CHL Inks Deal to be Included in EA’s NHL Franchise

Today, EA Sports and the Canadian Hockey League announced a four year deal that will bring the CHL into EA’s NHL gaming series, starting with NHL 11. The CHL is a junior league for hockey players from the ages of 16 to 20. Many of today’s greats sharpened their skills in the CHL including: Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby.

“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.”

You too can now come up through the ranks in Be A Pro mode by going through the CHL. You can also use CHL teams in the Be A GM, Tournament, Season and Playoff modes along with the normal Exhibition games.

All 60 Canadian Hockey League teams will be represented in NHL 11, including the only team that matters in my mind, the Calgary Hitmen. Ohhhh yes, they are partially owned by The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be — Bret “The Hitman” Hart.

I think this will be a good addition to NHL 11. Normally I’ll sparingly use the international teams, but this will be a good way too get a good look at the future stars of the National Hockey League. What do you think? Are you interested in playing with these teams or do you think they will just be more teams to ignore when getting into a game? Let us hear it in the comments.

EA Sports’ NHL 11 is coming to PS3, Xbox 360 and potentially the Wii this September.

Source: EA Sports