THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO HOCKEY ULTIMATE TEAM IN NHL 25

In this video I go over everything you need to know about Hockey Ultimate Team in NHL 25. I discuss all of the new features, how the mode has changed, all of the important sets as well as some tips on how to start your team!
Thank you to EA for providing me with early access. #EAPartner
Be sure to toss the video a LIKE if you enjoyed!
SUBSCRIBE➝ kzbin.info...
FOLLOW ME ON:
Twitter ► / nosleevesgaming
Instagram ► www.instagram....
Twitch ► / nosleeves12
TikTok ► www.tiktok.com...
Discord ► / discord
KINGS COAST COFFEE - Simply put, the best coffee you can buy. I drink Kings Coast every day, and its stunning how great a properly made cup of coffee can taste. Try out my favorite blends Lamplighter, Get Woke, and Countach. Use code NOSLEEVES for 10% off your entire order!
►www.kingscoast...
#NHL25

[@ryanpk7]

As a Dad who can’t stand the sweats and just does not have the time to grind, I approve these changes. That being said they should have something to reward those competitive online players.

[@Borodin410]

HUT is what ruins sports games. If you participate in microtransactions, you're part of the problem.

[@ryanpk7]

@@Borodin410 don’t recall saying I participated in micro-transactions??

[@Borodin410]

@@ryanpk7 HUT is microtransactions.

[@rogerpeets8739]

​@@ryanpk7 yea this kid just keeps commenting the same thing on anyones post about playing hut. Although i agree about MT's, he seems like the type of person to go to a bar and yell at everyone for drinking (its ruining your health, you're contributing to liver disease!!) lmao

[@ryanpk7]

@@rogerpeets8739 lol that’s the vibe I’m getting!

[@gregorydoucet6657]

I love that this is out before the real release of the trailer 😂

[@nork737]

There is no trailer the games out Friday 😮

[@seppeqespecho4260]

this is the trailer / deepdive

[@sickopathogen]

​@@nork737It's not, it's the early access, not official. The 4th is the real release date.

[@owenbighead]

@@sickopathogenit is for deluxe pre orders. 😊

[@jvdubz]

I'm hyped for a lot of these changes. The outdoor rinks are a lot of fun, missed that from the old games. Not HAVING to crunch on a weekly basis is a huge plus too. The XP path helps if you have a week you can't play or just don't play as often in a given week

[@fiddlerpaul]

I agree arenas good and less weekly grind good

[@stephenphillips2893]

Assuming the XP paths are not on a weekly reset then it's fine.

[@jvdubz]

@stephenphillips2893 that's a great point. My understanding is that they are broken up into "seasons", or at least that's what I really hope, that are a month or so

[@stephenphillips2893]

@@jvdubz Yeah that's exactly it, I'm sure they will adjust things a bit in the first few weeks

[@CH1l1X95]

The overalls change is a W imo. By the time we hit January last year many cards already reached 99 in the most important categories. Made for a very frustrating experience as it felt like we were already playing 99 HUT

[@garrisonkeathley6902]

Maybe it Will also be better for goaltending as well, as there might not be tons of card with 99 shot power while we still got 85 overall goalies

[@pynnball]

It’s cool to have to play either chl/ ahl players at the beginning

[@Nigoliz]

No it's not. This kills the game early because if you want to be competitive you have to play all the time to keep your squad updated. If you don't play that much for 4 weeks, you are already significantly behind. Every year people lose motivation and this game dies when you can't compete because you didn't keep on grinding 24/7. The only reason I came back 24 was the pack glitch that made it possible to compete against grinders.

[@Nigoliz]

It just takes too much time to create a competitive team and it makes this game feel like a job instead of a fun video game. A cheaper way to get your dream team would mean less time for grinding and trading cards, more time for playing against other people. The game is practically dead after TOTY every year because everyone is exhausted 😂

[@XDLPXDLP]

The new change with the rank system in rivals and SB are really great btw cause i was tired of being used to play the game even if im not in the mood to play just to dont lose my rank rewards and i even go work so i dont have time to pla 24 7 like all these kids out there

[@achillesstrife7455]

This

[@rvd696]

Honestly it looks like they are taking the recipe from MLB The Show and Diamond Dynasty.. which in theory is a huge W. How they execute it though is another matter entirely. DD in The Show feels good because you're always getting showered with unlocks and earnable rewards which is dope. If the rewards in the reward path for HUT are lacking, it will be terrible. I would guess that at first, the rewards will be severely under tuned and unsatisfying. Then after some public outrage, they will boost the rewards for future reward paths down the road. We will see. Either way, the base concept has a ton of potential and I think it's a positive change overall.

