NHL 15: Release Date, Top Player Ratings, New Features, Preview and More

The virtual puck is about to drop for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360. NHL 15 releases in retail stores for those systems September 9, per EASports.com. Subscribers to EA Access for the Xbox One have already gotten a chance to play four hours of the game, beginning Thursday.

Visually the game is stunning, but a more complete assessment will be coming Tuesday in a full review. For now, let's take a preliminary look at what's in store for virtual hockey fans.

Player Ratings

image from NHL 15, provided by EA Sports

One of the major focuses of the pre-release hype has been the reveal of player ratings. As usual, this piece of the info dump has been the source of conversation.

All of the player ratings have been released. To almost no one's surprise, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is the highest-rated player in the game with a 96 overall mark.

There's a bevy of stars just behind him at 93 overall. That group includes the Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews, Tampa Bay Lightning's Steven Stamkos, Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin and four others.

You can view the entire list of player ratings here.

New Features

image from NHL 15, provided by EA Sports

Features have been a major topic of discussion as it relates to NHL 15—especially the version coming to the PS4 and Xbox One. Those versions of the game will not feature several of the modes and options that were included in NHL 14, which was only available for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Namely, NHL 15 does not feature GM Connected, EASHL or the Live the Life options in Be a Pro mode.

Those are omissions that are sure to ruffle the feathers of fans who enjoyed those features in the past, but the question will be whether the game's positives can make up for the omitted modes.

What exactly are the new features?

Vastly improved graphics have been apparent in the screenshots and videos released up to this point. Without question, it's safe to say the virtual hockey world can look forward to the best-looking simulation of the sport in a video game.

New authentic arena visuals have also seen improvements.

From a gameplay standpoint, the new Superstar Stick feature is designed to differentiate good, great and average players with the puck.

Per EA Sports, the new control dynamic is defined as follows: 

"

The revolutionary Skill Stick has evolved to give even more control to the player. Protect the puck, receive passes without breaking stride, and discover an arsenal of sweet new dekes, all with an intuitive right stick control scheme that is easy to use but packed with depth.

"

Also along the lines of gameplay, the physics engine was enhanced. Gamers can now enjoy being on the top, in the middle or at the bottom of 12-player collisions and pileups.

You can read more details about all of the features for NHL 15 here.

Returning Features

The Be a GM and Be a Pro modes are back, as is Ultimate Team, but there has been speculation that these modes will be scaled back considerably. 

It's unclear to what degree, but these are details gamers will want to know before deciding if this year's game is right for them. 

The combination of sparkling new visuals, gameplay enhancements and absent features makes NHL 15 one of the most talked about new releases on tap for the remainder of 2014.

Follow Brian Mazique, aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist.