NHL 22 February Roster Update Increases Six Players' Overall

Game Rant

By Shawn Wilken

Published Feb 22, 2022

The NHL 22 February roster is out and six players have an improved overall score, including two members of the Minnesota Wild.

With two months remaining in the NHL season, EA Sports announces its February roster update in NHL 22, featuring adjustments to six players' overall scores. A player's overall score can change, based on their real-life performance, and transition to the digital world where it affects their base statistics.

The six players in the group of risers are Nazem Kadri, Jack Hughes, Jordan Kyrou, Matt Boldy, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Kirill Kaprizov, and their scores and specific stats will receive a boost in-game after the update. While it isn't uncommon for sports gaming to adjust ratings, games like NHL 22 and MLB The Show are subject to either rise or fall based on individual performance, or in some cases when developers correct a score that could have been higher or lower.

It's unlikely to surprise anyone that these six players were included in the update, as five of them were involved in this year's NHL All-Star Game, with Boldy being the odd man out. While there are no outliers in terms of players currently in NHL 22 that are rated drastically too low or high, as the entire Washington Wizards team in NBA 2K21, it's refreshing to hockey fans that EA Sports is dedicating itself to ensuring each player receives an adequate amount of care. Ratings are always subject to player opinion, and while everyone can't always be pleased with in-game statistics, the most-recent update is a good indication that EA Sports is paying close attention to the league's actions.

Boldy trends upwards with the largest boost to his rating, moving from 78 to 81, while Kaprizov moves up from 88 to 90, in the most recent update that has received praise from the online community. Kaprizov, the reigning rookie of the year from 2021, is following up his first season in the NHL with a remarkable sophomore year. His teammate Boldy, a rookie himself, is managing a point-per-game pace thus far and is one of the shining points of the Minnesota Wild. It will be interesting to see future updates leading up to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and whether they receive another roster update like the NFL did with Madden 22 ahead of this year's Super Bowl.