[@cowbelltm]

You what would be a huge win.. if your comment didn't glaze a shit game already ... what are you 12, packster

[@jenskrause4767]

They won't do shit bro 🤣 if you wanna have some sort of decent rewards this year the only option is hut champs everything else is a complete joke this is a easy skip for me this year because this is insanely bad

[@jadu304]

Na u just a hater, most of these changes are a W​@@jenskrause4767

[@sickopathogen]

You kidding dude ? it's a lot better, fuck the grind trying to play all your games of SB,Rivals,champions etc... to get rewards that most of the time are not worth grinding for ​@@jenskrause4767

[@WitWafer]

Finally we are getting a fun draft mode. I hope this Wildcard mode is awesome

[@paulperry6485]

Everyone: HUT is played out, they need to change it. EA: We changed everything Everyone: This is terrible, we want the old way back 😂

[@Ratzy1614]

no weekly rewards sucks but hey at least now my chores are gone! as long as the XP path is banger this could be good

[@Snoh.]

Weekly rewards is the only reason it kept me playing

[@Millqvistaren]

No packs for Rivals and SB are brutal bro.

[@BINZify]

its insane loool

[@Borodin410]

HUT is what ruins sports games. If you participate in microtransactions, you're part of the problem.

[@thomaspella5776]

@@Borodin410holy shit bro will you go touch some grass, bro is replying to everyone who comments with the same comment

[@Borodin410]

@@thomaspella5776 Still talking about me? Try talking about the game.

[@travfromthelou]

​@@Borodin410I just cancelled my pre order. EA sucks. This game doesn't look like anything special. I use to be totally against buying sports games because all it is, is a roster update and here's a virtual towel to wipe the sweat off your face in game!!!!

[@slappychan_]

Thanks sleeves for posting this? I'm just glad the game is a little different this year finally

[@kevinlaplante44]

Stupid Ea, its been 5 years with these pack animations, i mean cmon EA give us a feeling of new changes

[@ZAM2552YT]

The edit lines/add players seems so much faster now. Load screens etc make the game so unplayable. Liking the new menus so far from what we have seen

[@IVANDEMIGOD]

And we still have fucking power up icons. It doesnt help having to upgrade them and them being untradeable after for people that try to have different players all year long, and not sticking with the same damn players that everyone has

[@RodKani]

Thanks again cam, your always there for the player's of the game

[@fulstaak]

Wildcard sounds fun. Glad Hut rush is gone. Nice upgrade here. I just hope there wont be a million packs to open again, and again, and again, to in the collection, just to create some players. That's a game inside of the game that just taking wayyyy too long. It kicked me out of last year's HUT mode. Chel was just simpler.

[@SD-ly4gz]

It looks a lot better tbh

[@jakehodson8871]

In the past few years I’ve been a div1 player. Why would I sweat it out in div1 when I could quit out of games to drop rank and get my xp easier? Unless you get more xp for winning in the higher divisions I don’t see a reason to push yourself

[@mike8099m]

It’s always tiered that way. I’d assume there would still be more xp the higher you play.

[@SAMPZA1]

It gotta be like that yea​@@mike8099m

[@fsluke7526]

Inside of wildcard is there skill based matchmaking or completely random

[@davidkelly5585]

X factors are confusing this year

[@stephenphillips2893]

It's a horrible change

[@cameronmckinnon67]

Damn they nerfed the hell out of X Factors that sucks.... Always enjoyed each team having 1 guy right off rip.

[@allknightlong84]

Wildcard looks great tbh

[@NorthKariya9]

I stopped playing HUT around 19, and now I remember why . My god 😂

[@jvdubz]

Love seeing Boyle as a TB, now I just want Marleau somewhere in the game

[@Hjorten93]

Laughed out loud at the Thornton card 😂

[@braedonleblanc]

Holy shit, I am pumped!

