McDavid & RNH Lead Oilers in NHL 17 Ratings - The Hockey Writers - Edmonton Oilers

EA Sports is set to release NHL 17, and with anticipation comes the curiosity of player ratings. For years, player ratings have been debated by fans, mainly with groans about a particular player being rated too high or too low for their liking. Focusing on the Edmonton Oilers, there are some interesting ratings and fans might groan about where Connor McDavid ranks against some of the best in the video game. In his sophomore season, McDavid comes in with an 88 overall rating to lead all Oilers players.

However, the Oilers franchise player pales in comparison to some of his video game counterparts as he didn’t crack the top 10 center listings in the game. The top center in the game is Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) at 95 overall, followed by Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) at 94 overall. Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals) and Claude Giroux (Philadelphia) are at the bottom of the top 10 with a 91 overall rating.

Ratings are always subjective, and when The Hockey News projects McDavid to win the Art Ross Trophy and lead the league in scoring with 96 points, it makes you debate the correlation between video games, fantasy projections and factual arguments regarding player ratings.

NHL 17 is one of the most highly anticipated releases in the EA Sports series with several new game modes and overhauled gameplay. That said, here are the player ratings for the Edmonton Oilers.

Goalies

POS	Player	Overall	Age	Type	Potential
G	Cam Talbot	85	29	Hybrid	Starter – Medium
G	Jonas Gustavsson	77	31	Hybrid	Backup – Medium

Cam Talbot has a modest overall rating for starting goalies, as seen below. Considering Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay Lightning) is rated just four points better than Talbot at 89 overall, the Oilers goaltender isn’t that far off. It’s a one point increase in his rating from last year and far from terrible. Free agent signing Jonas Gustavsson has a pretty low rating for backup goalies in the game. Looking at the goaltending pool, it seems EA Sports implemented a tiered system with their goaltender ratings.

Elite starters all got ratings of 90 or higher, the rest of the starters got scores between 84-89 and the 1A/1B options are between 81-83 (ala Jimmy Howard – Detroit Red Wings). Definite backups without starter potential are rated 75-80 in the game.

Defensemen

POS	Player	Overall	Age	Type	Potential
D	Adam Larsson	85	23	2 Way D	Elite – Low
D	Andrej Sekera	85	30	Offensive D	Top 4 D – Low
D	Oscar Klefbom	83	23	2 Way D	Elite – Low
D	Darnell Nurse	82	21	2 Way D	Elite – Low
D	Brandon Davidson	80	25	2 Way D	Top 4 D – Low
D	Mark Fayne	80	29	Defensive D	Top 6 D – Low
D	Andrew Ference	79	37	Defensive D	AHL Top 2 D
D	Griffin Reinhart	77	22	2 Way D	Top 4 D – Medium

Newcomer Adam Larsson ties Andrej Sekera for the best rating for Oilers defensemen at 85 overall. It’s interesting to note that under potential the Oilers possess three “Elite – Low” level defensemen in Larsson, Oscar Klefbom, and Darnell Nurse. Brandon Davidson saw a sizeable increase from last year improving by five points to 80 overall. Sekera’s listed as the Oilers only offensive defenseman under player types while the team has five two-way defenders.

Left Wingers

POS	Player	Overall	Age	Type	Potential
LW	Milan Lucic	88	28	Power Forward	Top 6 F – High
LW	Benoit Pouliot	84	30	Sniper	Top 6 F – Low
LW	Patrick Maroon	83	28	Power Forward	Top 9 F – High
LW	Matt Hendricks	81	35	Grinder	Bottom 6 F – High

Benoit Pouliot, Patrick Maroon, and Matt Hendricks have similar ratings to their ones in NHL 16. Pouliot and Maroon both increased by a point. Milan Lucic is the big edition to the Oilers left side and gets an 88 overall rating. Of note, the Oilers don’t possess a single player with elite-level potential. Lucic has the best long-term potential as a top six forward with high potential.

Centers

POS	Player	Overall	Age	Type	Potential
C	Connor McDavid	88	19	Playmaker	Franchise – Medium
C	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	86	23	Playmaker	Elite – Low
C	Leon Draisaitl	84	20	2 Way Forward	Elite – Low
C	Mark Letestu	82	31	Playmaker	Top 9 F – Medium
C	Anton Lander	77	25	2 Way Forward	Bottom 6 F – Medium

This is where the ratings and depth are strongest for the Oilers. Led by McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (86) and Leon Draisaitl (84) the Oilers have three elite to franchise players. McDavid gets the franchise tag, and both RNH and Draisaitl got lower end elite level scores. All three are currently participating in the World Cup of Hockey (WCH 2016) and are going to anchor the Oilers down the middle this season.

It’s a little odd that the Oilers fourth-line center Mark Letestu got a playmaker player type over something more conventional like a two-way forward for the role he plays in the Oilers lineup. Lander has the lowest upside for franchise mode among the team’s centers.

Right Wingers

POS	Player	Overall	Age	Type	Potential
RW	Jordan Eberle	85	26	Sniper	Elite – Low
RW	Nail Yakupov	82	22	Sniper	Top 6 F – Medium
RW	Zack Kassian	81	25	Power Forward	Top 9 F – Low
RW	Jesse Puljujarvi	76	18	NA	Elite – Medium
RW	Iiro Pakarinen	76	25	Power Forward	AHL Top 6 F – Low

Jordan Eberle’s rating drops from last year, but he still maintains his elite potential as a sniper. Nail Yakupov supporters will be happy to see he’s the second-best right winger on the team in the game with an 82 overall rating. Zack Kassian’s score slides as did Iiro Pakarinen’s. Jesse Puljujarvi is not on the Oilers roster… yet. You can access Puljujarvi in franchise mode or if you play with Karpat in Liiga. The Oilers fourth overall pick this summer does have elite potential starting with a modest 76 overall rating. All in all, the Oilers seem to have quite a few playmakers and snipers listed, so, in terms of scoring, the team will have plenty of firepower in the game.

Playing defense and keeping the puck out of your net might be tough but playing with the Oilers in NHL 17 is going to be fun.