby was next at 93, just ahead of Alex Ovechkin, Drew Doughty and Carey Price at 92.
Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks was the only player with an 87 to make the list, though several other players likely also received 87s.
The rankings can be adjusted throughout the season based on performance. Designers of the game this year emphasized lower overall starting ratings to leave more room for improvement.
Only the ratings of the top 50 players were unveiled this week as part of an ongoing promotional campaign ahead of the game’s Sept. 14 release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Five members of the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, who defeated the Knights in the Final, made the list.
More Golden Knights: Follow all of our Golden Knights coverage online at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
EA Sports NHL 19
Top 50 player ratings
50. Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks, 87
49. Frederik Andersen, Maple Leafs, 88
48. Matt Murray, Penguins, 88
47. Pekka Rinne, Predators, 88
46. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, 88
45. Ryan Suter, Wild, 88
44. Jakub Voracek, Flyers, 88
43. Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks, 88
42. Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals, 88
41. John Carlson, Capitals, 88
40. Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, 88
39. P.K. Subban, Predators, 88
38. Roman Josi, Predators, 88
37. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Coyotes, 88
36. Artemi Panarin, Blue Jackets, 88
35. Brad Marchand, Bruins, 88
34. Devan Dubnyk, Wild, 89
33. Jonathan Quick, Kings, 89
32. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Capitals, 89
31. Alex Pietrangelo, Blues, 89
30. Mark Scheifele, Jets, 89
29. Phil Kessel, Penguins, 89
28. Blake Wheeler, Jets, 89
27. Brent Burns, Sharks, 89
26. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, 89
25. Patrik Laine, Jets, 89
24. Claude Giroux, Flyers, 89
23. Tuuka Rask, Bruins, 90
22. Tyler Seguin, Stars, 90
21. Jamie Benn, Stars, 90
20. Johnny Gaudreau, Flames, 90
19. John Tavares, Maple Leafs, 90
18. Patrice Bergeron, Bruins, 90
17. Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues, 90
16. Taylor Hall, Devils, 90
15. Anze Kopitar, Kings, 90
14. Erik Karlsson, Senators, 90
13. Nathan Mackinnon, Avalanche, 90
12. Braden Holtby, Capitals, 91
11. Sergei Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets, 91
10. Steven Stamkos, Lightning, 91
9. Evgeni Malkin, Penguins, 91
8. Patrick Kane, Blackhawks, 91
7. Victor Hedman, Lightning, 91
6. Nikita Kucherov, Lightning, 91
5. Carey Price, Canadiens, 92
4. Drew Doughty, Kings, 92
3. Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals, 92
2. Sidney Crosby, Penguins, 93
1. Connor McDavid, Oilers, 94