[@teegee289]

REALLY????? LOL 😂

[@jenskrause4767]

Why?🤣 No weekly rewards so good luck building a Team this is one of the biggest scams I have seen from ea in a long time this whole XP system is pure garbage I mean sure less grind but and this is the twist you can't play at your own pace anymore because they will cap the amount of XP that you get so this is a huge L

[@402versegaming]

@@teegee289it’s the person opinion

[@emilbergvall6163]

@@jenskrause4767bro, everyone is in the same situation. This change will just slow down the progression a bit which is good

[@jenskrause4767]

@@emilbergvall6163 no it's not why?because p2w players will have a insane advantage this year just my opinion

[@teegee289]

I got to like minute 5 and I'm so confused and disappointed. Vs this year. Ea you successfully killed it

[@mical_tv1426]

Any loyalty packs this year for those who have consistently had prior year's games?

[@ryanpk7]

No

[@chadroffel3250]

Nope

[@davidkelly5585]

Can you pull the higher overall icons in packs also?

[@LuluAdvocate]

Holy shit this game is fucking smoked

[@allknightlong84]

GREAT VIDEO SLEEVERINO. Seriously.

[@travfromthelou]

Thank you for the video. I am going to go cancel my pre order. This looks like lackluster bullshit. And I am not even looking forward to this at this point.

[@BINZify]

no way they fuckt up RIVALS even more.. we most be trolling

[@denissbeljaev6075]

Same icons ... ... No Bure, Mogilny, Fedorov, Datsyk, Fetisov and many more ... sad :/

[@chadroffel3250]

If they arnt part of nhlpa nothing they can do .

[@EpicEric2002]

The new XFactor system is actually so fuckin trash 😂 like what's even the point of adding "fan favorites" as xfactors if they don't go up and are just for upgrading 😂

[@Jack.V17]

No new pack animations is such a joke

[@pynnball]

I actually hate the few seconds it takes for the ice to fall off the card. I also auto open

[@new2guitarplay96]

Dumb question.. but where do I go on my Xbox to find my pre-purchase of the early deluxe edition??

[@thad6673]

I’d imagine it’s in your games library? But the game has not released yet

[@new2guitarplay96]

@@thad6673 I am hoping it shows up later tomorrow! I purposely took Friday off so I can check out the ins and outs of the new game and have a long weekend as well! 😂 Thanks for your reply! I appreciate you!

[@thad6673]

@@new2guitarplay96 I always love the initial release of HUT, good luck with your squad!

[@new2guitarplay96]

@@thad6673 Thank you! Good luck to you as well! I am going to do my very best NOT to give EA any more of my money! I have always spent extra money in the past.. I want to stop that!

[@jmaster2930]

Man no weekly stuff is gona feel so bad!😭 like i play SB more than Rivals but wow this is a big hit!

[@sickopathogen]

no it's good. You don't have to grind all the modes to get rewards for next week that most of time gives you nothing worth grinding for. Less grinding is the biggest change they could have done. I'll give them props for that one.

[@jmaster2930]

@@sickopathogen yeah the one reward path is great!

[@mike8099m]

Wild card looks fun

[@jmaster2930]

This is insane!! Man EA continues to let us down for HUT😭😭

[@warb3ast945]

I might just cancel my pre order now this is stupid no packs for rivals or squad battles then what is the point and they will probably have a XP cap per day so what is the point

[@travispelky4668]

The players u get from those rewards will help

[@dylanyanosik2867]

I believe the point is to make the game and grinding the game much more accessible for everyone. Not just the people who have the time to grind everyday. People like me who have day jobs and then after work a home to take care of just don't have the time to grind out weekly rewards and actually get decent shit. I understand your point of view it's definitely Whittier for the people with the time to grind because it is kinda pointless at that point. So I feel you man

[@XDLPXDLP]

will we get Bonus packs for playing NHL 24 23 22 21 ?

[@CBCx77-]

Anything on WOC yet ?

[@jenskrause4767]

No weekly rewards are they all right?oh my goodness nhl 16 all over again with hut champs lmfao 🤣

[@michaelgrol5214]

Wait can we play rn? Or it’s just him

[@Grzechowiak21]

Comparing past games do you envision 25 being more difficult as a free to play player?

[@MattvsAI]

At a quick glance it looks like it will be harder. Every year there is less and less tradable cards but you would always use them in sets. Now with the addition of account bound cards ( cant use in sets) added with no tradable pack rewards from Squad battles it will be tough going. It might be different once we see what the rewards are but i'm not looking forward to it.

[@Nigoliz]

It seems like a full time job. Not for me, because last year there was already too much work for virtual cards that you were able to use for a few weeks. It kills motivation when you have to grind and exchange cards more than playing the actual game. Easy to predict that this game is dead before we see TOTY released.

