NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

[Steve_OS]

CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE AND EA ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP

EA SPORTS NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players from the WHL, OHL and QMJHL

Brandon, MB. – May 21, 2010 – The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in association with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced a four year agreement that will see the league included in EA SPORTS™ NHL® products. The three regional leagues that make up the CHL, including the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), will all have their teams and players represented in EA SPORTS NHL 11 when it becomes available in retail stores this September.

Representing 51 Canadian and nine American teams with players aged 16-20 the CHL is the top development league in the world and the number one provider of talent to the NHL. 47% of all players selected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft came from CHL teams. The 2010 NHL Entry Draft could mark the fourth straight year where a CHL player is selected first overall, with Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers and Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires representing the top two ranked players by NHL Central Scouting.

“The CHL is very excited to partner with an industry leader like EA SPORTS to create a brand new way for CHL fans to associate with their favorite CHL teams and players,” said David Branch, President, CHL. “This opportunity also provides EA SPORTS fans around the world the ability to learn more about the next wave of NHL stars as they compete in the best development league in the world.”

“It’s exciting to have the CHL integrated into our game for the first time,” said Jordan Edelstein, VP of Marketing, EA SPORTS. “Their inclusion will make NHL 11 the most definitive and complete hockey experience available.”

Four of the last five players to be featured on the cover of EA SPORTS NHL Series games are CHL graduates including Patrick Kane, Dion Phaneuf, Eric Staal and Vincent Lecavalier.

The licensing agreement between EA SPORTS and the CHL allows the following to be included in NHL 11:

• Ability to play with all 60 teams that make up the CHL

• Names and Likenesses of players that are on the rosters of a CHL team

• Mastercard Memorial Cup

• CHL new RBK Edge Jersey design in NHL 11

• WHL, OHL and QMJHL logos and league structures

The CHL integration in NHL 11 will tie to several modes in the game, including Be A Pro, Be A GM, Tournament Mode, Season Mode and Playoff Mode.

The EA SPORTS NHL franchise has won 22 Sports Game of the Year awards over the past three years. This year the NHL 11 franchise begins a new era with gameplay innovations that are set to deliver the most realistic, accurate and exciting representation of NHL hockey to date.

NHL 11 will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system with an MSRP of $59.99. It is developed by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football and NCAA Basketball, Fight Night boxing and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, while EA SPORTS Active™ Personal Trainer for the Wii is the most critically acclaimed product available for interactive fitness.

For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums, fantasy leagues and game communities, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch Taylor Hall and the Windsor Spitfires compete in the championship final of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Sunday May 23, 2010, live at 7:00 pm Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet, RDS, the NHL Network U.S, and on livestream at www.sportsnet.ca. The Spitfires will face the winner between the WHL Champion Calgary Hitmen and the host Brandon Wheat Kings. The QMJHL Champion Moncton Wildcats also competed in the 92nd edition of the prestigious national championship event.

For more information about the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com.

[Steve_OS]

Props to Money99 for finding this out about a month ago.

[sabresfan]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

FYI, there's three CHL screenshots on the WHL's website showing the Hitmen, Spitfires, and Wheat Kings. Link to story with screens http://whl.ca/canadian-hockey-league...ership-p142777

[Dolphins20]

Just think, EA wants us to $59.99 for other leagues and player-likeness...really looking forward to that one. I love hockey, but this game hasn't made any leaps or bounds in the past couple of years.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

Nice work Steve!
This is great news!
So we can actually have a full junior career which results in our NHL draft position.
And competing for the Memorial Cup??? That's awesome!

[Kaabik]

wow, i really hope we are able to import chl teams into our dynasty and use them in the nhl

[bosshog78]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

This game is release on my birthday. God, I am so stoked.

[Matt Diesel]

This, along with real time physics has me very excited.

[Spanky]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

Wonder if college hockey is next, maybe in a couple of years we'll see the CCHA, WCHA and Hockey East and all that in NHL 13.

[gator3guy]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

Real players!!! That's awesome. I wonder how they're going to do the ratings. A stretch in the ratings would seem like a good idea. And I would think the rosters would be current, no? A guy like Taylor Hall will start off on Windsor and if he makes an NHL team they will just move him I hope.

[SwinginAs12]

"If he makes an NHL team".....is this a joke or.....

[flangoid]

After years of creating my own Sarnia Sting team with former players (which wasn't necessarily an easy task :-) , creating a jersey from a template that wasn't really close, an areana etc... we CHL fans finally get to play as our favourite team and there is a huge following for this league.

This is HUGE and I didn't see this coming when word leaked out. Now reading this press release and seeing that real players names will also be incorporated; WOW! I'll be lined up on release day.

Great job EA!

[dmacgreg37]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

This is really awesome, but I agree that the ratings issue will be a huge thing.

If they try to make them a standalone entity (like the Euro leagues) and overrate them it won't be nearly as good as transferring players over will be a pain. The Euro leagues being ranked so high (with high-80's and whatnot) makes it really hard to transfer prospects over already.

Either way I'm really excited about this development.

[B_rad13]

Re: NHL 11 to Include All Teams and Players From WHL, OHL and QMJHL (Press Release)

After years of creating my own Sarnia Sting team with former players (which wasn't necessarily an easy task :-) , creating a jersey from a template that wasn't really close, an areana etc... we CHL fans finally get to play as our favourite team and there is a huge following for this league.

This is HUGE and I didn't see this coming when word leaked out. Now reading this press release and seeing that real players names will also be incorporated; WOW! I'll be lined up on release day.

Great job EA!

Amen to that, I can't wait to kick the crap out of the Sting with the Knights:wink:

[stewie1426]

It will be awesome to finally play the Vancouver Giants vs. the Vancouver Canucks and show the NHL and canadians which Vancouver team should be in the NHL.