NHL 12 is an upcoming ice hockey video game developed by EA Canada and to be published by EA Sports. The game will be released on September 9, 2011 in Europe, and on September 13, 2011 in North America. The game was featured in the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Steven Stamkos was announced to be the game's cover athlete on June 22, 2011, at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The game notably includes more live goalies (i.e. players can have real contact with the goalies, the goalies may fight against each other), improved Be A Pro mode, improved physics engine, and the ability to play the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.
New Features
NHL 12 re-introduces goalie contact to the NHL series.Players will have the ability to hit the goalies.
Goalies will be able to fight each other.
The Be a Pro mode will be more authentic. New additions include the ability to start in the CHL(for up to four seasons.), play through 18 career levels, be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft, get tasks from the coach, and simulate games to the player's next shift.
Improved physics will allow for more realistic hits with helmets coming off, players being hit into the bench, knuckleball shots, shattered glass, and improved puck movements.
Players will not as easily lose total balance if they're hit. For example, a player might use their hands or stumble to his knees to regain balance if hit.
Players will be able to play the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field with fans donning Winter Classic gear.
An all-new feature, the Action Tracker, will track simulated games' every movement.
Improved trading logic will make it much more difficult to trade for elite players in the Be A GM mode.
Younger players will demand lower salaries in free agency than in previous versions of the Be a GM mode.
Leagues and teams
NHL 12 will include seven professional leagues: the National Hockey League (NHL), American Hockey League (AHL), Czech Extraliga, SM-liiga, Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), Elitserien (SEL), and National League A (NLA). Although the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is ranked as the top professional European league, it never has been included in the NHL series (though the former Russian Superleague was included in NHL 09), nor has it been announced to be included in NHL 12. The game will also include the amateur Canadian Hockey League, which comprises the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL).
The game will include the new Winnipeg Jets team, originally the Atlanta Thrashers, therefore effectively replacing the Atlanta Thrashers team in the game. The Växjö Lakers Hockey team will replace Södertälje SK in the Elitserien league, as the Växjö Lakers Hockey team managed to qualify for the 2011-12 Elitserien season at the expense of Södertälje SK. EHC München, promoted to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2010, replacing Kassel Huskies, will also be included. The Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL will be relocated to Victoria, British Columbia for the start of the 2011-12 WHL season and will therefore be replaced by the Victoria Royals, a new team in the same franchise. The game will also include national teams, but because of the lack of the IIHF license, official jerseys will not be used.
Source: Wikipedia, "NHL 12", available under the CC-BY-SA License.