[@sickopathogen]

​@@NigolizDude... It's less grinding not more . The fuck you talking about 😅

[@Nigoliz]

​@@sickopathogen you seem like a high IQ guy...

[@Nigoliz]

​@@sickopathogen If base cards are 74 instead of 84, you have to upgrade your players ~30% longer to get to 99ovr. It means card prices are going to pop up massively each ovr. Also when you get less rewards for games, you have to do more work and play every single day😂

[@brandonmcfellin6773]

The mode might of changed .... But the gameplay sure didn't 😂💩.

[@greedo9592]

Video on X factors? Did I miss something lol

[@BINZify]

if Ea thinks have low ovr will save the game longer it did not work so well in 24.

[@teegee289]

They've tried it for like the last 4 years lol.

[@William0x1x8]

Is it out yet ?

[@rick6699ca]

This game is so disappointing. Bring back NHL 2K

[@jercurnew1371]

So no weekly rewards , and lacklustre rewards for playing the game , trash

[@IVANDEMIGOD]

And we still have fucking power up icons. It doesnt help having to upgrade them and them being untradeable after for people that try to have different players all year long, and not sticking with the same damn players that everyone has.

[@Borodin410]

HUT is what ruins sports games. If you participate in microtransactions, you're part of the problem.

[@tylerbellows5358]

Are you crying?

[@jercurnew1371]

Awe yes I am , I’m ballin , sniffles and got the blues , goof!

[@Borodin410]

@@tylerbellows5358 Nope. But seem to have some hurt feelings because you're talk about me rather than the game. Need a wet wipe?

[@TheGraveWorm]

Dustin Clapperton is a must add.

[@Mario-ms4ec]

amazing 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@BradyMythic]

No

[@402versegaming]

@@BradyMythicyes

[@tylermulek]

Do we know if different Hat trick players will become available? None of those players really crank my tractor.

[@RodKani]

Got my game pre loaded, just waiting on Friday

[@new2guitarplay96]

Where do you find this on Xbox? 😅

[@mikehynes6506]

Convince me to get this game and put a game like mlb to be back burner???

[@tylerlussier1896]

Wait so basically what EA has done has gone back to PAY TO WIN… In NHL 24 for all its faults you could build a team and a very good one FREE! I didn’t spend a dime, But it seems they have gone back to the NHL 22 model where you have to buy packs in store to even get any cards like the team builders, Xfactors power up icons etc… Unless those 3 packs in the wildcard rewards are banger packs then this is a massive L taking out weekly rewards, Because the people that get on their knees to give their mom or dad a nice quicky for their credit cards will be ahead in this game with a super stacked team and have a massive advantage…. HUT was like that in 24, BUT the gap was so much smaller, Now it seems the gap is as wide and you’ll allow your parents to stretch your hole diddy style for their credit cards…. This is why Sleeves put his team to “A lot of dollars” he’s knows he’s gonna have to go back to snapping his wallet in half.

[@IamHim13]

Nobody reading all dat cry more

[@filipevalentegomes2383]

They did the complete opposite of what we asked. We ask for more ways to grind menus for packs, they removed the rare gold upgrade pack. We ask for better rewards for Rush, they remove the mode. We asked for better and more rewarding rewards in rivals and sb and they remove rewards. I'm also pretty sure that once you unlock all the season rewards, you'll play for no rewards at all, until the new season starts. Just pathetic

[@achillesstrife7455]

If it's operating as I believe it is, you will have repeatable rewards once you've finished the xp path. How good those rewards will be remains to be seen.

[@tylerlussier1896]

I’m gonna have to play it to really see how it will be. There is a lot of change and uncertainty around how this will work, But as of now from what I have seen this is a MASSIVE L.

[@zach3640]

I actually like the changes. The weekly grind was too much, just an insane time commitment every week. You were playing ganes a a chore and people would get burnt out so early, or fall behind and give up for the year.

[@sickopathogen]

Agree, 100%. Fuck the grind.

[@Matt-wf7ry]

Extremely excited about lower overalls. The gameplay is immensely better when the player overalls are lower which is why HUT gameplay gets so much worse as the year goes on as ridiculously high overall players start filling peoples rosters. I have to say it is a tremendous step in the right direction with the new XP pack system being implemented. While it won't completely cut down on people who grind non stop getting a huge advantage, it will definitely make it a lot more competitive. The new wildcard mode is very interesting, will be fun to see how it all plays out. It should create a lot more uniqueness game to game with the different lineups people will be using.

[@XDLPXDLP]

OMG MOVING CARD PICTURES I REMEMBER LAST TIME I SAW THIS WAS NHL 17 the water that runs down on the Playoff cards😢😭

[@evil_devil1976]

The game looks pathetic. There won't even be weekly rewards. It's good that I didn't pre-order. It's not worth playing this crap.

[@slamcrowell6014]

New Xfactors make sense but I think it takes some fun out of it. Before, you could get lucky and have mcdavid on day one, and everyone had different Xfactors on their team. Now it seems like everyone will have the same Xfactors, and although it’s nice everyone can work towards mcdavid, people’s lineups are all going to look similar

[@bayleyrushton2950]

So if they aren’t giving us weekly awards for rivals and SB they should introduce programs like mlb. Just from looking at the reward path from this video it looks like it’s going to be very hard for a play that doesn’t spend money on the game to develop their team

[@tylerlussier1896]

X factors and Power up icons are a joke in my opinion this year… all of the Xfactors should be upgradable.

[@Nacnud92]

No weekly rewards = people buying more packs lmao

[@mikeworks8671]

Regardless of whether or not people like the changes, this is a really well done video Sleeves, great work.

[@dannymoxley-towns8541]

Agreed.....I just wish that instead of making videos saying "these changes are better" it's gotten worse and nobody will fully say it.....tougie24 will LITERALLY PLAY NHL 16.....and his views DONT CHANGE....

[@PaidShills]

i like all of these changes. good work ea

[@xFADExPHANTOMx]

This is the first nhl game I won’t buy since I started playing in 08

[@Yvngswifty]

I’m a hockey fanatic and I freaking love your videos sleeves but WHY CANT EA PUT EFFORT INTO NHL!!!! Last year I switched over to FIFA/EA FC & everything is so fun. The market is live. Different “SBCS” daily. Last year I stopped playing when everyone literally had the same team -.- I really wish they took the time to make the game I really love enjoyable but honestly playing NHL feels like a job. Everything is just the same and I’m sick of it.

[@HBKshowstopper]

If EA wishes to continue with this HUT stuff (which they will because they want the money) then how about making it fun again? Change position/team cards perhaps? Also what's the point of having most of these cards being untradeable? The whole idea of collecting cards is being able to trade them with friends. EA could have a friends list of players with HUT teams that you could trade with as long as it's fair value. Honestly though can we just have online franchise again because I wouldn't playing this mode much if we had that. EA can call it a "new" feature I wouldn't care! Only reason I miss NHL Legacy (NHL 15) is because it was the last year of having GM Connected. These games have gotten worse or more broken/half baked it seems year after year

[@matthewsmith4073]

I like what I see mostly, something fresh is great. But I’m with you, Sleeves, no weekly rewards for SB/Rivals is concerning. XP Path rewards and Champs rewards better be HITTING this year

[@SpiderPig-uh3bw]

Do regular wild card games count towards the xp reward path outside of win streaks? Side note: I thought you were playing on XBOX this year?

[@SteelCityK1D]

While I can see that there might be lost value in not getting weekly packs I am definitely welcoming this change as getting rid of weekly chores.

[@Vmt16]

I don't agree with lowering the overalls, that's going to put a massive emphasis on set cards such as PUI's and XF's. I'm still going to play it old school though and every single silver card will go into a set as soon as its humanly possible. Lowering the overalls is also going to kill the market but it should ensure that casuals won't get to work it as much, so that's good for us grinders. I'm hoping that the XP grind works out because it'll mean that in theory, you should get decent rewards just by playing the game. But I do hope that the rewards level up as the year goes on, otherwise that's gonna be a drag. Also don't like how you're forced to play Wildcard, which at a glance looks like a huge waste of time in terms of what you have to do in order to be eligible to even play it. But the fact that it has so many rewards means you're gonna have to play it a lot. But at least it can be played against the CPU, so that makes it somewhat tolerable.

[@rwest1966]

Can't wait to play this on my PS5 Pro 30th anniversary overpriced edition.!😊

[@theicebergy3600]

No way I get same rewards grinding in div 1 as someone playing rookie cpu???

[@dannymoxley-towns8541]

Yup.....looks like this is the end of gaming this series....😢😢😢😢 they'd rather make changes for the people who are new rather than actually making a game that is skill based...so if your shit then you get shit rewards...society sucks now with all this "There are no losers" EVERYONES A WINNER..

[@cmz5847]

@@dannymoxley-towns8541then why did they add leaderboards?

[@Jaaaaaaaaaanzbo]

They still haven't fixed the Sharks away uniforms, they should be wearing teal helmets not white.

[@DanielGiordano-sh3ok]

Do you need the new console in order to play NHL 25??

[@MrHunterbg]

Noooo not the dumb goal celebration cutscene again. Big L

[@kennyjames4679]

Graphics look great with the new menus and i love how they removed the need to play 38 games a week in squad battles. Worried about shit rewards and being way too expensive/hard to get stuff.

[@tylerlussier1896]

🤣🤣🤣 buddy I hate to break it to you but it’s going to be WAYYYY more expensive to get stuff in this years game… This is why Sleeves made his team “A lot of Dollars” they are going back to the NHL 22 pay to win format.. you will have to buy packs to even get any team builder, X factors etc.

[@oliverquach9614]

Paid battle pass is basically inevitable

[@NTQ03]

Damn a lot of 🔥🔥🔥 changes

[@alexmacdonald4796]

No rewards is such a good move. Can obviously tell who never played in the early days of HUT in 13,14,15 based on the reactions to the move. This will be one of the best additions so it doesn’t completely flood the market with cards and make them less valuable.

[@TwistdWristr]

Great job Sleeves. Looking forward to early launch this Friday. Go Leafs Go!!

[@thejoeybags2754]

Bullish on your Rags hat. Nicely done Absent Sleeves.

[@m-agirouard3329]

Disclaimer : Yes, it is only an update to 24 that we pay for, I agree with the general complaints, Im sorely talking gameplay wise What people fail to acknowledge is that one of the main isssues of this game is its community, 90% of the players still play pre NHL23 hitting fest braindead northsouth crosscrease forcing OR they do the same 2-3 cheesy plays every game, refusing to learn buttons let alone new mechanics like holding R1 or RB for a few secs then R stick up for a huge dump or understanding that on D you can crosscheck anybody that posts up in the slot every 2sec as long as you dont move your left stick there is no risk of penalty untill the opponent stops posting up. Or that passing without handling the R joystick is a shotgun pass and that handling the right joystick makes the pass much better and allows to pick a passing lane instead of using the default one thats easy to read or poke. Or that if you sticklift the opponent your stick needs to be on the same side as his and at the right gap distance aka not too close not too far which promotes gap management, when I acknowledged that mechanic, I could then stick lift all game with almost never taking a penalty for it, Im so used to its mechanic that i actively do it to people without the puck, it is not a penalty button. I agree that people that get hit shouldnt get up that quick after big hits but that is a prime example of EA going away from arcade hit fest by drasticly nerfing hitting forcing players to play actual team defense which is great and shows how EA is taking steps towards realism and having a fair counter system, in 25 they said players will stay down longer after big hits especially if they are smaller, smaller players wlll hit less powerfully and biggger players will hit harder, we'll see. Also having the option to either crosscheck or shoulder check is another step towards realism and is very efficient if used at the right moment, for example on D you can use your positioning to box someone out and if you land a good poke or sweep you come in with a crosscheck to then have an easy puck pickup for either you or whoever was supporting you, it sounds hard but its very effective and doesnt take long to master. Almost nobody realizes that there is a good counter system meaning there is a counter to every single thing in the game and that it is actually trying to be more of a simulation in some ways : they actively try to reward east west hockey getting away from the repetitive and boring north south meta, it got away from the hitting meta, now its about positinioning taking runs with the carrier while you have support watching mid to create 2 on 1 pockets on D or offense instead of going for 50-50 defensive plays and run and gun offense(thats why alot of players think the game is bad), it promotes cycling, rebound shots, creativty, stick sweeps, tips, screens, support plays, teamwork, etc. You cant beat good teams if you dont play as team now, otherwise you'll only beat bad teams. If you actually watch hockey a lot youd know more than half of goals scored are garbage goals so even that is realistic to a degree but it is ruined by EAs DDA. That being said, I agree that they should show a unified front and seperate EASHL from Chel instead of taking steps towards a more realistc gameplay but adding arcade stuff like fortnite skins in club and such, making it hard for players who do not understand videogame programming(no shame in that) to see the effort towards realism and the conflict of interest within EA to push arcady stuff and of course heavily interfere with the game with DDA(they adjust tuners during games to compensate for the skill gap more than ever). EASHLshould be full simulation no intereference from EA. For example if youre down 0-2 but you control the game but you have 10x more passes than the other team the DDA will still help the opponents by adjusting tuners, thats why there is alot of cheap goals, if DDA wasnt a thing it would be easier for people to see the steps towards realism that the devs taking. Sorry for the long message but I think its important to stay neutral in this situation. Your complains will hopefully push EA to act so please dont stop. Aslo it should be a new game every 2-3 years, they can sell alot of DLC, skins and packs while updating the game to keep the money flowing and it would prevent them from having less than 9months to work on a new game. Also another thing that was new from this year is that they kept updating the game for months after 24s release which was never done before. I also think the 1 timers will be OP for the first few weeks in 25 so that everybody can score and then they'll nerf it a few weeks later, typical EA thing to do and isnt needed at all. Be A pro not being changed and the new HUT reward system are jokes though. We are paying for 1 big update I know, but this text was about the game itself. I study hockey daily, watch alot of it and am a top player in HUT and EASHL for a long time on top of playing franchise mode alot for more than 20years, I also am good at programming games and understand their mechanics, yes EAs programming is rushed and flawed(ex : hitting someone thats behind you is bad/rushed programmation of the way the hitting animation interects with other players hitboxes, but thats really hard to program, they need years not months for it to be perfect. TLDR : Since NHL23 its a new dev team and you can truly see the effort towards a better game I think, they just have to show a unified front not a mix of arcade and realist concepts mixed together leaving the playerbase confused.

[@jonathanmccullough2873]

Wait, i thought this didnt release til friday... i pre-ordered deluxe the day it was available.. should i have it this early? Lol

[@Clinton-nt6qp]

Without some hard videos of in game footage, I would say that this is the same game we just played last year. Obviously the new gen consoles will be a little different but until I see some gameplay I’m on the fence just spectating. If there’s a reoccurring issue with attempted “game hype” last 30 sec of a period goals bonanza I may have to pass all together heh.

[@philippelarouche2407]

For me who run a Blackhawks team theme all year along... Does it mean this concept is over with the new rewards system??

[@jackstar2142]

I hope they just give us the weekly rewards in the seasons. If ur div 1 ur get the rewards for div 1 n so on. Same with squad battles

[@aktivfresh]

Sleeves, as always best quality of information from all of EA NHL Content creators. Allthough games looks copy/paste from last year, but changes in HUT seems exciting. Let's see

[@dannymoxley-towns8541]

What happenes after season 1......like mlb where all my cards i grinded for aren't usable in S2?????OR that cards will go up S1 then drop back down to grinding ovrls so we can grind AGAIN

[@MrIcomsic]

Thank you for the video! Very easy to understand the layout of HUT because of this! Appreciate it 😊

[@raimo41]

So they finally brought the salary cap tournaments back in updated form, i have been hoping this for 10 years

[@MunkehKing]

Wildcard mode looks really interesting. Having a mode with a salary cap makes the game way less P2W and limiting your roster to only 3 user cards means even the most casual of HUT players could field a competitive team. Depending on the balance it could even be the case that one would be incentivized not to just play the highest OVR cards in your collection and maybe think about 3 83s vs an 86 an 82 and a 70-something. Unfortunately considering that mode seems to only be 1 3 min period per game I don't expect anyone to play it beyond putting in the weekly 20-40 games. P.S. Sleeves I'd really like a video going through the most common yearly annoyances and addressing if they're in the game or not like PS5 having a delay, face button passing has a delay, small goalies suck, forced cross crease goals are OP, etc. Seems like the menus are faster this year at least!

[@DoleyLama]

I like it!!! Wow. Lots to process. But I an all for the immediate rewards and then if you want bigger prizes play champs. I have been playing Madden 25 a lot and i am new to it so I spend most my time playing battles and its fun. But will def be playing more rivals and champs and very little squad battles here.

[@SteelCityK1D]

Love how wild card replaces Rush, the points are better rated to encourage higher difficulty levels and simplify to win loss not number of goals and shots

[@valtteriveijalainen9755]

Thanks Sleeves for the great info! These changes are a big W. I only hope that the rewards in the xp path are worth the grind.